[RCRick]

Water and electronics generally don't mix well. With the greasing of my axles complete I felt I need to further bullet proof the electronics.
Currently I run most of my gear in lock and lock boxes but this is just a bit more insurance on keep the Axial speed controller safe.

Tools:
Flat Head screw driver.
Modeling Knife or any knife sharp enough to cut.

Materials
Plastidip or Liquid Electric Tape.



optional step - would be soldering iron / flux / solder

GOING FURTHER VOIDS YOUR WARRANTY

Remove the esc and take your knife and slice lightly through the sticker. This is going to allow you to pop the case apart.



To pop it apart i used the flat head. Gently slide the flat head it and pop the base off. Be cautious as the board will be coming out with it. Tape any wires together to help you remember how the case is returned.



The base of the axial speed controller popping out.


The electronics is clipped in as well via the side wall of the case. A little bit of encouragement got it out Try not to damage the case as we will be reusing it.



Try not to touch the electronics and chips. Static electricity is bad. We are going to be using liquid electrical tape on this.


After we have coated the chip board 1-2x we will be replacing it into the bottom of the case. A little trick I use is to put a ton of liquid electrical tape in the bottom of the case before you pop the chip board back in.



This is coat 1. Try not to cover the heat sink as best you can but have the liquid electrical tape run between the chips and around the heat sink. Once it has cured another coat should help cover up any spots of concern.



I made a little stand for the ESC while I water proofed it. Notice the angle of the board, its done unpurpose. I wanted the liquid watertape to run over the chips and below the heat sink.


Water proofing festival


From here on out its all about your preference on coats and how you want to reassemble. As I said I like to add more liquid electrical tape to the bottom of the case before installing the board. I also added a bit more when the top of the case was added. Reinstall. You will (yes you will) be able to see the LEDs with 2 coats on No need for cutting around those.

Optional Step
The on and off switch can be a weak point. While mine has been submerged I decided to remove it all together and just have the truck power on via battery connect. Now there are pros and cons to this but for me, having the electronics in a lock and lock below a lexan body that isnt as easy to remove I found this to be a perfect option. I never did like the dangling on / off switched.

Tools to do this??? I used my soldering iron, flux, wire and when complete I sealed the connection with liquid electrical tape and then some heat shrink.

[Max]

Funny to see this. Glad I did.

I bought a can of this stuff after I had my plane go for a swim a few weeks ago.
I also bought a small bottle of liquid silicone circuit board protector.

+ YouTube Video

After my dunking, I fried my ESC, and blew my OSD (Autopilot for you car guys)
ESC was only 20 bucks to replace but the autopilot is $150!
Everything else survived after I took them all apart and dried it out.

So, I am planning on doing this waterproofing thing.

But I notice my ESC has a huge gap between the heat-sink and the circuit board. The other side is pretty flat and should be easy to coat and waterproof. its the side with the heat-sink that has me worried- Is it OK to just run the liquid electrical tape all around and seal off the gap between the circuit board and heat-sink? The gap seems really big. Is it even possible to create a waterproof seal between the two?

[moo]

In the electronics industry it's called conformal coating, got a can somewhere still I think.



made it real pig to do repairs to the speed controls

[RCRick]

Originally Posted by Max

But I notice my ESC has a huge gap between the heat-sink and the circuit board. The other side is pretty flat and should be easy to coat and waterproof. its the side with the heat-sink that has me worried- Is it OK to just run the liquid electrical tape all around and seal off the gap between the circuit board and heat-sink? The gap seems really big. Is it even possible to create a waterproof seal between the two?

The axial has a pretty decent gap too between the board and the heat sink.
Here are 2 pics showing the gap.
All i did was do 1 initial heavy coat and got right up beside the heat sink. A lot of the liquid electrical tape ran under it. The second coat was even better, sealed up the sides and a bit onto the heat sink.





Thinking out loud.... i have used silicone before, mostly on the boxes I have made to keep electronics in. Under some vibration or torque the silicone has pulled away in the past. If i were using silicone I would fill under and around the heat sink, let set for 24 hours. Then still coat the electronics with liquid electrical tape. When the electrical tape is cured it makes a rubbery layer that even if the silicone pulls off slighting, it keeps a pliable barrier.

[Max]

Originally Posted by moo

In the electronics industry it's called conformal coating, got a can somewhere still I think.

Ya, that's the stuff. I forgot what they called it.."Conformal Coating" Thanks.
Bought it at Sayal. Pricey but ya gotta waterproof what ya gotta waterproof

Originally Posted by RCRick

The axial has a pretty decent gap too between the board and the heat sink.
Here are 2 pics showing the gap.

Yup, that's about as big a gap as I have on mine. Thanks for the advice.

[Tomahawk]

When I was waterproofing my electronics for my Mako Seaplane I used two products. I used the Conformal Coating but the Acrylic Lacquer version on my receiver and satellite not the silicon version shown earlier. I removed the cover and shrink wrap and sprayed it directly on the circuit boards. I did protect the pins to keep the coating off them. After it was dry I put the cover and heatshrink back on.
With the ESC I removed the heatshrink and heatsink and dunked the speed controller into a jar of Corrosion X for 15 to 20 minutes. Pulled it out. Let it drip dry. At least as dry that I didn't have any liquid running down the wires. Put the heatsink and shrink back on and have had no problems with it all last summer. I was told that there have been issues dunking servos in Corrosion X so I mostly tried to seal up the entry points with the Corrosion X and Vasoline. I also added Corrosion X to the servo plugs.

Chris

You Tube

You Tube

[Dangaras]

The MG conformal coating can also been purchased as a liquid in a can. This stuff is used by the military to protect electronics from BOILING salt water.

I have built devices that were coated in the MG conformal coating, with UV tracer, by dipping the whole thing into the can allowed to dry and repeated 5 times...

Then dipped in boiling salt water for 15 minutes & they all powered up and ran ok...

All moving parts and contacts had to be protected or designed off the PCB assembly.

[doc0071]

the easiest way is to dunk in corrosion x . it works 4 the Canadian army.

[scaccima]

Another great tutorial!

[Meafordguy]

Apparently plasti-dip has been rendered illegal in Canada. Anyone know of a substitute?