UPDATED: Mavic Pro Platinum flying again after seawater submersion

[KeithLa]

MPP recovered from shallow sea water after power loss snafu on takeoff (dumb choice of takeoff spots to avoid mag interference, don't ask...think I forgot to check battery clicked in, after hundreds of flawless flights).

Fell ~12 feet from dock, submerged about five minutes. Rinsed in fresh water, now leaving out to dry in hot sun and breeze.

Has anyone ever seen a Mavic fly again after water recovery? Tips? Naturally, I won't attempt to power on until 100% dry.

FWIW, here is that dock, shot on a previous flight.

 

[Thomas B]

You could search it here..... but after rinsed with fresh water and allowed to dry in a dessication jar... you could tell us how it does, or doesn’t

try searching the forum with words ocean, seawater, saltwater, etc

 

[Meta4]

Fell ~12 feet from dock, submerged about five minutes. Rinsed in fresh water, now leaving out to dry in hot sun and breeze.
Has anyone ever seen a Mavic fly again after water recovery? Tips? Naturally, I won't attempt to power on until 100% dry.

I wouldn't waste any effort on it. Saltwater is death to electronics.
Even if you managed to get things going, it will only be temporarily.

MPP recovered from shallow sea water after power loss snafu on takeoff (dumb choice of takeoff spots to avoid mag interference, don't ask...think I forgot to check battery clicked in, after hundreds of flawless flights).

Your brief details are confusing, mentioning magnetic interference and battery latching?
What happened?

 

[KeithLa]

Your brief details are confusing, mentioning magnetic interference and battery latching?What happened?

Took off from a round pier top to avoid mag interference from steel in dock floor. Immediate power failure inches above ground, tumbled into water. Had previously taken off twice from that spot, but was still dumb, should have gone to the beach.

 

[MAvic_South_Oz]

I wouldn't waste any effort on it. Saltwater is death to electronics.
Even if you managed to get things going, it will only be temporarily.

. . . and could anyone really trust it ever again ?
It could fail at any future time from inevitable corrosion of electronics, that is just so fine and susceptible, it's a flying computer.

Even if the protocol of rinsing thoroughly with fresh water (preferably distilled), then bathing liberally in Isopropyl alcohol to disperse the water, and finally dried with silica gel in a sealed tub, it just wouldn't be worth the worry about it falling out of the sky some day in a bad place.

 

[gnirtS]

Its dead even if it appears to work now, stuff will start breaking weeks or a few months into the future.

 

[KeithLa]

Interesting, thanks. Surprised to hear it's so dire, even if rinsed before allowed to dry.

 

[Meta4]

Interesting, thanks. Surprised to hear it's so dire, even if rinsed before allowed to dry.

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[DanMan32]

If you have Care Refresh, consider using that. Or if you do resurrect it, wait and see if it fails before using your refresh. If you do wait, be sure to fly it where you can retrieve it if it ends up failing.

 

[KeithLa]

If you have Care Refresh, consider using that.

Insured with State Farm personal article protection, which covers loss, damage, and theft for $65/yr, so we'll see how that plays out.

 

[DanMan32]

Some have reported policy cancellations after a claim.

 

[KeithLa]

Some have reported policy cancellations after a claim.

Yup, definitely possible with PAP policies, but IMO they still make sense for high use, well traveled $1k+ drones at greater risk of theft and damage. (But I probably shouldn't turn this into yet another insurance thread on this forum!)

 

[bobscheel53]

Even a tiny amount of salt left behind will eventually corrode the electronics. Drying with dessicants doesn't remove it. Rinsing the boards with 0 residue solvents helps but doesn't get it all.

 

[Bigbird48]

I would use the ins and get a new drone and be safe and happy

 

[Flycaster]

Embed the "salty dog" in Lucite, and turn it into an Object d'Art, and get your new bird.
The only real thing salvageable are the props and the controller.

 

[SpitFire]

I agree, that the only thing salvageable are props, and the controller, also the body.
Going to gut mine, and replace parts a little at a time. Mean while looking for another Bird to fly. DJI offererd me $100.00 for the dead Bird, if I bought another one from them. Was going to cost me $800.00 to have it repaired. Mine fell into the Gulf when I vacationed in the pan handle area in Florida. Had pontoons on it, which kept it from sinking to the bottom of the ocean.

 

[TheRock]

No. Next question!!

Seriously, even if it does and it flies a while, saltwater seems to travel superfast across boards. Something will start to go wrong soon. I have a half-dozen cameras sitting on my shelf of shame to prove it. Hope I am wrong but I think it is toast.

 

[Racin8de]

Use the insurance, get a new drone . If they drop you they drop you.. USAA did that to me with my Mavic... Just get another insurance carrier if they do indeed drop you, but using the policy alleviates all the " what if's " if your drone will work again after going for a swim in the sea... I can almost guarantee you the controll board will be corroded when you open her up... Good luck in any even and be thankful you have insurance..

 

[DanMan32]

Thing is, insurance companies use a central clearing house, so even another carrier may deny coverage because of the claim.

 

[KeithLa]

UPDATE: My MPP has flown successfully 5 days after its submersion/rinse/dry, and again today 10 days later, with no sensor or other errors indicated in the DJI app, or flaky flying behavior. There was some initial gimbal grinding and overheating, but that's stopped and it's swiftly completed gimbal calibration multiple times.

However, the battery submerged with it is dead and bulging, so will be properly disposed of. (I may have forgotten to rinse it while focused on saving the MPP, discovered salt in the contacts a day later.) Another casualty appears to be the Loc8tor transmitter disk I had attached, which I also didn't think to open and rinse.

I'm still wary of long term internal corrosion, so am having it inspected and tested by a repair center, and will continue flying with extra caution.