Water Proofing Electronics

[BrockGrimes]

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.

[OIT_TLT]

Originally Posted by BrockGrimes

Battery Connections/Exposed Wires


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.

i put my super rooster in a balloon on my TLT and it doesnt even get hot at all even when i run multiple packs through it in a single day! the only time i noticed it getting hot is when i ran it in my clod. i say that if you are running one motor you will be alright, but with two or a pretty fast single motor is when you need to worry.

[Bknight]

if you wanted something a little more permanent instead of elec. tape, and would be a little better, is liquid elec. tape. its just a black gooey blob you can't paint on and you would now have perfect water proof conections. just be ready to leave it as is though.

[Cole82]

Dielectric grease on the battery connector is way better than electric tape.
The servo cases are allready water proof. It's where the out put gear is that the water gets in.

[Crawln Coles]

Check this out http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/linksmain.htm It's a boat site. Under "tips and info" they have some good stuff about waterproofing electronics.

[DKNguyen]

Just wondernig...shouldn't you shield the motor from mud and "solid" gunk? Regular water, maybe not. But what about mud that has solid bits in it? It would affect cooling though...

[BlueMonster]

I just waterproofed one of my scalers. For years I heard that dielectric grease was the way to go but never actually saw it used.

I PACKED my receiver, servos, esc and switch with the stuff, including the seams of the cases and the battery connection.

I proceded to drive it under water. It works, it's a perminent fix, and it was relatively cheap.

There are two types of dielectric grease. there is one that is a silver color and one that is a translucent white/clear. You only want to use the clear stuff.

You can see pics etc in the tech section at www.warcrc.org

[carcrafter]

Ok everyone I may be cheaper then the next guy on stuff like this but I bought a plastic soap dish (Box) like you would buy for a overnight bag. I found mine at the dollar store. I have seen them at Wally Mart too. I drilled it and Siliconed the holes. I run a Rebel 2 on my TLT which is one of the bigger ESC's I can think of but I had enough space for it and my reciever. I have run the combination across the local creek and haven't had a prob yet. My only complaint is they are a bit big so depending on your body you may have troubles fitting or covering up the big, often brightly colored box.

[balang_479]

anyone know of any other fully waterproofed EScs???

[ARMRASTLER]

MTRONIKS.NET

Originally Posted by balang_479

anyone know of any other fully waterproofed EScs???

[kacz7895]

http://www.offshoreelectrics.com/info.php

here is a link that has some info on how to waterproof your equipment. its used for boats but it will work here to

[m2000speedster]

y is wd 40 bad on motors?

thanks

[kmnss]

Originally Posted by balang_479

anyone know of any other fully waterproofed EScs???

Both of these are 100% - per LRP - waterproof. Cheap too.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKYX5&P=ML
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXKYX6&P=ML

[CCFBERG]

I would have to say because WD40 isnt exactly a lubricant but more a penetrant kinda like PB Blaster in a way, it does lubricate but..........................Also WD40 collects dirt in a bad way!! Thats my 2 cents anyway. I like the dielectric grease idea Im going with that!

[ncgamedog]

exactly dielectric grease or naval jelly. wd is ok stuff but there are so many better options i'm not sure why people still use it. i was hooked on it until i learned better.

[Ruggen]

I use Mos2 to grease it up.

[4x4King12]

I used RTV clear silicone and dielectric grease which worked great.

[Krawlin]

Originally Posted by 4x4King12

I used RTV clear silicone and dielectric grease which worked great.

Originally Posted by ncgamedog

exactly dielectric grease or naval jelly. wd is ok stuff but there are so many better options i'm not sure why people still use it. i was hooked on it until i learned better.

Originally Posted by BlueMonster

I just waterproofed one of my scalers. For years I heard that dielectric grease was the way to go but never actually saw it used.

I PACKED my receiver, servos, esc and switch with the stuff, including the seams of the cases and the battery connection.

I proceded to drive it under water. It works, it's a perminent fix, and it was relatively cheap.

There are two types of dielectric grease. there is one that is a silver color and one that is a translucent white/clear. You only want to use the clear stuff.

You can see pics etc in the tech section at www.warcrc.org

Is Dielectric grease also called White Lithium grease? And where can I pick up some of this Dielectric grease?

[TEAM-JCJ]

Originally Posted by Krawlin

Is Dielectric grease also called White Lithium grease? And where can I pick up some of this Dielectric grease?

Dielectrical grease and white lithium grease are 2 totally different things. You should be able to pick up dielectric grease at a good auto parts sstore or radio shack.

[was up24]

do they make waterproof esc