Hi,

After my first flight ever with my first build, I had a bad landing and two of the motors (Racerstar 2205) got sand inside, it was not even possible to manually rotate them. I carefully removed the sand by blowing into the motor and now they rotate again with no evident sound of sand inside. Would you recommend to open them and clean them with water or something else anyway? 

best,
S

IF you are comfortable that all the sand is gone (no grinding or binding), I think I would try them and see what happened. IF there is any vibration or they heat up, then open them up. IF you damaged anything, it was probably the bearings and they are sealed and cannot (easily) be disassembled. If they are damaged, the best solution is to replace them.

I would not use water with the bearing as it could easily lead to corrosion as the steel used in most bearings is not stainless, if any at all. I personally use 90% isopropyl alcohol with a spray nozzle. I usually lightly wipe the bottom of the motor with a cutip to remove any free dirt then spray iso top down as the top of the motor is generally less dirty so debris won’t flow into the bearing.. I give it a good shake and spray again from the bottom. I do this a few times until they are butter smooth again. I let them dry for about 20 min to an hour and add bearing oil to top and bottom traces (just a little).

The motors will perform like new after this maintenance.

Thanks for the tips, I'll give the motors a try before opening them, I am just starting with this and prefer not to mess with opening a motor

best,

I live in Southern Nevada, so I feel your pain.  This has happened to me several times and I use compressed air to clean them out.  At home, an air compressor, and in the field canned air.  By spraying in them while gently moving tem back and forth how ever little you can, after awhile you will make headway.  It has always worked and haven't had to remove the bells.....but I do wonder if the sand is out or just inside still and will fall into the motor while flying.  The only way to be 100% sure is to remove the bells.

(23-May-2018, 05:51 PM)Krohsis Wrote: I live in Southern Nevada, so I feel your pain.  This has happened to me several times and I use compressed air to clean them out.  At home, an air compressor, and in the field canned air.  By spraying in them while gently moving tem back and forth how ever little you can, after awhile you will make headway.  It has always worked and haven't had to remove the bells.....but I do wonder if the sand is out or just inside still and will fall into the motor while flying.  The only way to be 100% sure is to remove the bells.

That's a good idea, I'll get a compressed air can to clean them out.

Good tip Krohsis! I wish I had a compressor as that would elimate any fluid used to clean for the most part. I would agree air is better than any abrasive!

Hi,
Thanks all for your help. I did use air to clean them and yesterday I did a test flight, all motors working, no signs of sand.

(11-Jun-2018, 05:01 AM)ssombra Wrote: Hi,
Thanks all for your help. I did use air to clean them and yesterday I did a test flight, all motors working, no signs of sand.

Glad it worked for you.....happy flying!