Cleaning your brushless motor after planting it into the dirt
- Thread starter sumone
- Start date
Timmy P
Member
If I had to do it I would take the sink sprayer to it. and if it was real bad and needed flushed. I guess you could chuck the shaft in a drill and dunk it in water and spin it up... Blow dry it. Then oil the bearings. WIth a brushed motor you just dunk it and power it directly with a AA battery. Thats what we do with our trail trucks.
If it is not too bad and it is dirt not sand you can blow it out with a computer air can. Then oil both the bearings. If it is real bad, like it will not turn easily, (if you feel a grittiness stop turning and disassemble it) then it should be disassembled. Most just need a C Clip removed then can be pulled apart. Make sure that any small washers/rings, under the clip, do not get lost. These usually are used to tighten up the play. Then inspect it to make sure none of the magnets were knocked loose. Check for loose windings that may have been broken by the crud shoved into the motor (this is why you need to be careful when trying to turn the motor after the crash!). Blow it out with an air can, use a very soft paint brush if needed and then oil the bearings, reassemble! Those little clips can be a real bear and easy to damage or lose. Take your time!
In times where I have crashed in sand I have used compressed air to blow out the sand particles. I haven't had too much dirt get in to my motors, but when I have I can usually smack out most of the dirt with my hand, and if it is clear enough to turn I get back to flying and let the motion of the motor get rid of the rest of the dirt. If it is really caked in there you might get away with running the motor under some water and maybe use a toothbrush or something to loosen up the dirt. Brushless motors are waterproof so it should be fine to use right after.
Depending on how much I spent on the radio would do the following in this order. I would tap as much possible out, then use a vacuum to suck out more, then compressed air to blow out more, then turn by hand and feel if there seems to be any grinding. If I still wasn't satisfied I could try either flushing it out or taking it apart to clean it out. It all depends on how much the juice is worth the squeeze.
