Brushless Winter

[Jazzler]

Ok, guys...

Some of you may have seen my car lately.. and it wouldn't have taken a rocket scientist to notice that I have been trying to pre-pair for the winter/wet weather.. And I wanted to share my experience and findings with you.

So far I have tried Silicon in a tube, and Plastidip liquid tape (cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=310184195608)

Now in my own experience, I have found that the liquid tape is absolutely fantastic and by far easier to apply as well as being more aesthetically pleasing. While the silicon in a tube does still work, it doesn't seem to last as long when thinly applied. and doesn't look very nice either.

With the liquid tape, You paint it on, and it shrink dries to leave a water tight seal over whatever you put it on. Now I even went as far as to remove the pcb boards from my esc and recievers, cover them and re-fit them into their original housings.. which proved very good and has allowed me to run in the rain without any issue at all. EDIT:(But I don't see this is a requirement)

I have even removed the sensor board from my motor, sealed it totally with the liquid tape, re-fitted it to the motor, and given it a good test by running it all weekend at Yateley SLCC this weekend (Those that were there saw that my motor did NOT let me down at all in Saturday's rain, and Sunday's hot sun regardless. Even though it is completely covered in liquid tape). This motor has a completely sealed sensor board, which looks identical on the outside as an un treated motor, with the only difference being that it can run in the pouring rain, sensored without skipping a beat.

I have also now covered the entire esc (except the center of the heat sync) in the liquid tape, with a sensor cable fitted also covered, which means I have a completely water tight esc and motor sensor board now. For a total of £11 I am fully prepared for the winter racing season, and when the summer season comes back, I can either leave it as is, or just peal it off..(ok, this will take a while to peal off but so far I have been able to achieve this when testing)

It's obviously only as good as it is applied so if you miss bits then it cannot block water out, but in my opinion it is superb stuff and I will be running all winter like this outdoor. I would also recommend using it to seal the servo, although so far I have found that this was not needed myself.

It's also my understanding that Lazy Goo is the same kind of thing (only a little cheaper in price) rclazy.com/shop/lazygoo/lazy-goo/

So those that want to compete with me this winter, and still want to run sensored brushless motors... I recommend this stuff.

[yellowshark]

Great post jason. Dumbo here uses the same type of product for masking when spraying 1:43 scale models.It never occurred to me to use it as a water repellant. Is there any real advantage in sealing the esc circuit board if you have sealed the housing? I am not sure I want to start mucking around with the board on a £200+ piece of kit!
Does your motor (sorry Les, engine) have air vents? Just wondering if the tape spreads across holes OK

[Jazzler]

Thanks Pete,

I don't think there is an advantage to doing the internal circuit board as well on the esc really. I only did it as I have been testing a few ideas, one idea was to just cover the boards internally and re fit it to the original housing, so that it looks completely standard. However I think the better option is to cover and completely seal the housing (Although beware if you plan to do the Tekin Pete, as I think it uses the solder posts as a heat sync, so may not want to cover those).

I did this to my £50 hobbywing, since I have only been testing really, and that copes very well (I too did not want to mess with my £200 board on the Tekin ). Also with the Hobbying the heat sync is fitted directly to the fets and sealed with a thermal compound, leaving the top exposed (so sealing the edges so water doesn't drip through the gaps is very important). This means I still get virtually all the benefit from the standard heat sync, and even run without a fan, with boost and turbo in 13.5 its not been getting too hot.. So I'm pleased with the results

My motor does have air vents, but in my testing, it only seems to be the sensor board getting wet that effects whether or not the motor runs smoothly or not (Might be different for other motors, but this is the case for me running the Trinity Duo2). So I have only sealed the sensor board with a thin layer of the liquid tape, and this seems to work perfectly so far.

[Reuben]

This is a really good idea, and I was sceptical at first that covering the sensorboard would still let it detect the rotor properly. But after seeing how Jas's car worked fine at Yately all weekend with water proofed electrics (even in the dry and heat we had), I will definitely be getting some of this stuff for a wet brushless car.

Pete, Jas is right, its the sensor board that need covering - and mayb the contacts behind the endbell (so not to short out in severe wet conditions). Take a look at this for someone who did something similar: www.youtube.com/user/Skiddins#p/u/13/PEbMuUKZA5U

Does it come in Purple?

[yellowshark]

Yup the posts are the heat sink; you cover those at your extreme peril! I reality I think we would stick with the ISTC in the wet car (as against your better all weather setup), not convinced it would be any disadvantage.

The stuff I use for modelling is purplish Reuben! But I am going to do comparison. It is after all a mask and may not be as robust as the liquid tape

[yellowshark]

Just been onto the website. If you are happy to have the job as a more permanent fixture then the alternative is the original Plasti Dip. This comes in orange which will go very nicely with your new 011 ;D

[Reuben]

Am I getting a 011 for next year then?

[yellowshark]

Obligatory only if you want your liquid tape to match your wheel nuts, battery tape and superstructure ;D