How to waterproof a pixhawk

Posted by Richard Kennedy on March 2, 2015 at 6:08am

I would like to waterproof my pixhawk as much as possible. Last summer I installed one inside a frame called an Aqucopter which did well for waterproofing but suffered badly from the baro being so isolated form the outside alt hold was really bad. I tried many different solutions never did get one that worked great. I have since made a new quad that flies much better in alt hold because it's exposed. Problem is now it's not waterproof. I bought a electronics waterproofing spray however is it true the baro cant get wet? Would this stuff ruin the baro sensor? Lastly if the baro  did get ruined either by the spray or from water itself is that something that can get replaced by 3dr? Could anyone point out to me where the baro is on the board? Perhaps the best bet would be to use the waterproof spray on everything but the baro? see pic. Thanks

3691184000?profile=original

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  • Justice Bentz June 9, 2015 at 12:28pm
    Any solution on this? Can you corrosion x the Pixhawk?
    • Richard Kennedy > Justice Bentz June 9, 2015 at 12:55pm

      I'm not sure. I have a can of that stuff that swears you can dip electronics right in the water after it's application with no worries. But I haven't tried it. I have heard the baro sensor gets ruined if it gets wet and yet one guy dunked his pixhawk and after it dried it was fine I guess. I have an older apm 2.5 I think I might have to sacrifice for an experiment. 

      It would be great if there was a product that detects water and opens the circuit from the battery. Speaking of that... just today i decided to 86 an older Lipo but before I did I set it inside a big pot of water just to see if it would do anything. It didn't. Good to know because if it went into some over-heated chemical reaction it wouldn't really matter about the pixhawk if it was gonna get burned alive anyway. 

      I also wish I knew of some way to have a very small cylinder of air that would pop open a ballon if it gets wet. There's gotta be some creative way to do that! What losses all it's strength when it gets wet? hmmm And ever see those candies kids put in their mouths and they explode sort off?? Kinda like backing soda and water. Actually that product might work! Maybe inside a zip lick baggie with a small hole when the water gets in poof. I will check that out.....

  • Richard Kennedy March 2, 2015 at 7:58am

    This is my latest. If it gets wet or ruined it would be LESS work in the end that that aquacopter. The plexiglass cover works GREAT for alt hold even at high speeds.. I just need to get the pixhawk waterproof. Guess I'll try that spray. I just need to figure out more on the baro. Water ruins them is this true?? 3701946650?profile=original

  • Richard Kennedy March 2, 2015 at 7:52am

    This was my 'Aquacopter'. I will say this frame was practically indestructible!! But OMG it was so hard to get everything in there!! I even made LED lights on the bottom that were waterproof. And a door for getting my 5000Mah battery in there. 3701946353?profile=original

  • Justice Bentz March 2, 2015 at 7:23am

    Interesting, I didn't think about it being in a box would mess with barometer. How badly did it affect Alt Hold? 

    Ideally it would be completely submergible, perhaps a super small pelican case that has a vent hole? or custom case? 

    Screenshot 2015-03-02 10.22.38.png

    • Richard Kennedy > Justice Bentz March 2, 2015 at 7:45am

      It effected the altitude a lot. I tried a snorkel like your picture. That is overall the best option but in fast flight it acted differently depending on which way it was aimed. One way it would gain a lot of altitude the other it would lose. Sideways was the best. but no matter I did or tried it was always unpredictable. I bought one product that works decent... it was a sort of mesh screen inside a 1/2" opening.... it as designed for this. Air could get though but water really didn't unless it was submerged for a long time. However it would get waterlogged and then be a restriction for air. I almost crash from 30 meters because of this it suddenly dropped 20 meter's very quickly. It was sort of ironic that the entire idea of me have waterproof quad was to get good video of my families boating activities and yet because it was prone to go way up or way down unexpectedly I had to fly much higher. 

    • Adrien Guenard > Richard Kennedy December 24, 2015 at 6:00am

      Hi Richard,

      I have the same problem with the barometer, thanks for sharing your experience. I am interested by the device you talked about, in which air could get through but not water, but I can not find it. Is it possible for you to share the reference of this device?

      Thanks,


      Adrien

  • 100KM
    Hein du Plessis March 2, 2015 at 7:19am

    I'm pretty sure corrosion x would do the trick. Flitetest has used it to completely waterproof their RC boards and people use it to completely waterproof their cell phones. I received two bottles last month, but couldn't get myself to attack my APM with it yet - I have the same predicament as you :) The Baro, I believe, is the rectangular silver component on the bottom right, with the two opposing pinholes.

    Regards,

    Hein

    • Richard Kennedy > Hein du Plessis March 2, 2015 at 8:00am

      Go ahead and try that spray and let me know. You go first... ha 

  • Rodney Johnson March 2, 2015 at 6:24am
    Personally I would not spray anything on the pixhawk. Install the pixhawk in a sealed container and drill a hole into the container and add a vent tube to equalize pressure. Run the vent tube away from moisture laden areas.
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