How to Clean the Chasing M2 Underwater Drone

Eternal Angler

Administrator

Not to long ago I saw someone posting in the Official Chasing Owners Facebook Group about how his thrusters were locked up and he had to use some WD-40 to pry them loose, to prevent this, one of the best ways is to clean your underwater drone after "every" dive. But even then, if you work a lot and you let your drone sit, there may be some leftover saltwater that oxidizes some of the metal parts inside the motors, which can lock them up.

That's where something like silicone spray for maintenance comes in handy as well, but just warning you, I've heard that it can avoid your warranty with some underwater drone companies. You also have to make sure that your silicone spray doesn't have any extra chemical agents that can melt plastic, I know a lot of underwater drone hobbyists recommend the Q8 silicone spray on the Chasing Owners Group. Just make sure the spray you buy is mostly silicone, not some other chemicals that can melt plastic.

Interesting writeup from an RC tank forum

RCUniverse.com post: 539 said:
Guy's be very careful when using silicone sprays in a can i used some to lube one of my VS tanks road wheels and i was going to use it on my other tank so i decided to spray some in a plastic cup so i can drip it into the road wheels this time with a tooth pick and after i sprayed it in the plastic cup and went to go fetch a tooth pick i grabbed the cup to lift it up and the whol bottom fell right off melted it right the hell offf!!! and i checked my VS tank i used it on and the road wheels where kind of sticky not rotating good so i had to re oil them now they seam ok..... SO LESSON LEARNED only use airsoft lube i never had a problem with it ever!

yeah there is a difference between the silicone oil and silicone spray, while silicone oil is safe for plastics ( like the kind used in rc car shocks ) the silicone spray contains petroleum distillates which is bad and will damage plastic.

silicone-spray-underwater-drone.jpg I've used the Liquid Wrench brand of silicone spray on the Geneinno T1, seem to work pretty well. A great way to test the silicone spray, is to use some leftover plastic from something you're willing to throw away, spray some of the silicone on the plastic, let it sit for a few hours, if it doesn't eat away at any of the plastic, you're good to go!

I'm not sure on the whole oil and spray comment from the RC Universe forum, as most the silicone cans on the market say "spray" on them, even the brand everyone uses, Q8 says spray. You definitely want to look for something that says "protects or use on rubber and plastic" on the can, which not all of the silicone sprays do, but Q8 does! The Liquid Wrench brand also says use rubber, plastic, and vinyl.

I've also heard some hobbyists say silicone oil may be toxic to marine life, so you may want to use a food grade silicone spray like this one by CRC.
 
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