Brushless in the snow?

[Lonewolf039]

I recently picked a nib Twin Force and have been having a blast with it in the snow.


The stock Kyosho 550 motors had pretty good power with a pair of intellect 4200 bats, but I blew a brush holder today, which fried one of the motors.


Now my question is, who all is running a brushless motor in a basher in the snow? I would like to go brushless, but don't want to destroy the motor if it can't take the abuse. I am picking up a pair of Great Planes s-600 motors tomorrow to make due, and hopefully after x-mas, will be getting an 8XL to go with the MM I have sitting around. So what all can I do to make the motor snow proof, or at least snow resistant

[Lonewolf039]

Ok, so I've been searching for the last 3 hours, and I have found lots on waterproofing esc's, servos and such, but very little on motors. The best I found was here, http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/show...ght=waterproof, posted by Sedri. Here is a quote from his post on waterproofing motors:


"As for the motor itself, I haven't figured out the best way. Some people just make sure the rear endbell is clean, then cut a square piece of good quality electrical tape (which is rubberized, by the way) and put the square of tape over the rear bearing area. That way, you can EASILY and very cheaply check and replace this "cover", and it's foolproof for a quick romp in the snow. As for where the wires go into/through the motor (if you don't have a Lehner with the brass tubes, that is) RTV sealant, just enough to seal that area, seems to work great. The only problem left is the front endbell/output shaft if you use an endbell mount. I use canclamp mounts, so this is no problem for my motor. Simply another trip to the hardware store, ask where the plastic table-leg/chair-leg end caps are, and look for one that will slide snugly over the end of your motor (typically 36mm for "540" sized motors)

You will only need to drill a hole in the center for the output shaft, and the plastic caps conveniently have a dimple right in the center already, so it's super easy to put a hole in the center. This won't be 100% waterproof - you can't drive it underwater - BUT, in my Landmax Rally, which I've driven in the rain, through puddles, in the snow and generally everywhere, my only contamination problems have been with seizing and/or rusting wheelbearings - and those were rubber-sealed bearings, no less! Water was running off of everything after my most fun drive in the snow; you'd think that I had driven my car through the car wash!

Good luck!"

Well the mamba max IS waterproof, so you dont need to worry with that

And then motors, theres no way to seal them, you know the best ways, but you cant seal them up.... Just run it, and clean the bearings after so they dont rust and you will be fine

I dont have much experience with bigger motors, but I have ran the MM in POURING rain, and have raced many many times in the rain with novak, and orion sensored motors....

[jhautz]

you dont need to seal the motor or anything. just get some motor cleaner and spray the motor out to remove the moisture when your done. a drop or 2 of bearing oil on the bearings when your done wouldnt be a bad idea either.

[Lonewolf039]

Thanks, I have everything else good to go, just wanted to double check on the motor issue. The guy at the LHS was dead set against running any brushless motor in any condition that might present moisture, but I run all my trucks in any weather. He was saying something about the magnets rusting, but I think if you clean the motor after a run in the snow, it should be OK.