joeboots Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 I killed my Mten4 with water damage, primarily to the exposed backside of the charging port, but also possible water damage to the main board. I want to be able to ride in wet conditions, and the Mten4 has pretty minimal waterproofing stock. I'm definitely going to coat the back of my new charge port with RTV silicone (have my eye on https://www.dow.com/en-us/pdp.dowsil-748-non-corrosive-sealant.02184346z.html#overview) to prevent water ingress/corrosion. I was also thinking I'd try to seal the areas where the cover encloses the top of the main "box" containing the battery and control board, but I'm worried about overheating. Does anyone with expertise in this area care to offer an opinion on whether sealing that condition is a bad idea from an airflow/cooling perspective? If it's a good idea, is an RTV silicone like Dow 748 a good product? I think I want something easily removeable, not sure if Dow 748 qualifies. Maybe https://www.dap.com/products-projects/product-categories/caulks-sealants/specialty/seal-n-peel/ ? Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted January 6, 2023 Share Posted January 6, 2023 1 hour ago, joeboots said: Does anyone with expertise in this area care to offer an opinion on whether sealing that condition is a bad idea from an airflow/cooling perspective? No, but it's easy enough to test - just seal it with electrical tape first, go for a ride and see what your temperatures do ! Then you can make an informed decision about whether to make that a permanent thing... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheel Guy Posted October 19, 2023 Share Posted October 19, 2023 How did you kill it? Heavy rain? Mine has survived a few pretty bad rainstorms without extra waterproofing but now I'm scared haha. How long did it take for it to break and how did it break? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joeboots Posted October 23, 2023 Author Share Posted October 23, 2023 I left it outside for several hour in a thick drizzle, then tried to run it/charge it before it had fully dried out. Water got into the charging port first, I think, and caused a short that fried the motherboard and the battery bms... Once I replaced everything I did some fairly heavy duty waterproofing with RTV silicone and it's been solid since. No overheating issues either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 (edited) Forgive the slight digression, but it is at least related... the other day I got caught out in prolonged stair-rodding rain on my Master. Fortunately I had my waterproof backpack cover to instantly deploy over the top of it, and I trusted the marine grease in my bearings and siliconed hubs to resist water ingress, which they did, and it was good test for my new extended inner mudguard which did a damn reasonable job of stopping splash-back and general woodland filth reaching my new shock. However as I neared the end of my journey, my wheel started making some very alarming squeaky noises, almost like the tyre was coming off the rim, and so loud and serious were they that I felt I had no choice but to get down and walk the last 300 yards. As soon as I got off the noises stopped and I was able to walk her home and get her out of the rain. That waterproof cover was worth its weight in gold as when I got in there was pooled water all over it, which surely would have got in my charge ports had it not been there. Anyway, got back to the kitchen, and re-mounted, only for the squeaking to return, and it was literally just the sound of a very wet CST tyre on very smooth asphalt ! I took all due precautions, and kept it upright until it air dried, then charged it the next day, and it did 21 miles in the sun without any problems so I think I got away with it... Edited October 23, 2023 by Cerbera Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheel Guy Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 34 minutes ago, joeboots said: I left it outside for several hour in a thick drizzle, then tried to run it/charge it before it had fully dried out. Water got into the charging port first, I think, and caused a short that fried the motherboard and the battery bms... Once I replaced everything I did some fairly heavy duty waterproofing with RTV silicone and it's been solid since. No overheating issues either. Ah ok, maybe running it would've been fine but charging is another matter. Water droplets like to gather around that area. Thanks for replying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wheel Guy Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 9 minutes ago, Cerbera said: Forgive the slight digression, but it is at least related... the other day I got caught out in prolonged stair-rodding rain on my Master. Fortunately I had my waterproof backpack cover to instantly deploy over the top of it, and I trusted the marine grease in my bearings and siliconed hubs to resist water ingress, which they did, and it was good test for my new extended inner mudguard which did a damn reasonable job of stopping splash-back and general woodland filth reaching my new shock. However as I neared the end of my journey, my wheel started making some very alarming squeaky noises, almost like the tyre was coming off the rim, and so loud and serious were they that I felt I had no choice but to get down and walk the last 300 yards. As soon as I got off the noises stopped and I was able to walk her home and get her out of the rain. That waterproof cover was worth its weight in gold as when I got in there was pooled water all over it, which surely would have got in my charge ports had it not been there. Anyway, got back to the kitchen, and re-mounted, only for the squeaking to return, and it was literally just the sound of a very wet CST tyre on very smooth asphalt ! I took all due precautions, and kept it upright until it air dried, then charged it the next day, and it did 21 miles in the sun without any problems so I think I got away with it... Scary, glad the wheel seems to be fine! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cerbera Posted October 23, 2023 Share Posted October 23, 2023 Yeah, I like to do at least 1 waterlogged ride every year, just to check it's still horrible I was wearing my comedy delrin pantaloons, which, I am ashamed to say, did let a little bit of water into my unders around the thighs area ! But it's also a good check of wet weather visibility in the helmet, and I was very pleased to note that my ADX-2 doesn't steam up past a bare minimum if you have the pinlock fitted, so at least visibility remained clear. However, dry or not as I mostly remained I still hate riding in heavy rain, it's a very closed in and claustrophobic feeling - really the direct opposite of how free and easy things should feel on a wheel in nicer weather ! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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