We designed and tested (internally and in independent lab) to IPX6 standard. That’s high pressure water jets for at least 3 minutes. For what it’s worth I’m not that impressed with the official test standard because it only checks that the whole machine can still run up to a certain time after the test, often only immediately after the test. Whereas, in my experience, it can often take a long time for water damage to actually get to the point it stops a board from actually running.
I think our internal tests were WAY more valuable, because after doing the high pressure water jets we disassembled the battery and ESC enclosures and checked for any water ingress using water sensitive paper throughout the enclosure. Doing that gave me way more confidence compared to simply saying the board can still run an hour later.
In short, we focussed a lot of time and energy on water resistance, and I think it’s pretty damn good. With all that said, it’s still best practice to minimize exposure to water as much as possible, so the IP rating isn’t something we tout in our marketing materials. We just did it because we know these will be exposed to water, whether through riding or washing, and we don’t want that to be a problem.
Apart from testing in the factory and in the lab, in our field testing we’ve never experienced water related issues with the batteries or the ESCs. The only water damage we ever found in the field was with hall sensor PCBs on some of our early prototype motors (the UK guys ride in WET conditions). We haven’t had more problems since making improvements to the water proofing in that area.
As someone who repairs boards on occasion, most of the water damage I’ve seen is either battery or ESC. Connectors from the motors, particularly the ones that have the sensors can be weak points too
Thanks. Figured as much, but good to hear it from the mouth attached to the eyes that must have seen a fair bit over the years. Our motor connector is waterproof, so feeling pretty good in that area.
4wd gives god tier braking. It’s insane how much more control you have descending with 4wd. Also relevant for descending on extremely steep pavement, 4wd is much safer than rwd
OK. Good to know. We went a bit crazy in that department. Our ESC enclosure is o-ring sealed. We’ve done a bunch of water testing and have never once found water in the electrical area. And even if it did, the ESC is potted, so it’d still have a hell of a time causing any damage. This shot shows results after 5 minutes of high pressure spraying from all angles. Test paper strips all dry.
They’re probably color changing stickers that turn pink or blue when exposed to moisture.
They say “Warning” on them, because they’re being repurposed for internal testing, when they’re likely normally used notify of loss of warranty from water damage.
Haha. Yeah, you got it. They’re not actual stickers that go in the product. They’re just water sensitive stickers we use for detecting if water has entered the case during water proofing tests.
Considering the additional costs associated with shipping batteries across borders, I feel like you’d sell a lot of boxes and deck brackets to your international fans. Myself included.
