Simon Chaddock Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 In the usual banter between IC and electric it was said the IC engines can stand getting wet whereas electric cannot. I was fairly sure that a brushless would work perfectly well fully submerged as at the low voltages concerned water does not conduct electricity readily and the windings are insulated anyway. And it does! Of course corrosion would be an issue, particularly in the ball bearings, if left for any length of time but it doesn't half stir up the water! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 ....well done simon.......one of my electric models crashed and we couldn't find the nose/motor....after a search we found it completely submerged in a dirty pool of water.......took it home left it on the central heating boiler and assembled it all back together the next day...and it ran like a goodin......it was a turnigy ken anderson ne...1.......wet dept..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevin b Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Bet you can't do that with an FS40 ! Well at least not for as long. The moral being I suppose, if you fly from water, fly electric. Then if you land inverted, you can still get back to shore. kevinb Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ronaldo Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 Hey !! ... at last a perfect solution for those 'aquaplaning' takeoffs and landings on my wet flying field ... go electric ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ken anderson. Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 also i'm sure that the done thing was to run 'brushed' motors in - a cup of soapy water to get the brushes bedded in super quick....... ken anderson....ne...1 brushed motor dept. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Malcolm Fisher Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I seem to remember that it was recommended to "run in" brushed motors under water so I can't see any reason why a brushless motor wouldn't work. Years ago when I worked in a foundry with an electric induction furnace, we managed to flood the pit in which it sat. It was only noticed when the furnace was tilted. The mains powered motor which operated the hydraulic ram to tilt the furnace was completely submerged and ran perfectly well. Needless to say, the pump in the pit was turned on very smartly to empty the water and this motor too was running under water. I don't know what would have happened had the water reached the bus bars which supplied the power to the furnace coils. Malcolm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkippyUK Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I've dumped planes into shallow pools on the beach and picked them up and chuckked them off again with no problems - just spray WD40 when I get home to stop the salt getting at the bearings. I also used to run brushed Zagi motors in water to bed the brushes in - a sqirt with WD40 afterward and they worked fine till the brushed burnt down too far - we did run them HOT!!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rich too Posted May 14, 2013 Share Posted May 14, 2013 I have no idea why, but I believe that some guys run them in that way - in water...Rich edit, maybe i was thinking of brushed.... Edited By Dickster on 14/05/2013 20:43:18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YakMad Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 When the weather is bad, which looks like most of the time now a few of us do a bit of scale rock crawling mostly using cheap 540 size brushed motors, all the electronics are waterproofed except the motor. These motors spend most of their life submerged under water or covered in mud and apart from a quick spray of motor cleaner at the end of the day and the odd drop of oil on the plain bearings they never give any trouble and usually last 6 months to a year of this abuse before the brushes fail. The brushless motors used by some are sealed units but this is more to protect the bearings than anything else. We have found were water has gotten to the ESC or RX (2.4 only) its the ESC which dies as once the RX is dried out it works perfectly again although I would never consider using it in any of my aircraft. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ruprect Spode Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Waterproof Tx and you have the perfect solution for flying in Britain. Yesterday was a prime example, the wind dropped(excellent) the rain started(bummer). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Allan Bowker Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Excellent work Simon, very interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Frank Skilbeck Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 The real problem would be corossion if you flew off saltwater, but if you dunked the motor the best approach would then be to wash the salt off with lots of fresh water before drying it out completely. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Biggles' Elder Brother - Moderator Posted May 15, 2013 Share Posted May 15, 2013 Posted by Ruprect Spode on 15/05/2013 12:11:35: Waterproof Tx and you have the perfect solution for flying in Britain. Yesterday was a prime example, the wind dropped(excellent) the rain started(bummer). Ain't that true! BEB Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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