Waterproofing your Drone

[Dan]

I've been absent here for a while. (Work, Kids, Mopar, and Scooters).... Yes Scooters. I picked up 5 of the Xiaomi Mi Scooters (yes, the same one that Bird Rents throughout different metropolitan areas).
We'll there is a huge use of these scooters over in Europe and Russian which can be major area for rain and people are depending upon their scooters to get them around in leu of their vehicle. So I dug in and found some good info on how to keep the scooters from being damaged or at least minimize any potential damage in the rain. These 2 products seem to be key.

Silicone Conformal Coating is used to spray onto the circuit boards and any connections. The nice thing is you can ensure a good coating by inspecting under a UV light. Of course this would require opening your drone and also the cure time is 48 hours.

Waterproof Grease if you want to go a little deeper and prevent the bearings from rusting if they are exposed to water.

VHB Tape along the seem of where the battery meets drone to prevent any water from entering. Something like this 1/2 width would be simple to remove after a flight and secure enough not to come off during flight.

Battery Button - I would probably recommend wrapping with a vinyl to prevent moisture thru the button. I haven't looked at this disassembly but I would have to imagine there is an o-ring in the build to prevent moisture from entering.


Feel free too add to this list.

 

[Former Member]

Making a drone water resistant is possible. Waterproofing a drone is a difficult if not impossible task. The only way I was ever able to make mine waterproof was to wrap it in a ziploc bag and duct taped it around. This started out as a joke, but actually worked quite well. I made sure that none of the vents, including fan grill, were exposed to water, but had adequate ventilation.

The best way to make it waterproof is to not let water get in to begin with. A person could use all the conformal coating and grease they want, but if there is a tiny breach, that could be the end of it.

 

[Point Zero]

I think its all about mitigating as many of the risks as possible. Sounds like a great idea to try out. I saw a video yesterday of some dude flying his racing drone in and out of a bucket of water about 1 foot deep. I was amazed at how the thing kept working lol.

Keep us posted if you do any test runs and good luck

 

[Dan]

Making a drone water resistant is possible. Waterproofing a drone is a difficult if not impossible task. The only way I was ever able to make mine waterproof was to wrap it in a ziploc bag and duct taped it around. This started out as a joke, but actually worked quite well. I made sure that none of the vents, including fan grill, were exposed to water, but had adequate ventilation.

The best way to make it waterproof is to not let water get in to begin with. A person could use all the conformal coating and grease they want, but if there is a tiny breach, that could be the end of it.

Correct, I should had titled it water resistant. The only way to make it waterproof while it's raining is to fly it in my house. LOL

 

[Ken K]

Check out this thread for Mavic 2 "wet suit".
Mavic 2 Zoom Extreme weather flying with the Mavic Rain Wet Suit. Hail Storm/ Heavy Rain

 

[testtubelarry]

Making a drone water resistant is possible. Waterproofing a drone is a difficult if not impossible task. The only way I was ever able to make mine waterproof was to wrap it in a ziploc bag and duct taped it around. This started out as a joke, but actually worked quite well. I made sure that none of the vents, including fan grill, were exposed to water, but had adequate ventilation.

The best way to make it waterproof is to not let water get in to begin with. A person could use all the conformal coating and grease they want, but if there is a tiny breach, that could be the end of it.

Pics?

 

[testtubelarry]

Making a drone water resistant is possible. Waterproofing a drone is a difficult if not impossible task. The only way I was ever able to make mine waterproof was to wrap it in a ziploc bag and duct taped it around. This started out as a joke, but actually worked quite well. I made sure that none of the vents, including fan grill, were exposed to water, but had adequate ventilation.

The best way to make it waterproof is to not let water get in to begin with. A person could use all the conformal coating and grease they want, but if there is a tiny breach, that could be the end of it.

Pics?

 

[Felix le Chat]

One problem with conformal coatings over boards and components is that it reduces heat dispersion.

 

[Phantomrain.org]

Battery Button - I would probably recommend wrapping with a vinyl to prevent moisture thru the button. I haven't looked at this disassembly but I would have to imagine there is an o-ring in the build to prevent moisture from entering.


Feel free too add to this list.

Adding to the List : Mavic 2 Wet Suit as your Base.

You really want to Start with the Wet Suit as that is going to give you an Air Tight Seal on the Battery and the Power Button as that is one of the weakest link.

When the Terminals get Wet that Battery Disconnects from the Controller as you geat an Actual Warning on the Controller saying your Battery has disconnected from the Controller and the drone crashes.

The DJI motors are pretty good in the rain, no reproted incidents after years of use.
Most of the DJI boards are already coated , however the ESC module is weak an often burns out , this is where some extra coating might help..

The Mavic 2 Wet Suits really Focus on keeping the Drone flying in the Rain.
Were still going strong years latter.

Once you have the Wet Suit than Landing on the Water is no issue either with the Rescue Jacket.

Phantomrain.org
Gear to fly in the Rain. Land on the Water.