Courtesy of Quick Seek Encyclopedia Brushed DC Electric Motors are basically waterproof. Contrary to what you see in the movies, Brushed DC motors are nearly waterproof. Whey will not short out, cause a fire, explode, or erase your hard drive. Depending on the motor's construction; there might be electrical losses due to pond water. However, the resistence of pond water (note: not salt water) is still higher than most motors. Therefore, you might loose some current to the waves; but most will travel straight through your propultion system.
As an aside, testing from our neck of the woods shows that motor performance reduces dramatically especially in pumps after one season in use. We suspect it is corrosion on the brushes that is the culprit (as we have seen the brushes fall off due to corrosion. While you really can not waterproof a motor without putting it in a box, you can just plan on replacing them periodically, especially with pumps as the motors do not usually drain well in that application. Another point of loss is usually corrosion in the bushings/bearings.
Motors degrade and my experience previously was to replace all motors every season as detailed in my ESC Tech Article, but I since found that they can survive 2-3 seasons with proper maintenance. See my tech article on the subject: http://ntxbg.org/KnowledgeBase/?category_id=45&menuaction=phpbrain.uikb.view_article&art_id=3 Cheers Jeff
Agreed I find I don't need to replace my motors (drive)till after several seasons. The pump motor varies but I do find that proper maintenance will make your motors last much longer.
I use PowerShot to help extend my motors... After the day is over I simply soak the motors with the spray and then run them till they warm up real good.. this will dry them out.. The spray will remove the water and that is the issue. I have Johnson 550s I have been using for a couple of years now.. I have seen no drop in performance. I do replace them over time just to be safe.. but 550's are 6 bucks each and is not a bank buster. www.duratrax.com/accessories/pit/dtxc2458.html www.amazon.com/dp/B0012LCX5Q/
I was searching for some info and found this old thread. Didnt know if anybody knew of powershot or not, so I brought her out of the grave..
I'm ok with thread necros that contribute. Any idea whats in the can o spray? Is it similar to electric contact cleaner sprays or is it more akin to wd-40 or a teflon lubricant?
Mostly Hexane and isoprophanol... basicly alcohol with a agent to slow the evaporation a little. It does not leave any residue when it evaporates, but it does take a few minutes to evaporate. Thats why I warm up the motors, so it will speed up the process..
