My Ultimate WATERPROOFING technic.. 100% proof and cheap.

This is my new found way to waterproof my electronics, simple and easy, non messy nor greasy, 100% waterproof and cheap !  Most importantly, the medium is not electrically conductive but is heat conductive, good for transferring heat to passive heat-sinks.



http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__21947__Quick_Cure_5_Min_Epoxy_Glue_9_oz.html

"QUICK-CURE 5 min. epoxy cures to a slightly flexible consistency. This lack of brittleness allows it to form a lasting bond in areas subjected to high vibration or stress."     This is excellent for vehicles that bump around a lot.

Full tap water submersion. Receiver and ESC


This is how it looks like when it's done, you'll see a layer of shimmer from the Epoxy.



While I presume most epoxies are non conductive, if you're using any other epoxy, it's best to test it with an ohm meter before applying it to your expensive electronics.  What you do is is just mix it and apply generously making sure all the SMDs are all fully covered, make a thick layer just to be sure.

This technique is cheaper than buying corrosive X or plastic dip, even so I have not tried those.  Previously I sealed the ESC within a cut beer can filled with marine grease but was never confident to fully submerge it in water.  This method you can be absolutely certain that it's sealed.  As an added bonus, it transfers heat great ! and you could easily epoxy a computer heat-sink and not use the small ones with an expensive ESC fan.

I am sharing this knowledge to everyone but I will not take responsibility if you mess yours up.

Very interesting, thanks for sharing!

I wasn't kidding about it being a good heat conductor.. with a big enough heat sink, it's COLD !

Well, your SCX10 isn't drawing a lot of power anyway, so even with the original heat sink it would get barely warm.

Heh, I'm running a 3S on a 27t motor @ 20t pinion, gets hot.

Nice sharing. Corrosion X cost 12sgd, HK epoxy 12.79usd. 100% waterproof... you are the first to have written this statement.

Cheers.

babyboy wrote:Nice sharing. Corrosion X cost 12sgd, HK epoxy 12.79usd. 100% waterproof... you are the first to have written this statement.

Epoxy is cheaper because I also use it for my planes... Corrosion X, I think I can only use it once or twice and the rest would be left on the shelf.

This is how Corrosion X works    ---   http://corrosionxproducts.com/howcxworkspage.htm

It forms an oily film that is magnetically attracted to metals, uses on PCBs are limited because they're non metal. While many have successfully used C.X for waterproofing their ESC, some had negative results.  

http://traxxas.com/forums/showthread.php?8935194-The-truth-about-corrosion-x-and-waterproofing-the-mmm!-Be-warned!

While the film can creep and spread until it reaches a minimum thickness of .0003, it's still a liquid film and can be accidentally removed as it is only attracted to metal and sticks to the rest like cooking oil on plastic.  The other question is, how thick can you get the C.X ?  Thicker is better insurance in my opinion.

Epoxy on the other hand is physically immovable unless you want to tear your ESC apart. When done correctly the epoxy actually grips all the SMDs and cables on the PCB rather then just sticky oil.

wiki extract http:

The decisive question, With Corrosion X, Are you confident to submerge your $100 electronics in conductive water like I did, and make a SCX10 Submarine ?

Actually all this spun from my work experience in the Avionics industry, where we used the product called 'Humiseal' to seal the circuit boards before service. It poured like nail polish but hardened like epoxy, and toluene was used to remove it when we needed to work on it.

I did some searching for using epoxy to weatherproof, it seems in the past someone did had a bad experience from it.  His epoxy shrunk and actually pulled the components out where the PCB failed eventually.  Only time will tell if this HK epoxy shrinks out my components.

Take my method with a pinch of salt for now (:

Ezekiel Freshmen wrote:Actually all this spun from my work experience in the Avionics industry, where we used the product called 'Humiseal' to seal the circuit boards before service. It poured like nail polish but hardened like epoxy, and toluene was used to remove it when we needed to work on it.

I did some searching for using epoxy to weatherproof, it seems in the past someone did had a bad experience from it.  His epoxy shrunk and actually pulled the components out where the PCB failed eventually.  Only time will tell if this HK epoxy shrinks out my components.

Take my method with a pinch of salt for now (:

Hi Ezekiel,

I am relatively new to crawling and i would like to use your epoxy method to waterproof my crawler's esc.
Please update us if the hobby king epoxy will shrink the pcb board of the esc.

Wow, good to know that others are considering my method.. Well, today my ESC is still working and that's 4 days since 12 May. This epoxy takes 2 hours to fully cure.

speedstream wrote:Hi Ezekiel,

I am relatively new to crawling and i would like to use your epoxy method to waterproof my crawler's esc.
Please update us if the hobby king epoxy will shrink the pcb board of the esc.

Almost a Month now, still working proper. I hereby endorse my waterproofing method !!! In fact I have use this technique on every other electronic part.



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