CAN BATTERY CONNECTIONS AND ON/OFF SWITCH BE IN A WET AREA?

[subdog]

A few quick questions if someone can assist. I want to run a few things in a wet area of the hull.

a. Can tamiya battery connections be run ina wet area of the hull (submerged) without problems?

b. Can the receiver/controller on/off switch be run wet (submerged) without problems?

Thanks beforehand.

[JWLaRue]

Absolutely.

While it is recommended that

Absolutely.

While it is recommended that battery connections and such be covered with something like RTV to waterproof them and to prevent/minimize corrosion, I've never bothered to do it. If you don't, you will get some electrolytic corrosion on the positive teminal of the battery....but I've found that I typically wear out the battery before the corrosion becomes anywhere near to being a problem.

The above is only true in water that is relatively fresh. Saltwater and very heavily chlorinated pools create conditions where you can get a voltage drop across the open terminals of the battery.

-Jeff

[subdog]

Thank you..that helps. So, for

Thank you..that helps. So, for the receiver, esc on/off switch, should I treat it or coat it with anything?

Absolutely.

While it is recommended that battery connections and such be covered with something like RTV to waterproof them and to prevent/minimize corrosion, I've never bothered to do it. If you don't, you will get some electrolytic corrosion on the positive teminal of the battery....but I've found that I typically wear out the battery before the corrosion becomes anywhere near to being a problem.

The above is only true in water that is relatively fresh. Saltwater and very heavily chlorinated pools create conditions where you can get a voltage drop across the open terminals of the battery.

-Jeff

[JWLaRue]

Ahhh....I thought you meant the

Ahhh....I thought you meant the on/off switch....not the receiver itself.

All of the active electronics (receiver, speed controller, pitch controller, etc.) should be placed in the dry space of the dive module.

...sorry for the confusion,

Jeff

[paul von braun]

Yeah, what you need to

Yeah, what you need to have is a BEC on the radio side of things (most ESC units should have one anyway) - just the main battery to run the who shebang, as Jeff said.

Paul.

[ramius-ii]

Just my 2 cents

While having a switch in the wet part is possible, the biggest problem is that once the switch becomes internally flooded, the water may not drain! Thus, the switch contacts can be affected. Inside any switch is a small amount of grease for proper switch operation. When there is water, depending upon the type of grease, your switch may just "lock-up" on you and fail to operate. You can purchase water proof and water tight switches from most electronic stores and they can be expensive. There are a number of alternatives depending on your electronic skill level. One, you can use the automobile blade type fuse to make the switch connection. Insert the fuse to turn on, remove to turn off. You could use a magnetic type switch. You could encapsulate your switch and use a rubber boot for the toggle. My personal favorite is the wireless keychain transmitter used for car alarms from http://www.rentron.com/.

Best, Ed

[JWLaRue]

Good advice, Ed. The choice

Good advice, Ed. The choice of switch can be very important.

...and then there's the 'solution' that some of us use: no switch at all! Just connect/disconnect the lead from the battery.....

-Jeff

[subdog]

Thank you all. The rubber

Thank you all. The rubber boot for the on/off switch is a great idea. I will try that.