EDF in snow?

[Jo's squadron]

I was wondering if landing in the powder snow can damage my EDF?
And what about temp? I would fly it in -7 degrees Celsius, is that too cold?
Because the snow will go through the EDF on landing.

Thanks!

 

[clolsonus]

I wouldn't expect any problems operating RC gear in below freezing temps. My fingers and nose freeze up long before my servos and motors. Very cold lipo's don't perform well, so I usually keep spare batteries in my car or padded case (or inside my jacket.) People say that getting your motor wet isn't a problem, but getting your ESC and receiver and servos wet can ruin them. I've dunked an ESC in a lake and it completely melted down. I try to avoid getting any of my gear wet, but some surface drops on the outside of a servo case or the heatshrink around your ESC usually isn't a problem. I can't imagine how sucking some snow through your EDF on landing would cause an issue, but I would pay attention after your flying session to make sure there isn't more than a bit of melted snow and stray drops on the surface of your gear.
I think the coldest I've flown has been around -15C and the main problem there was my glasses were fogging up and I couldn't see well. One time I flew a DJI phantom 4 in similarly cold weather and that started to seriously misbehave as it's onboard electronics got more and more cold soaked. It stayed under stable flight, but it couldn't land and it only moved one direction ... I finally coaxed it down, but thought I would lose it.
Anyway, long story short: go for it and I wouldn't expect any equipment issues, especially if you are careful to keep your batteries warm before flight and wipe most of the snow off after your flight ... and avoid having a bunch of snow melt into a big puddle in your car or back at home.

 

[Jo's squadron]

I wouldn't expect any problems operating RC gear in below freezing temps. My fingers and nose freeze up long before my servos and motors. Very cold lipo's don't perform well, so I usually keep spare batteries in my car or padded case (or inside my jacket.) People say that getting your motor wet isn't a problem, but getting your ESC and receiver and servos wet can ruin them. I've dunked an ESC in a lake and it completely melted down. I try to avoid getting any of my gear wet, but some surface drops on the outside of a servo case or the heatshrink around your ESC usually isn't a problem. I can't imagine how sucking some snow through your EDF on landing would cause an issue, but I would pay attention after your flying session to make sure there isn't more than a bit of melted snow and stray drops on the surface of your gear.
I think the coldest I've flown has been around -15C and the main problem there was my glasses were fogging up and I couldn't see well. One time I flew a DJI phantom 4 in similarly cold weather and that started to seriously misbehave as it's onboard electronics got more and more cold soaked. It stayed under stable flight, but it couldn't land and it only moved one direction ... I finally coaxed it down, but thought I would lose it.
Anyway, long story short: go for it and I wouldn't expect any equipment issues, especially if you are careful to keep your batteries warm before flight and wipe most of the snow off after your flight ... and avoid having a bunch of snow melt into a big puddle in your car or back at home.

Thanks for your reply!
I am asking this because for Christmas I got a 50mm EDF, and on the second flight the fan/blades came loos from the motor (meaning the motor turned but not the blades). Any idea why? Because it was low quality?
Anyway, I returned it and I want to get a new one, so that’s why I’m asking. Not to do the same thing again.

 

[clolsonus]

Thanks for your reply!
I am asking this because for Christmas I got a 50mm EDF, and on the second flight the fan/blades came loos from the motor (meaning the motor turned but not the blades). Any idea why? Because it was low quality?
Anyway, I returned it and I want to get a new one, so that’s why I’m asking. Not to do the same thing again.

Oh, in that case I have no idea ... sorry if I wrote a bunch of irrelevant stuffs.

 

[L Edge]

There are 3 factors to remember when flying in winter.

1) Lipo batteries lose lots of it's energy when in the cold(below freezing) even when it is in your plane. To play it safe, I use to reduce the time flying to just over 1/2 regular. Now add that you want to use an EDF, (flights usually last anywhere from 3-5 min) so it really doesn't give you much time to fly. Best to use a prop plane.

2) Holding transmitter(with even small amount of wind blowing) and using your fingers to fly with no protection in -7C is painful. So you need to come up with something to insulate or heat your fingers. (I used even a pocket heater to keep my finger warm as toast.)

3) Half my planes are EDF's, during summer you have pebbles, wet grass, servo wires that can eat up your fan blades. In winter, powder snow can can get sucked into the inlet and enough present, could damage the motor/esc.(Ask me how I know) Not worth it.

In regards to your EDF, guessing that the screw or allan was not tighten enough that holds the fan blades to the motor shaft. By the way, when you buy a new EDF, it is smart to purchase 1 -2 extra fan blades set,(usually cost $3 to $5) so if yours is destroyed, you have a replacement. Different manufactures usually produce motor shaft diameters differently so only their fan blades tighten so your company doesn't. You then could end up buying both.

 

[Jo's squadron]

Oh, in that case I have no idea ... sorry if I wrote a bunch of irrelevant stuffs.

No problem!

 

[Jo's squadron]

There are 3 factors to remember when flying in winter.

1) Lipo batteries lose lots of it's energy when in the cold(below freezing) even when it is in your plane. To play it safe, I use to reduce the time flying to just over 1/2 regular. Now add that you want to use an EDF, (flights usually last anywhere from 3-5 min) so it really doesn't give you much time to fly. Best to use a prop plane.

2) Holding transmitter(with even small amount of wind blowing) and using your fingers to fly with no protection in -7C is painful. So you need to come up with something to insulate or heat your fingers. (I used even a pocket heater to keep my finger warm as toast.)

3) Half my planes are EDF's, during summer you have pebbles, wet grass, servo wires that can eat up your fan blades. In winter, powder snow can can get sucked into the inlet and enough present, could damage the motor/esc.(Ask me how I know) Not worth it.

In regards to your EDF, guessing that the screw or allan was not tighten enough that holds the fan blades to the motor shaft. By the way, when you buy a new EDF, it is smart to purchase 1 -2 extra fan blades set,(usually cost $3 to $5) so if yours is destroyed, you have a replacement. Different manufactures usually produce motor shaft diameters differently so only their fan blades tighten so your company doesn't. You then could end up buying both.

Thanks! That helps a lot!
What do you mean not worth it?
Because it brakes them?

 

[Foamforce]

I’ve flown EDFs in the snow and gotten snow on them before. I haven’t had a problem yet. I figure it’s about the same as flying when there’s dew on the grass. My ESCs and all Other electronics were dry, inside the fuselage.

On the other hand, I burnt out one EDF by landing on grass. The grass was ingested and blended into a grassy soup on all the blades. I think it eventually caused friction around the edges of the blade, or maybe the extra weight on the blades increased the amp draw. I think most of the ingestion occurred while I was experimenting with bungee launching it off the grass, so normal landings on grass shouldn’t be a problem.

 

[tomlogan1]

I was wondering if landing in the powder snow can damage my EDF?
And what about temp? I would fly it in -7 degrees Celsius, is that too cold?
Because the snow will go through the EDF on landing.

Thanks!

Here's a 3d printed EDF "swamp boat" that loves snow.

 

[tomlogan1]

Here's a 3d printed EDF "swamp boat" that loves snow. View attachment 255070

Footage in the middle of this:

 

[Jo's squadron]

Footage in the middle of this:

That's cool! were did you get the files from?

 

[Bricks]

The biggest concern to me which is the same for a prop drive is warm motor cold snow wet motor freezing up when it cools down.

 

[tomlogan1]

That's cool! were did you get the files from?

Thingiverse

Search Thingiverse - Thingiverse

Search and download free 3D printable objects for your projects, from prototypes to home improvements.

www.thingiverse.com

 

[Shurik-1960]

Personally, 2 voltage regulators burned out in winter - snow got into the cooling system in the fuselage, and the mosfets burned out from liquid ingress. I didn't like it, so I bought a polish for Plastik 71 radio boards. All regulators (boards!!!) new. and I dip the motor windings in varnish and dry them 2-3 times. I have a lot of models who get away with it. I forgot to be afraid of dew, snow and water.The varnish is cheap.

 

[Piotrsko]

Coatings on heatsinks is generally bad juju if they get hot to the touch but water in electronics is probably worse