Weather proofing a Trx-4 for the snow

[Cheetah928]

Hey guys, I got a plow for the season, and I tested it, and there was steam coming off of my motor. I want to weather proof it a little better so I don’t burn it out and make a safety hazard. What have you guys done to make yours more weather proof? All suggestions welcome! And lets see your plow builds!

 

[WickedFog]

You can run a brushless motor underwater believe it or not.

The things you need to worry about is your servo, receiver, and possibly the ESC. Most ESC's have their pcb completely encased in epoxy resin. So they aren't as susceptible to water hurting them. But your servo and Rx can get damaged, even though most RC's nowadays claim to be waterproof - that's a bogus claim.

You can however conformal coat the boards in the Rx and servo. That will help a lot.

I wouldn't worry about steam coming from the motor except to say make sure it's not going over 160°F. You have an infrared temp gun?

 

[nino]

Where's the problem? You have a watercooled motor!

 

[floe]

It is not an issue. Yes water will get into the stock brushed motor but just blow it out when you are done driving and you will be fine. The TRX4 is in stock configuration designed to be run in wet conditions and can even be fully submerged as long as you dry it out and do routine maintenance afterwards.

If the motor finally wears out it is VERY inexpensive to replace the stock brushed motor on the TRX4.

 

[Xraycer]

You can run a brushless motor underwater believe it or not.

The old school guys still break-in a new brushed motor by running it fully submerged in water.

 

[WickedFog]

The old school guys still break-in a new brushed motor by running it fully submerged in water.

Oh, yeah, I still would if I used anything brushed.

 

[ZaneC]

The old school guys still break-in a new brushed motor by running it fully submerged in water.

I'm still trying to figure out how that works...

 

[WickedFog]

I'm still trying to figure out how that works...

It's DC current. I think it's just not enough current to be that big a problem. Now, drop a 110v line in water and watch the fireworks happen.

 

[Xraycer]

I'm still trying to figure out how that works...

Not everyone agrees with water break-ins, such as Holmes Hobbies.

 

[nino]

Yeah I think water break in is unnecessary. But you can do it for fun.
Fact: clean water is not a conductor! Of course, everything becomes a conductor with enough voltage.

The most trouble you can have with running in water are seized bearings.

 

[WickedFog]

Yeah I think water break in is unnecessary. But you can do it for fun.
Fact: clean water is not a conductor! Of course, everything becomes a conductor with enough voltage.

The most trouble you can have with running in water are seized bearings.

I did the whole water break-in on my old Wasp motors for my 24th scale slot cars, and it made a huge different in brush/commutator longevity, as well as a bit of a performance boost it seemed. But immediately after break-in I soaked the motor in WD40, then let it dry. I never had a problem. But then again, those motors never saw the outside world, or any excess humidity. I'll likely never use a brushed motor again, so it's not that big a deal for me whether this process works on crawler motors and such or not. But I would be curious to find out if this process wouldn't be fine on motors that do see humidity and weather conditions. I might take a couple old brushed motors and sacrifice them in the name of science some day