Sunday 24 August 2014

Waterproofing Servos

...silicone sealer and dielectric grease

Having thought the Trainstar floatplane was completely sorted, I've discovered that the wing servos, in particular the aileron servos with their exposed extension join, are prone to water ingress.

Due to the smallest waterproof servo available being much too large to fit into the wing, it was necessary to waterproof the existing servos and connectors. I had intended to use dielectric grease however I was concerned about contamination affecting the covering tape over the servo wires and so opted instead to just go with silicone sealer.



I sealed the cable entry to the servo housing, which seems like the most likely water entry point, and sealed the servo connector and the extension harness. The joins in the servo housing didn't seem like a problem, and I haven't sealed around the pinion gear due to access problems on the already-installed servos.

This is the one area that would require the grease, however I was wondering whether a haphazard application of grease might be worse than none at all, considering that the area most accessible would be on the underside, possibly trapping any splashed water. So I think I'll just try the Trainstar as is and see how it goes...

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