protecting electronics from water/mud/snow

[amazingjameso]

Hi Everyone, i'm new to this hobby. My RC crawler out of the box is water resistant to an extent but i was wondering if anyone goes further and perhaps covers some of the wires/electronics from splashes. Like using plastic wraps with tape or zip ties to cover things that may be exposed? or is the stock water tight fittings good enough?

 

[Gula]

The receiver could be put into one of many receiver boxes available that are waterproof, like the traxxas ones that come on their rtr's.

Or use a latex balloon the "Og way", and stuff the receiver into and a zip tie it shut.

Wires are fine as they are.

Servo should be replaced with a Wp one regardless.

Esc should be replaced with a wp one that you can afford.

 

[amazingjameso]

Yea from watching some youtube vids and reading some stuff on the internet the chassis can get wet the way its designed but cant be fully submerged for long periods of time. My crawler is the Laegendary 1/10 scale Grando from amazon. But reading your post, looks like i should still consider upgrading to more WP components to protect the servo and receiver. which the receiver already looks like it's in a box. I tried inserting a pic but still cant figure that out yet lol.

 

[ferp420]

dont worrie about it your good those electronics likely wont last long anyway the water can only help you lol

 

[high plains drifter]

Hobbywing 1080 G2 ESC would be a good investment. Not sure about the quality/ longevity of the Grando but if you ever decide to replace it with a different brushed vehicle, the 1080 would be worth swapping over. About $43 on Amazon.

You might also consider upgrading the factory servo too. Amazon has some good options that won't break the bank.. decent torque and waterproof. Look at DSSERVO and ANNIMOS... $15-$30.

And if you're running NiMH you might benefit switching to lipo. You can grab Turnigy 3S packs for dirt cheap these days off of Hobby King. Amazon has a good selection of affordable lipos too. Just make sure that you familiarize yourself a bit with lipos and lipo capable chargers beforehand.

RCC is one of the best forums to get answers for additional questions you might have about any of this. The advice and expertise that you get here is top-shelf.

Welcome to the hobby.

 

[amazingjameso]

Hobbywing 1080 G2 ESC would be a good investment. Not sure about the quality/ longevity of the Grando but if you ever decide to replace it with a different brushed vehicle, the 1080 would be worth swapping over. About $43 on Amazon.

You might also consider upgrading the factory servo too. Amazon has some good options that won't break the bank.. decent torque and waterproof. Look at DSSERVO and ANNIMOS... $15-$30.

And if you're running NiMH you might benefit switching to lipo. You can grab Turnigy 3S packs for dirt cheap these days off of Hobby King. Amazon has a good selection of affordable lipos too. Just make sure that you familiarize yourself a bit with lipos and lipo capable chargers beforehand.

RCC is one of the best forums to get answers for additional questions you might have about any of this. The advice and expertise that you get here is top-shelf.

Welcome to the hobby.

Yea kanda scared of lipos right now lol, i bought two 3500 mah nimh 7.2 batts to use for now just to get some fun time in, plus im dedicating this rc to rock crawling so not much if any water yet for now, but for future i'll start looking for upgrades. Plus also watched a youtube vid the other night where a guy used marine grade grease on bearings and servos etc. one mod i do need to do at some point is to upgrade the axle. since i cant get full left and right since the wheels skip around do to a stock dogbone joint. but those i think are cheap to upgrade to a universal axle.

 

[ferp420]

your not going to find any decent upgrades for those axles what you will find is overpriced and still week and underperforming
if you can even find parts for those axles
maybe hsp maybe

and dump those nimh batterys there not worth the time it takes to charge them

 

[high plains drifter]

Yea kanda scared of lipos right now lol, i bought two 3500 mah nimh 7.2 batts to use for now just to get some fun time in, plus im dedicating this rc to rock crawling so not much if any water yet for now, but for future i'll start looking for upgrades.

I know how it feels so I won't try to push you any more than right here- You'll be hard pressed to find anyone that switched from NiMH to Lipo with any regrets. You're not going to want to ever run another NiMH pack once you experience all the benefits of lipo. Chargers have come a long way as well since lipo batteries hit the scene. It's all VERY easy, VERY safe, and the performance advantage is immediately evident... especially in the world of crawlers where extended run times are often essential to a fun day.

Anyway... If you ever decide to jump into lipos, the guys here can alleviate any concerns you might have.

 

[HumboldtEF]

Plus also watched a youtube vid the other night where a guy used marine grade grease on bearings and servos etc. one mod i do need to do at some point is to upgrade the axle. since i cant get full left and right since the wheels skip around do to a stock dogbone joint. but those i think are cheap to upgrade to a universal axle.

I'll just add that when first getting into the hobby you think you want to drive through water and mud. Later you find out its a ton of maintanance, tearing apart axles to clean out water and re-grease them (even when packed full of marine grease). Then you decide driving through water isnt worth it and its not even fun.
I dont waterproof anything anymore, just my 2 cents.

As for your axle skipping while steering, its not your dogbones and a new universal axle wont fix that (though it will be a good upgrade in terms of max steering angle). Axles skipping is simply the nature of a universal/dogbone axle shaft and is totally normal. CVD axles can be a bit better in this regard but there arent many platforms with this option available.

If you do go for Lipo's definitely look at the smart chargers/batteries. Most take care of everything for you from setting the right charge rate to discharging them after a certain time period being fully charged. Spektrums offerings are probably the best option at the moment.
Problems arise when improperly charging or leaving them fully charged too long so smart chargers and batteries have solved those issues.

 

[Greatscott]

What truck do you have? More than likely it has the necessary waterproofing already.

Fun fact, DC works under water, so a lot of the connectors and such are just fine getting wet. The only thing I take any real time to waterproof are the sensor connectors on my Castle systems, and a dab of dielectric grease normal does the trick.

What kills RCs, in particular, RC motors is not doing proper maintenance after running through mud/snow/water/sand/lava. The mere act of running through these mediums will shorten the life of your motor, but you can still get a good amount of life out of it. But, after a day's worth of running in these harsh conditions, you should pull the motor and clean it.

 

[amazingjameso]

What truck do you have? More than likely it has the necessary waterproofing already.

Fun fact, DC works under water, so a lot of the connectors and such are just fine getting wet. The only thing I take any real time to waterproof are the sensor connectors on my Castle systems, and a dab of dielectric grease normal does the trick.

What kills RCs, in particular, RC motors is not doing proper maintenance after running through mud/snow/water/sand/lava. The mere act of running through these mediums will shorten the life of your motor, but you can still get a good amount of life out of it. But, after a day's worth of running in these harsh conditions, you should pull the motor and clean it.

its the laegendary grando on amazon. i upgraded the grease in the diffs with heavy duty wheel bearing grese made for truck, cars, and boats, the smell reminds me of the grease used on old toys back in the day.

 

[Gula]

What truck do you have? More than likely

What kills RC motors is not doing proper maintenance after running through mud/snow/water/sand/lava. After a day's worth of running in these harsh conditions, you should pull the motor and clean it.

I'll continue with your almost complete instructions of the cleaning that the motor should be ran "voltage applied" under running fresh "clean" water until all water that comes out of it clear. Then apply a drop of oil to each motor bearing/bushing.

 

[cul8tr]

I spray Corrosion X in a small pickle jar (half way). Then I dip what ever in and then let it drip dry. Twist the lid down lightly on the wires to hold it. Servos I loosen the screws and open the case a little. So it's coated inside. I do motors, ecs's, servos, bec's, sensor cables and etc. Dielectric grease on sensor cables and rx plugs. My bro had problems with Futuba rx's. I told him to take the rx case apart and fill it full top and bottom with dielectric grease. Seems to be working for him. Clean the rx out occasionally as the dirt and grit builds up. Clean the bottom of the rx case with rubbing alcohol before using double side stick tape to mount the rx.

 

[Gula]

Well after years of holding off on buying what has been ranted and raved about, and it having almost doubled in price i got this for waterproofing electronics:

 

[Greatscott]

Well after years of holding off on buying what has been ranted and raved about, and it having almost doubled in price i got this for waterproofing electronics:

This is what I use for most of the electronics that do not come waterproofed from the factory.

Every 10A CC BEC I get my hands on gets coated. I carefully slice open the heat shrink and remove it. Then I give it three dunks into the conformal coating, allowing it to try between dunks, then put the heat shrink back on.