Help with water damage
12-05-2010, 02:06 PM
#1
Help with water damage
I was letting a buddy run my 1/8 scale buggy today and he sent it into a fresh water pond. Yeah!! I had a Castle 1800kv motor, Mamba Monster esc, spectrum rx, JR9100 servo in it. Anyone ever have any luck drying this stuff out? Any help would be great.
Thanks.
Thanks.
12-05-2010, 02:31 PM
#3
Open up the electronics... case off receiver, esc, take servo apart, etc... and let them dry. I would put them in the oven for half an hour on low, or let them sit in front of a hair dryer on low.
Give them a few days to make sure everything is 100% dry.
Motor will be fine, and probably the esc too. Castle has the esc "clear coated" to help waterproof it. RX and servo prob be ok if you got it unplugged pretty quick and can dry it out ASAP. Don't forget the battery... try blowing it out... take case off if you can. If it's a soft case, remove the shrink for sure. I lost a pack like that once (running a boat)
Give them a few days to make sure everything is 100% dry.
Motor will be fine, and probably the esc too. Castle has the esc "clear coated" to help waterproof it. RX and servo prob be ok if you got it unplugged pretty quick and can dry it out ASAP. Don't forget the battery... try blowing it out... take case off if you can. If it's a soft case, remove the shrink for sure. I lost a pack like that once (running a boat)
12-05-2010, 03:08 PM
#5
Open the cases of your electronics and put them in a pot with rice. Make sure the pot is airtight. The rice will suck the water out of the PCB and absorb it. Let them sit in the pot for at least 3 days.(dry them first with a towel and some air)
I saved my receiver with that trick.
I saved my receiver with that trick.
12-05-2010, 03:12 PM
#6
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (15)
DO NOT PUT ELECTRONICS IN THE OVEN OR USE A HAIR DRYER ON THEM!
Open up your electronics the best you can and pick up a bag of white rice from the store, fill a large tupperware bowl up about half way full of rice, place all of your electronics in the bowl and add more rice. Put the lid on and let everything sit for a week.
Blow out all of the electronics and clean with electrical cleaner if need be, wait till all of the cleaner has evaporated and then give everything a test outside of the car. If you got lucky you will have saved your electronics.
Make sure you test everything outside of the car first so if there's a fire you can unplug and not ruin anything else in the process.
Good luck.
Open up your electronics the best you can and pick up a bag of white rice from the store, fill a large tupperware bowl up about half way full of rice, place all of your electronics in the bowl and add more rice. Put the lid on and let everything sit for a week.
Blow out all of the electronics and clean with electrical cleaner if need be, wait till all of the cleaner has evaporated and then give everything a test outside of the car. If you got lucky you will have saved your electronics.
Make sure you test everything outside of the car first so if there's a fire you can unplug and not ruin anything else in the process.
Good luck.
12-05-2010, 03:16 PM
#8
Thanks guys.
I forgot to include that everything was completely submerged for about 1 minute and I flushed everything with WD-40 and motor spray (except the lipos) and then stuck everything in a sealed bowl with 3lbs of white rice.
Hopefully it will be alright.
Thanks for all of the help.
I forgot to include that everything was completely submerged for about 1 minute and I flushed everything with WD-40 and motor spray (except the lipos) and then stuck everything in a sealed bowl with 3lbs of white rice.
Hopefully it will be alright.
Thanks for all of the help.
12-05-2010, 04:10 PM
#11
Kick your 'buddy' in the nuts and make him buy new stuff to replace anything that turns out to be bad. 
Either that or go screw his wife/girlfriend, or barring that, do something to his full sized car and see how he likes it 
Either that or go screw his wife/girlfriend, or barring that, do something to his full sized car and see how he likes it
12-05-2010, 05:25 PM
#13
Lesson learned: find a new place to bash that isn't next to a pond...
12-05-2010, 05:32 PM
#14
Low heat won't hurt electronics, and it will dry them out fast. It works. I've done it and I know others have. I actually used a toaster oven IIRC.
This should be obvious, but... this doesn't mean bake it at 350* LOL
Low temp in the oven is maybe 170* and that's nowhere near hot enough to damage circuitry. (batteries not included of course)
Other tips are good also... should blow out with air first of course. And a shot of electrical cleaner would help dry out faster too. I would use a fan instead of soaking in rice.
This should be obvious, but... this doesn't mean bake it at 350* LOL
Low temp in the oven is maybe 170* and that's nowhere near hot enough to damage circuitry. (batteries not included of course)
Other tips are good also... should blow out with air first of course. And a shot of electrical cleaner would help dry out faster too. I would use a fan instead of soaking in rice.
12-05-2010, 05:39 PM
#15
Tech Fanatic
iTrader: (15)
The rice trick has saved me almost $6k in camera gear... the rice works and is the safest way to try and save electronics from water damage.
Letting electronics sit at 170* to dry them out might work faster but there's still a risk of damage. With the rice there is no risk at all.
Letting electronics sit at 170* to dry them out might work faster but there's still a risk of damage. With the rice there is no risk at all.
