Making your brushless motor water-resistant/waterproof

[K_B]

So now that it's spring, the snow is melting and turning everything into a mess. Not only did I switch out my Mashers too soon, but I've also been risking ruining my $50+ motor by running my rig in the muck.

I'm using an AXI 2212-26 outrunner. This motor is about 28mm in diameter. I think most of the popular motors might be bigger. I know the OG Revolver is considerably larger.

It just so happens that my AXI fits almost perfectly inside a film canister. By mounting the motor to the film canister lid, you can make a pretty good water-resistant housing. By filling some of the gaps with silicone, I'm thinking it could probably be waterproof.

Anyway, here's how I did it. I used a body reamer to make the mounting holes in the lid and used my motor adapter as a template. Then it was just a matter of jamming the screws through the holes. I made the holes for the motor shaft and the screws considerably smaller so there would be a semi-tight seal around them. I also globbed some grease in there to help repel water.





Here's the motor mounted to the lid/adapter



As you can see, the motor is considerably shorter than the canister, so you could section it if you wanted.



The completed assembly. I used lexan scissors to cut out part of the canister and lid to make room for the wires.



Mounted



Mounted and enclosed



I suppose you could use something like prescription bottles for larger motors. But on something like a 'pede or stealth tranny, there may not be enough room. We'll see. I am going to experiment with some different methods with my Revolver/Stealth tranny. A balloon would be a simple solution maybe, but that's just too easy

[RCCrawlerTT]

I know I am new to all this, so don't lash out too hard, but isn't there a possibility of overheating with putting that in such a tight case? Not that the motors overheat fast, but enclosing it in such a small case without some form of heat transfer might hurt I would think.

[JohnRobHolmes]

Thats pretty awsome! I would have never thought about a film case. If you ruin it anyway Ive got a $20 2215 motor with your name on it

[Deora]

but isn't there a possibility of overheating

I was thinking the excact same thing.. Maybe you could mount when there is water and take it off when you are trough the water ?

[Rockpiledriver]

I guess I can see doing this for mud, but why for water?

[JohnRobHolmes]

How about muddy water?

[K_B]

I took overheating into consideration. My motor rarely gets hot to the touch. I'm just gonna keep an eye on it. It's still only about 45 degrees or so around here and most of the water I've been splashing through is much colder than that

JRH, if this thing burns up on me, I'll be sending you an email!

[LIKES2CRAWL]

Prety cool Idea, Hmmmmm what can I use for my OG Revolver?

[Big Mike]

Good thinking.

If you can always lay a finger on your motor and hold it there w/o discomfort, you should be ok I'd think. Especially when the ambient air temp. is around 45.
When the weather gets warmer just check it once in a while to be sure. The film canister is going to trap all the heat generated by the motor so it may get bad when it's already hot outside,.
If you do overheat - cut a couple vent holes in the top near the lid, and in the bottom, then wrap the canister in thin foam (to prevent direct water entry) and mount a computer processor fan to the bottom. You won't be able to run totally submerged, but you'll be able to mud-bog or whatever w/o filling your motor w/ crap.

[K_B]

Yeah, heat will be a problem during the summer, but this is mostly for right now when EVERYTHING is a mess. But that foam idea is a good one. I was thinking of using that stuff they use to wrap casts. It's like gauze but much finer. I used it on my motors way back in the day to keep the mud out. But I think foam will be easier to get my hands on.

[RCCrawlerTT]

Instead of using the cap, attach a heatsink to the end where you are putting screws through (drive your screws straight through the heatsink), and then glue that to the cannister. You'd have your heat coming out through the heatsink and still be waterproof.

They make some pretty small/odd shaped heatsinks for the chipsets these days, you should be able to find one at your local computer center.

[Big Mike]

A wrap of thin foam around a vented canister may suffice. It would keep water out (for the most part) and let the heat vent.
I don't know if a heat sink would draw out the heat fast enough. It would not cost much time or money to try it, though...