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Old 07-15-2011, 09:05 PM   #221
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My SCX has been seeing some extended use under water and I keep killing motors. An axial 27T lasted a couple hours, an HPI Firebolt didn't even make it an hour, and Axial 55T lasted maybe three hours. These were all sealed endbells, so the only maintenance I could do was flush them with motor cleaner and lube the bearings, not that they've lasted long enough to matter.

Now I have an Integy Lathe 55T that mas made it to about hour five before having issues. I've pulled it apart and cleaned it, polished the comm and cleaned the stubbles that remain of brushes and lubed the bearings. It works alright for what I need it to do, but I can't help but wonder if there is a better option.

Are there certain brushed motors that cope with water better than others? I assume that less powerful motors draw less amps and therefore last longer?

I mainly play in running stream water that appears clear, no real mud. And I use as little throttle as possible when the motor is submerged. Is there anything I can cover the motor with to keep debri out? I tried a section of pantyhose, but it collected too much black carbon (I presume from the brushes wearing) and the motor refused to operate after about twenty minutes.
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Old 07-16-2011, 07:46 AM   #222
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Default esc with fan

don't see anything on a esc with fam atached any ideas
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrockGrimes View Post
Battery Connections/Exposed Wires

This is an often overlooked area when trying to protect your truck from the elements. You should cover all connections, such as battery plugs, that are exposed to the elements. Otherwise it's possible that moisture could seep into these plugs and short out the two wires. A few pieces of electrical tape should take care of this situation easily, just make sure to surround the entire plug as any small opening could be an entry point for water.

Motor

Believe it or not, in an electric RC, the motor is an area that requires very little attention when exposed to the elements. You don't really need to worry about keeping the moisture away from the elements as water will not affect it's operation. As a matter of fact, in some cases hobbyists run a motor underwater as a way to break the motor in. The only thing you'll need to do is disassemble the motor after running, and clean it well. Make sure you re-lube your motor's bearings or bushings when putting it back together.

Receiver/Receiver Pack

The receiver is generally one of the most expensive components on an RC truck, so you want to make sure you provide it plenty of protection from the elements. Many nitro-powered vehicles already have the receiver protected with some sort of cover or plastic box to avoid damage should nitro splash on it when refueling. However very few electric vehicles offer this sort of protection, and even in the nitro world there are some exceptions.

Many receiver boxes can be used on vehicles other than the ones they were intended for, when used with a little creativity. This provides a good option for protecting your receiver. When using a receiver or battery box, keep in mind there are often small gaps in them. Most of the time, these are the areas that wires pass through. It would be a very wise course of action to seal these gaps up with silicone to prevent water from finding it's way inside.

You can also use a balloon to cover the receiver if this option isn't feasible for you. Simply insert the receiver into a balloon, with the servos already plugged into the receiver in their correct locations. Then close up the mouth of the balloon with a ziptie. You can also seal up the mouth of the balloon with some grease or silicone to help seal up any leftover gaps after the ziptie is pulled tight. While it may not be the most attractive solution, it's very effective. If your truck also uses a receiver pack, or battery holder, to power the receiver you should also protect it as well. Again many trucks provide battery boxes, and those battery boxes can fit many other vehicles besides the ones which they were designed for. If all else fails, a balloon will work well in this area as well.

Servos

Servos are another item that should be protected from the elements. Some servos, such as the Hitec 5625MG and 5645MG, are water-proof and need no further attention. However most servos do need to be protected from the elements. There are two widely used methods to accomplish this, balloons and silicone. Using a balloon is pretty straightforward. First remove the servo horn or servo saver, and then simply encase the servo inside a balloon. Leave the wires sticking outside the mouth of the balloon, and close up the mouth of the balloon with a ziptie. You can also seal up the mouth of the balloon with some grease or silicone to help seal up any leftover gaps after the ziptie is pulled tight. Then use a pin to place a small hole in the balloon where the servo output shaft is located, and pull the balloon so that the shaft slides through it. Then you can reinstall your servo horn or servo saver. Another method of protecting your servo from moisture, is to use some silicone sealant. This results in a stock-like appearance, as you can't really tell that anything has been done to the servo. Take the servo case halves apart, and apply a small bead of silicone where the they connect. Then simply reassemble the case and allow the silicone time to cure. To protect the area around the servo output shaft, use a small o-ring coated with some grease to form a seal when you install a servo horn or servo saver.

Speed Controller

Protecting your speed control is a very important, yet difficult, step to undertake. I often hear of people encasing their ESC inside a balloon, but that's often a dangerous idea. It severely hampers the ESC's ability to cool itself, which could lead to the ESC overheating and damaging itself. At the very least, you might experience the balloon the ESC is encased in melting. So if you choose this method of protection, I would encourage you to frequently monitor your ESC's temperature to avoid such problems. Small plastic project boxes like they sell at radio shack can be used to seal up the ESC or ESC and Receiver too.

The only good solution for a MSC, would be to make a shield to protect the electronics from the elements. You can fabricate something out of scrap lexan, or simply carve up a 2-liter drink bottle. A few pieces of duct tape will hold the shield in place and help prevent any moisture from finding it's way inside. As a general rule, since a shield sits away from the ESC by several inches, the ESC shouldn't overheat with this method. However it would still be advisable to check it from time to time to ensure that it's still not overheating.

It's also possible to buy waterproof ESC's for use during wet and snowy conditions. MTroniks is one company that is well known for this. Also LRP makes water proof ESC's.

Misc. Tips

In addition to the things listed above you can use plastidip found at local hardware stores (it's a liquid that hardens into a rubber coating) and dip your parts in it to seal them, servos are a prime cantidate for plastidip.

Put a thin coating of oil on the outer motor bearing to help prevent water intrusion.

WD-40 can be used on the motor, but use it sparingly, but spray some on a cloth and wipe down your metal chassis parts just like you'd oil a gun and the water will bead right off and it makes clean up a snap. Armorall works also, some people use armorall on the plastic parts. I use rainx on the outside of the body or wipe it with a thin coat of armorall the help make clean up easy.


Most of the info above can be found on:
http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lan...erproofing.asp

Except for the last few lines I give full credit to them on this article. I use alot of these tips on my Electrics and on my Nitro 4x4's also. So if there is a nitro tip mentioned please take it for what it is.

If you have other water proofing ideas please share them here.
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Old 07-26-2011, 01:34 PM   #223
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Default Corrosion X

Okay, so after looking at a bunch of stuff on waterproofing, Corrosion X looks pretty good. Anyone try Corrosion X Heavy Duty? It is a self-healing gel as far as I understand it. Or is the regular stuff good enough for rc submarining expeditions?
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Old 08-07-2011, 06:37 PM   #224
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i dont know if its been posted yet but this flex seal stuff looks pretty good.
https://www.getflexseal.com/?tag=he|...d057&data1=378
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Old 08-10-2011, 08:00 PM   #225
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^I have used that in the past. works great
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Old 08-11-2011, 07:59 AM   #226
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Quote:
Originally Posted by 2008blackwrx View Post
^I have used that in the past. works great
Which did you use in the past? Flexseal or Corrosion X HD??
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Old 08-16-2011, 02:41 AM   #227
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Exclamation es with fan

do you now away to water an esc with fan i can't suth it down i'll burn up esc
Quote:
Originally Posted by BrockGrimes View Post
Battery Connections/Exposed Wires

This is an often overlooked area when trying to protect your truck from the elements. You should cover all connections, such as battery plugs, that are exposed to the elements. Otherwise it's possible that moisture could seep into these plugs and short out the two wires. A few pieces of electrical tape should take care of this situation easily, just make sure to surround the entire plug as any small opening could be an entry point for water.

Motor

Believe it or not, in an electric RC, the motor is an area that requires very little attention when exposed to the elements. You don't really need to worry about keeping the moisture away from the elements as water will not affect it's operation. As a matter of fact, in some cases hobbyists run a motor underwater as a way to break the motor in. The only thing you'll need to do is disassemble the motor after running, and clean it well. Make sure you re-lube your motor's bearings or bushings when putting it back together.

Receiver/Receiver Pack

The receiver is generally one of the most expensive components on an RC truck, so you want to make sure you provide it plenty of protection from the elements. Many nitro-powered vehicles already have the receiver protected with some sort of cover or plastic box to avoid damage should nitro splash on it when refueling. However very few electric vehicles offer this sort of protection, and even in the nitro world there are some exceptions.

Many receiver boxes can be used on vehicles other than the ones they were intended for, when used with a little creativity. This provides a good option for protecting your receiver. When using a receiver or battery box, keep in mind there are often small gaps in them. Most of the time, these are the areas that wires pass through. It would be a very wise course of action to seal these gaps up with silicone to prevent water from finding it's way inside.

You can also use a balloon to cover the receiver if this option isn't feasible for you. Simply insert the receiver into a balloon, with the servos already plugged into the receiver in their correct locations. Then close up the mouth of the balloon with a ziptie. You can also seal up the mouth of the balloon with some grease or silicone to help seal up any leftover gaps after the ziptie is pulled tight. While it may not be the most attractive solution, it's very effective. If your truck also uses a receiver pack, or battery holder, to power the receiver you should also protect it as well. Again many trucks provide battery boxes, and those battery boxes can fit many other vehicles besides the ones which they were designed for. If all else fails, a balloon will work well in this area as well.

Servos

Servos are another item that should be protected from the elements. Some servos, such as the Hitec 5625MG and 5645MG, are water-proof and need no further attention. However most servos do need to be protected from the elements. There are two widely used methods to accomplish this, balloons and silicone. Using a balloon is pretty straightforward. First remove the servo horn or servo saver, and then simply encase the servo inside a balloon. Leave the wires sticking outside the mouth of the balloon, and close up the mouth of the balloon with a ziptie. You can also seal up the mouth of the balloon with some grease or silicone to help seal up any leftover gaps after the ziptie is pulled tight. Then use a pin to place a small hole in the balloon where the servo output shaft is located, and pull the balloon so that the shaft slides through it. Then you can reinstall your servo horn or servo saver. Another method of protecting your servo from moisture, is to use some silicone sealant. This results in a stock-like appearance, as you can't really tell that anything has been done to the servo. Take the servo case halves apart, and apply a small bead of silicone where the they connect. Then simply reassemble the case and allow the silicone time to cure. To protect the area around the servo output shaft, use a small o-ring coated with some grease to form a seal when you install a servo horn or servo saver.

Speed Controller

Protecting your speed control is a very important, yet difficult, step to undertake. I often hear of people encasing their ESC inside a balloon, but that's often a dangerous idea. It severely hampers the ESC's ability to cool itself, which could lead to the ESC overheating and damaging itself. At the very least, you might experience the balloon the ESC is encased in melting. So if you choose this method of protection, I would encourage you to frequently monitor your ESC's temperature to avoid such problems. Small plastic project boxes like they sell at radio shack can be used to seal up the ESC or ESC and Receiver too.

The only good solution for a MSC, would be to make a shield to protect the electronics from the elements. You can fabricate something out of scrap lexan, or simply carve up a 2-liter drink bottle. A few pieces of duct tape will hold the shield in place and help prevent any moisture from finding it's way inside. As a general rule, since a shield sits away from the ESC by several inches, the ESC shouldn't overheat with this method. However it would still be advisable to check it from time to time to ensure that it's still not overheating.

It's also possible to buy waterproof ESC's for use during wet and snowy conditions. MTroniks is one company that is well known for this. Also LRP makes water proof ESC's.

Misc. Tips

In addition to the things listed above you can use plastidip found at local hardware stores (it's a liquid that hardens into a rubber coating) and dip your parts in it to seal them, servos are a prime cantidate for plastidip.

Put a thin coating of oil on the outer motor bearing to help prevent water intrusion.

WD-40 can be used on the motor, but use it sparingly, but spray some on a cloth and wipe down your metal chassis parts just like you'd oil a gun and the water will bead right off and it makes clean up a snap. Armorall works also, some people use armorall on the plastic parts. I use rainx on the outside of the body or wipe it with a thin coat of armorall the help make clean up easy.


Most of the info above can be found on:
http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lan...erproofing.asp

Except for the last few lines I give full credit to them on this article. I use alot of these tips on my Electrics and on my Nitro 4x4's also. So if there is a nitro tip mentioned please take it for what it is.

If you have other water proofing ideas please share them here.
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Old 08-16-2011, 08:15 AM   #228
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thanks for putting that up
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Old 08-21-2011, 06:10 PM   #229
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Quote:
Originally Posted by grave 1 View Post
do you now away to water an esc with fan i can't suth it down i'll burn up esc

WTF does this say ?

For Pete's sake.....
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Old 08-22-2011, 08:31 PM   #230
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Has anyone Tried to waterproof a Novak Rooster Crawler esc with baloons and if so then how did it go?

Thanks alot
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Old 08-28-2011, 08:00 AM   #231
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Default petrolim jelly a.k.a. vasiline

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2500hdon37s View Post
can you use petrolim jelly like the grease? and can you use just regular berring grease?
Sorry for posting this and I'm on the 6 page on this post,but i was wondering the same thing.Can you use Vaseline inside on top of the servo horn,would it be ok for the gears,not to worried about the esc it's traxxas waterproof esc.I know about the plastic dip and dielectric gease but i want to seal my diffs and tranny,will Vaseline work on diffs and tranny just enough to put on the ends where the bearings are.....
will this Vaseline work on the diffs and has any body try this
thanks ..Oh buy the way great thread and info...
2hi2cme....

still waiting on the answer for this guestion

Last edited by 2hi2cme; 08-29-2011 at 10:03 AM.
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Old 09-07-2011, 04:51 AM   #232
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I think you would find that vaseline has a lot lower melting point than normal grease so when any heat is generated by anything moving , it will turn to liquid and run away much more easily than grease .

You may have heard of high melting point grease ? This stuff is probably over kill for our purpose though . I don't even know that marine grease is that much more stable than normal grease although I think it would be more resistant to being washed away by water so probably is the best stuff for filling in the void in a diff housing etc .

I feel the best compromise would be some good thick grease to put in the axel tube section to fill the space and some lighter grease to put on the gears so as to not put undue load on the motor/driveline/etc .
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Old 09-07-2011, 01:29 PM   #233
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Well that;s good to know that vasaline is no good thanks for the tip....
this what did and used...

Motor : did nothing to it ,it's brushed and there are a dime a dozen and cheap....

ESC : well it's Traxxas xl-5 and i open it up and Traxxas did a good job of sealing it up,besides i don't plan on using my SCX10 as submarine only as high as my tires which is about 6 inches tall will i be going in the water...

reciever : i used a condom yup that's right a condom make sure it Extra strrenght and 2 zip ties to close it up then coating the condom with grease sealed the ends then put back in the reciever box then shoe goo all the sides of the reciever box so it's an air tight fit...

Diff and tranny : packed them full of HD pro grease as far as the diff gears
and used all along the edges front bearings and side bearing...
Make you don't put to much on the diff gears cause it will turn slow so i to had to remove some and then it rotated much more freely ,same goes for the tranny not to much, there isn;t much room in there..

well that about it hope that helps everybody else.....
thanks and happy watering
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Old 09-10-2011, 06:16 AM   #234
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Quote:
Originally Posted by DwaneO View Post
[do you now away to water an esc with fan i can't suth it down i'll burn up esc]

WTF does this say ?

For Pete's sake.....
Translation...."Do you know a way to waterproof a ESC with a fan, I can't shut it down (the fan) or I'll burn up the ESC."

There, better?
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Old 09-10-2011, 05:24 PM   #235
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I'm pretty sure it's not wise to run a fan in water. There wouldn't be some way to waterproof it either. Water and mud in the fan would most likely just burn it up from the drag. Usually if your running a gear ratio so hot it needs a fan it's not being ran in water. But if it is then all the water cools the esc rapidly when it hits it. The waterproofing an esc fan question has been brought up enough times here now I believe it would of been explained how to do it if it were possible.
This is to the origin question posters
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Old 09-14-2011, 07:00 PM   #236
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You could just put everything into a tuppaware container!
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Old 09-17-2011, 03:27 AM   #237
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rockpanda View Post
You could just put everything into a tuppaware container!
Both my rigs are 99% waterproof thanks to tupperware and hot glue



Last edited by nut_up_racing; 09-26-2011 at 01:02 AM.
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Old 09-17-2011, 09:06 PM   #238
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any one try the micro pelican cases for waterproofing? I mean they come waterproof and drillin small holes for wires would be an easy fix to waterproof. Just curious on the size to chassis?
http://www.pelican-case.com/ipod-cases.html
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Old 09-26-2011, 05:24 PM   #239
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Default Hitec ultra torque water proof servos

Hello new to this forum, and in the process of building up a Axial wraith with some sweet info from Harley. I here some people asking on how to water proof servos so that when your runnig through water or bashing in the mud they wont get messed up. I recieved my 1st RC Driver magazine and found new by "Hitec" two waterproof servos's, 1st HS-646WP high voltage High torque, Analog servo waterproof. 2nd HS-546WP high voltage, high torque,programmable digital waterproof servo's. Have you guy's heard of this. Is worth it. can it be installed on Axial wraith and still use their electronic's or would you need to get Hitec electronic's for it to work. Thank's for your input.
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Old 10-03-2011, 02:29 PM   #240
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Quote:
Originally Posted by jammindriver View Post
Okay, so after looking at a bunch of stuff on waterproofing, Corrosion X looks pretty good. Anyone try Corrosion X Heavy Duty? It is a self-healing gel as far as I understand it. Or is the regular stuff good enough for rc submarining expeditions?
Its to thick IMO to work well in the RC application. It is about the consistancy of axle grease maybe a little thinner. the regular x seems to work very well.
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