MPP Saltwater swim and recovery.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Flew under a bridge, hit an old fishing line, splash. Nearby swimmer dived 10ft and gave it back to me within two minutes. I ran to the freshwater tap and started flushing through the CPU grill. filled toolbox with water and immersed the Mavic for the drive home. Flushed/rinsed/drained Three times in Distilled water for two hours. Blew water out of motors etc with Airgun. Placed in Fan Oven with 45C air being blown directly in to the front grill, left for Twelve hours. In morning placed new battery and switched on..

Thomas B · Mar 7, 2019

Didn’t see it in the video, but did the Gimble do it’s calibration dance?

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Thomas B said:
Didn’t see it in the video, but did the Gimble do it’s calibration dance?

Yes, and I made it perform a Gimbal Cal just to make sure. If this happens don't use Rice. PPL use Rice because they think heat will damage their device but even a fone with battery can take up to 60C without damage. Standing MPP CPU temp gets to 50C so 45C wont hurt it. Rice is too slow, you cant have water sitting on the PCB for Three days, not even a tiny bit because there are Mineral Salts in fresh tap water too.

Thomas B · Mar 7, 2019

Great info. Thanks for posting. I bookmarked your thread just in case I am unlucky enough to have a similar event.

Did you get the green rear light on the bird? Not clear to me.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Thomas B said:
Great info. Thanks for posting. I bookmarked your thread just in case I am unlucky enough to have a similar event.

Did you get the green rear light on the bird? Not clear to me.

The video was made at 3AM sry its a bit crappy, but yes, not having any nasty non-Green light at the Tail was all-important.
My DJI Insurance had just expired when I was on holiday, if I had Insurance I might not have tried to save it...

Mossiback · Mar 7, 2019

Congratulations! It is rare to hear a success story. You didn't mention but I am assuming you pulled and turned off the battery right away and gave it the same rince and dry routine?

Phantomrain.org · Mar 7, 2019

Skymax said:
Flew under a bridge, hit a an old fishing line, splash. Nearby swimmer dived 10ft and gave it back to me within two minutes. I ran to the freshwater tap and started flushing through the CPU grill. filled toolbox with water and immersed the Mavic for the drive home. Flushed/rinsed/drained Three times in Distilled water for two hours. Blew water out of motors etc with Airgun. Placed in Fan Oven with 45C air being blown directly in to the front grill, left for Twelve hours. In morning placed new battery and switched on..

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We tested the Phantom 4 last years with several hours in the lake submerged and got the same great results, flushing with fresh water is the key, most people fail at the flush because they are scared about any water and do not realize that the flush needs to be serious.

Since we make the Wet Suits for the Mavic Pro now this was really great to hear, Thank you for sharing and letting others know Fresh water is your friend.

Torcan · Mar 7, 2019

Good job, always happy to see someone come out of it with minimal problems. I guess the biggest was the stress waiting the 18 hours to see if it would be ok. I will definitely put this one in my library if ever I need to use it.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Mossiback said:
Congratulations! It is rare to hear a success story. You didn't mention but I am assuming you pulled and turned off the battery right away and gave it the same rince and dry routine?

The saltwater connectivity would have killed the battery almost instantly which is probably a good thing. Yes I attempted a flush of the batt but it didn't have vents like the MPP to allow water to flow in/out so when I opened the Batt case it was wet, smelled bad and completely dead, as expected.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Torcan said:
Good job, always happy to see someone come out of it with minimal problems. I guess the biggest was the stress waiting the 18 hours to see if it would be ok. I will definitely put this one in my library if ever I need to use it.

You make a very good point. I have seen another guys drop his Spark in a freshwater creek just for seconds and attempt to dry it out but near a log fire. BUT, after Three hours his curiosity got the better of him and he coudnt resist putting in another Batt to see if it still worked. Of course it was still wet inside and he fried everything that makes it fly, only the camera worked. So yes, resisting the urge to try-and-see was a bit hard but I knew my best chance was with a thorough drying process.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

PS: When bathing you're MP in a Tupperware container stand it on end, don't sit it flat, in turn so all the air can flow out of the vents and keep lifting and re-immersing it every Ten Minutes it so the Distilled water can flush in and out.

Skymax · Mar 7, 2019

Phantomrain.org said:
We tested the Phantom 4 last years with several hours in the lake submerged and got the same great results, flushing with fresh water is the key, most people fail at the flush because they are scared about any water and do not realize that the flush needs to be serious.

Since we make the Wet Suits for the Mavic Pro now this was really great to hear, Thank you for sharing and letting others know Fresh water is your friend.

Yes, it is actually Air that is the enemy after a submersion. Thanks for the info, I have been away so didn't know about the Wet Suits. Because I am a Kayaker much flying is done over water, but I wont be flying under any more bridges..

Wilbur · Mar 8, 2019

Another idea/way to remove moisture is to put it in the refrigerator. A big de-humidifier. Not tested by me... Yet.

Skymax · Mar 8, 2019

Wilbur said:
Another idea/way to remove moisture is to put it in the refrigerator. A big de-humidifier. Not tested by me... Yet.

I have been told that. But manufacturer’s know that their device customers will leave them in cars in Summer so they build them to take it. 21st Century Thermoplastics have amazing properties.