Salt air protection for MA2

[Nitram15]

I sometimes fly my MA2 over surf,with the obvious risk of a coating of surf spray.

Are there any recommendation for protecting the motors, like application of GTX 85, not WD40.

Is there any protection available,or needed, to prolong the life of these motors.

I’m thinking that the internal fan will project an outward flow of air to prevent ingress of this salt spray to the body..

 

[Phantomrain.org]

I sometimes fly my MA2 over surf,with the obvious risk of a coating of surf spray.

Are there any recommendation for protecting the motors, like application of GTX 85, not WD40.

Is there any protection available,or needed, to prolong the life of these motors.

I’m thinking that the internal fan will project an outward flow of air to prevent ingress of this salt spray to the body..

You might consider getting the Wet Suit for the Air 2 , comes with prop Protectors and Battery and power button protectors alows you to fly in the Rain but can really add support to flying in salt spray.

You might not be able to get on the Website.
So hear is a video , and we offer the Forum Members a nice discounted Package
Email me at [email protected]

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Air 2 in the Rain and Land on Water.

 

[lannes]

Most of the electronics and circuit boards will have a conformal coating.
The electrical connectors won't be protected as the are upluggable.
There is probably no way of completely protecting the MA2 without compromising the cooling.
The internal fan sucks air in for air flow so the salt air will get inside the body shell some way or another.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Most of the electronics and circuit boards will have a conformal coating.
The electrical connectors won't be protected as the are upluggable.
There is probably no way of completely protecting the MA2 without compromising the cooling.
The internal fan sucks air in for air flow so the salt air will get inside the body shell some way or another.

We have found no evidence of that fan sucking in any salt air , and we have many clients that keep us informed with or without a wet suit.. So unless your going thru the splash zone , that should not be a concern.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain / Snow

 

[lannes]

We have found no evidence of that fan sucking in any salt air , and we have many clients that keep us informed with or without a wet suit.. So unless your going thru the splash zone , that should not be a concern.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain / Snow

I was not referring to the wetsuit solution but the MA2 in it's normal state

 

[Meta4]

We have found no evidence of that fan sucking in any salt air ,

I wonder where it gets air from then?

 

[CactusJackSlade]

You might try some hydrophobic spray.

 

[Angel new MA2]

I sometimes fly my MA2 over surf,with the obvious risk of a coating of surf spray.

Are there any recommendation for protecting the motors, like application of GTX 85, not WD40.

Is there any protection available,or needed, to prolong the life of these motors.

I’m thinking that the internal fan will project an outward flow of air to prevent ingress of this salt spray to the body..

Unfortunately the fan is moving the air from intake to outlet
There is nothing to stop tha salt entering the electronics
Covering the drone will make Thinks worst
Moisture and salt will not dry
The salt itself is not that bad...the moist salt is what is corrosive
It is therefore better to let the Dron dry out when not sprayed during flight
The rain jacket is good for rain (no salt) and mechanical protection not for moist salt

 

[Phantomrain.org]

MA2" data-source="post: 1204816" class="bbCodeBlock bbCodeBlock--expandable bbCodeBlock--quote js-expandWatch">

Unfortunately the fan is moving the air from intake to outlet
There is nothing to stop tha salt entering the electronics
Covering the drone will make Thinks worst
Moisture and salt will not dry
The salt itself is not that bad...the moist salt is what is corrosive
It is therefore better to let the Dron dry out when not sprayed during flight
The rain jacket is good for rain (no salt) and mechanical protection not for moist salt

So here is my issue with Salt Spray ?

As the ocean water evaporates into water vapor, a gas, the salt itself is left behind in the ocean.
Thus, all that remains is the pure water vapor which eventually condenses back into a cloud droplet so heavy winds would not mean that the drone is getting salt sprayed by the wind.

Im pretty sure Hurricanes dont have the Power to pick up salt spray either so if you could fly in a hurricane the drone would not be salt sprayed,.

We have a lot of clients that fly over the ocean and not once has anyone stated that they have Salt Spray on there drone or that it got into the fans. The fans just dont have that power to move that kind of mass .

Now if the drone were to be Splashed by a wave of Ocean water this is where the Wet Suit can really save the drone and the battery and the Power Button from being Compromised as well as offering some protection to the Prop Motors.

But there is a big difference in flying over the water compared to taking on a wave of salt water , the wet suit has benefits to offer in both cases simply because its ability to protect the battery . .

Phantom Rain Wet Suits are without a doubt the best line of Defense for Flying into and close to the Waves.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly your Mavic in the Rain/Snow

 

[Meta4]

So here is my issue with Salt Spray ?

As the ocean water evaporates into water vapor, a gas, the salt itself is left behind in the ocean.
Thus, all that remains is the pure water vapor which eventually condenses back into a cloud droplet so heavy winds would not mean that the drone is getting salt sprayed by the wind.

A drone doesn't have to be physically splashed.
The thing about oceans is that they are big and have lots of wave action caused by winds blowing over them for hundreds or even thousands of miles.
Waves cause lots of splashing and sea air ends up full of atomised seawater as anyone that lives near the sea could tell you.
The sea air is laden with salt and the internal fan of a drone cannot do anything but suck in the outside air (together with it's cargo of salt).

 

[Phantomrain.org]

A drone doesn't have to be physically splashed.
The thing about oceans is that they are big and have lots of wave action caused by winds blowing over them for hundreds or even thousands of miles.
Waves cause lots of splashing and sea air ends up full of atomised seawater as anyone that lives near the sea could tell you.
The sea air is laden with salt and the internal fan of a drone cannot do anything but suck in the outside air (together with it's cargo of salt).

Yes , I do get the atomized aerosol particles of salt laden air do effect metals over time but were talking drones flights ?
so there would have to be some pretty big number of drone flights to effect the drone in that way from salt laden air.

When I think of flying a drone over the Ocean I am thinking about a Particle of Salt that you say would get sucked into the fan , the fan would be blocked and the drone would crash into the Ocean this is why I say the Fans dont have that kind of power . I take off on the Sand and that sand does not get vacuumed into it.

So my translation is a bit off as to atomized particles.

 

[Meta4]

When I think of flying a drone over the Ocean I am thinking about a Particle of Salt that you say would get sucked into the fan , the fan would be blocked and the drone would crash into the Ocean this is why I say the Fans dont have that kind of power . I take off on the Sand and that sand does not get vacuumed into it.

Sea air is full of salt

 

[SkyeHigh]

Sea air is full of salt

Absolutely true. Ask any photographer or anyone wearing glasses to look at their lens’s after a stroll along the beach.

The aircraft’s fan absolutely will draw in salt laden moist air and it will get deposited inside the aircraft.

Further out to sea, free of waves, the amount of salt in the air will be considerably less.

 

[lannes]

Yes , I do get the atomized aerosol particles of salt laden air do effect metals over time but were talking drones flights ?
so there would have to be some pretty big number of drone flights to effect the drone in that way from salt laden air.

When I think of flying a drone over the Ocean I am thinking about a Particle of Salt that you say would get sucked into the fan , the fan would be blocked and the drone would crash into the Ocean this is why I say the Fans dont have that kind of power . I take off on the Sand and that sand does not get vacuumed into it.

So my translation is a bit off as to atomized particles.

Salty air is corrosive even many miles inland, you can't really avoid it with the airflow through the air intakes as the drone flies.

https://pomametals.com/salt-air-inland-distance-for-metal/

 

[Brockrock]

I mainly fly over the water (salt water), and I can attest to a salt residue on the camera lens at the end of most flights, and that is not flying close to surf. That is simply flying over the ocean, and I have hundreds of hours doing so with a Phantom 4, Mavic 2 Pro, and Mavic Air 2. The best way to mitigate internal corrosion within the UAV is to eliminate the one element of corrosion that you do have some control of, and that is the air moisture levels during storage. I keep all of my equipment stored in a garage with a humidity level set at 40%-50%.

Several years ago, I did begin having intermittent gimbal initialization issues with my orignal Phantom 4. I ended up removing the gimbal assembly and resetting all of the tiny connectors, and I used an old toothbrush to clean them as much as I could. I also discovered that the leading edges of the cooling fan's blades were coated in salt residue - which I also cleaned - so it does get in. With the connectors cleaned and reset, that P4 is still flying today, and I attribute that to keeping it dry when not in use.