Sea Spray.

Sencorp · May 21, 2017

Something that has been on my mind after looking over the Mavic for some time now is its intake vents and salt water sea spray. I have attached a video I shot recently (Edited) as I spent a lot of time recently at our Vacation cabin on the coast in New Zealand.
One of the things that always made me pause and conciser if it was worth it was the amount of Sea Spray coming up from the waves. On this trip to our cabin it was just on the heels of Cycolone Cook. The beach was carved out and the wave were so intense. Just looking down the coast you could see the water in the air and along with it SALT. Never a good thing for electronics. I just wanted to open a dialog about that very problem as some R&D talk never hurt anyone.
Video attached for reference .

Former Member · May 21, 2017

I think you should be ok based on the footage. You were never really low enough over the water for sea spray to get in, and your lens never had a drop of moisture on it. At one point you were about 15 feet altitude but you were over the sand and not the water.

Sea spray usually dries white on a surface. When your Mavic returned, did you see any liquid or dried spray on the bird or the props? Was anything wet?

Salt water and corrosion are your Mavics enemy. It can get in the propulsion motors, gimbal, and fan.

Sencorp · May 21, 2017

Thunderdrones said:
I think you should be ok based on the footage. You were never really low enough over the water for sea spray to get in, and your lens never had a drop of moisture on it. At one point you were about 15 feet altitude but you were over the sand and not the water.

Sea spray usually dries white on a surface. When your Mavic returned, did you see any liquid or dried spray on the bird or the props? Was anything wet?

Salt water and corrosion are your Mavics enemy. It can get in the propulsion motors, gimbal, and fan.

Thanks for the response. No , I have gone over it pretty well. Can not account for the internals of course. I have designed three S&R drones for over water and they have always been killers on the brushless and even the ESC at times. Most of the FC and RC controllers were always weather proofed and helped keep out the slat air but over time it would always cause destruction as air and water / moisture can not be stopped. I just cant help about life expectancy doing filming over saltwater or beaches with large surf. Something to keep in mind and add to the Pilot knowledge database.

Former Member · May 21, 2017

Sencorp said:
Thanks for the response. No , I have gone over it pretty well. Can not account for the internals of course. I have designed three S&R drones for over water and they have always been killers on the brushless and even the ESC at times. Most of the FC and RC controllers were always weather proofed and helped keep out the slat air but over time it would always cause destruction as air and water / moisture can not be stopped. I just cant help about life expectancy doing filming over saltwater or beaches with large surf. Something to keep in mind and add to the Pilot knowledge database.

Well the good news is that if you bought DJI Refresh when you bought your Mavic, you have 1 year after the effective date to make a claim. Usually corrosion will have reared it's ugly head by then in terms of intermittent signal, one or more motors not spinning at full rpm, or condensation or corrosion inside the camera lens and circuit board. Refresh now covers damage done by water, as long as it wasnt intentional, so you should be good to go for at least until your Refresh is active.

If you didnt buy Refresh, you might look into other types of drone damage and loss insurance since flying over water once or twice is risky, but continually doing it elevates your risk of loss or damage by salt water. Flying over fresh water is risky, but one dip in salt water for more than a few seconds can be fatal to a Mavic. It could instantly turn your Mavic into a death beeping paperweight.