Victor running underwater!

[falconmaster]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=holY7IjXwl0

[ebarker]

Fredi,

Tis cool...

Last year I got a pvc union with screw caps, and metal discs and o-rings to seal it up. The plan was to try to put stuff in the tube, fill it with mineral oil and close it up.

the mineral oil would transfer the heat to the endcap discs and it would stay cool.

never got around to finishing the project. but it would be neat to try.

Ed

[Akash Rastogi]

Just wondering if you guys have time for this, but could you possibly put out a white paper for this? A few of our class projects could definitely use some water proofing. The video is great though.

[falconmaster]

Sure we could do that!

[MrForbes]

that's neat! It'll be interesting to see what happens when it had to deal with heat....maybe you could wire up the victor to one of your old FRC robot chassis, and do a pushing test....

Although underwater stuff doesn't seem to need nearly so much current

[McGurky]

You could probably rig up some kind of heat sink mechanism if overheating turns out to be a big issue. It looks good, I also second the "mineral oil" strategy, although I have never tried it, I have heard good things about it and waterproofing electronics. Last time i checked, you could get It by the gallon at mcmaster.

Good Luck and keep us posted as far as any other tests you work on with the waterproofing!!

[sanddrag]

I bet you could run it under DI water without any waterproofing.

[Akash Rastogi]

Clearly 842 is ahead of the GDC curve.

[Chris is me]

I remember reading a post by Dave saying that you could run water into the Victor's fan and through the unit without any damage, which he then used to make a cheesy water game hint with. Not something I'd try but interesting.

Nice job on waterproofing a Victor! Seems like you only get one try at that per Victor...

[falconmaster]

Originally Posted by squirrel

that's neat! It'll be interesting to see what happens when it had to deal with heat....maybe you could wire up the victor to one of your old FRC robot chassis, and do a pushing test....

Although underwater stuff doesn't seem to need nearly so much current

The epoxy is glass filled and conducts heat pretty good! We plan on doing the Current test and cause it to trip a breaker, thus proving we have drawn plenty of current.... then of course there is the time factor as well. We will keep you posted

[falconmaster]

Originally Posted by McGurky

You could probably rig up some kind of heat sink mechanism if overheating turns out to be a big issue. It looks good, I also second the "mineral oil" strategy, although I have never tried it, I have heard good things about it and waterproofing electronics. Last time i checked, you could get It by the gallon at mcmaster.

Good Luck and keep us posted as far as any other tests you work on with the waterproofing!!

We have had experience with mineral oil. Some electronic components degrade over time in oil and stop functioning. You would have to test this with victors. It is not as neat and clean as the glass filled epoxy resin.

[falconmaster]

Originally Posted by sanddrag

I bet you could run it under DI water without any waterproofing.

excuse my asking but what a DI?

[MrForbes]

google says it's deionized water

[yodameister]

Finally a topic I can post something intelligent on. DI water is water that has no dissolved ions in it. It is the presence of positive and negative ions which allow electrons to flow through a solution. Without the ions, there is no attraction for the electrons from the battery, so in theory, you could run a victor under DI water without the need for any waterproofing. Be careful though, it only takes a very little bit of ions to allow electron flow. A simple grain of salt is enough to provide enough ions to conduct electricity in 200 mL of water.

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Fredi,
At high current, I would be concerned with expansion and contraction coefficients of the material and the electrical components. I think the epoxy can do a great job as a heatsink when exposed to water. What I might suggest is a double dip such that the tabs of the transistors only are embedded in the epoxy while the circuitry remains open. Then encase the assembly as you have shown. This would allow the components on the board to move around with temperature without being broken off as material expands and contracts. I like the dual heatshrink and would recommend it for the entire length of wire. Some wire insulation is made with clay as a filler and therefore it absorbs water. Some wire has a dual coating to prevent this as well. As a test, seal both ends of a short piece of wire and submerge it for a day or two. Then slit the wire open and see if there is any contamination. If you heat the shrinkable tubing and then compress while hot with pliers, the seal should be good enough to keep out water.
As always, I applaud your team. This is a great idea and a wonderful demo. Good Luck this year!