P3p sank in 3ft freshwater - Anyone know what the red fluid would be?

[tlhintoq]

I'm an idiot - I was flying my P3p around my property, near my small shallow pond and I tripped... Pushing both controls who-knows-what direction as I tried to keep from killing myself... The last thing I saw on the display was the drone racing at a fence post out in the middle of the pond. The blade guards did a good job, but it still went down. I ran out got the drone from the 3ft pond floor and quick pulled the battery that was still showing good LED display. It was under water for less than 5 minutes.

I quickly got it to my air compressor and started blowing all the water out. Here's where it got spooky. The damned thing started bleeding. A small amount of the water coming out of the main body was tinted red. Kind of like a weak Cool Aid. Red but transparent. I'm wondering if anyone knows what that could be. I'm hoping its just inspection stamps on parts. Maybe DJI's tell-tale indicator of a unit getting wet so they don't pay off warranty claims.

I spent half an hour blowing it out until no water, and then another 10 minutes. I'm leaving it sit another couple days to continue to dry out to a 'bone dry' state. I saw water INSIDE the camera lens, so clearly I'll have to pull that apart to clean it as well.

I've read MANY posts here about people sinking their drones, and lots of replies to the effect of "oh, that sucks" but not a lot of actually helpful suggestions beyond the normal common sense: Dry it out... be patient... if its fresh water you might get lucky. Does anyone have any useful suggestions or insight into components that HAVE to be replaced before re-applying power? I'd much rather replace a $20 part now than hear later "Oh, if you had just done xyz123 first you wouldn't have fried everything else. Now its too late."

 

[mdowney58]

One of the most common recommendations is to get a large ziplock or bin that the Phantom will fit in, and cover the quad in rice (not cooked!)
The rice will absorb the moisture very well.
Not sure if the motor vents need to be protected so rice doesn't enter or not.
Another person concocted a bin of some sort and used a dehumidifier, and after a few days all was good!
2 drones in pool

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[tlhintoq]

Thanks. I thought about the uncooked rice trick. I've seen people do it for their phones. I decided to go with a dehumidifier approach. I put the drone on the counter-top in my RV. There is a dehumidifier going in their around-the-clock to keep it dry and mildew-free. The air-con is set to 80“f: Warm enough to help it dry out, but not so hot as to be outside of safe temperatures. I'll let it sit in that environment for a couple days before trying anything else. Of course I'll post results.

 

[mdowney58]

Good luck!

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[Wally Bird]

If it was hotter outside you could put it in a car sitting in the sun with the windows closed. It worked for my hand calculator that I spilled some water on. I haven’t actually tried it with a drone so I don’t know if it would work or not but if my drone ever goes swimming I'll probably try it.

 

[mcphipps]

Your drone is bleeding.......not funny, but funny it sounds.
The rice thing is a good idea But you will still need to dry out the motors. They open motors. Should be able to just put a fan on them for a while to dry them.
If you do put it in the rice. You will have to be certain to remove any that gets into the motors. Since they are the only moving part on the bird other than the camera it shouldn't be to much a problem.
Good luck. But if your drone needs a blood transfusion. I am type O....

 

[Air Ontario]

Maybe it a marker to tell the manufacturer the drone has been immersed.

 

[mdowney58]

Since you're going the dehumidifier route, I'd set it as low as possible, and maybe even drop the temp in the RV.
And I agree with @mcphipps on the fan. I'd aim a fan directly at the Phantom in the low humidity environment.

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[tlhintoq]

If it was hotter outside you could put it in a car sitting in the sun with the windows closed. {...} .

I'm in North-Central Florida so its warm - warm enough that leaving an animal in a closed car would be dangerous and ticketable. - Warm enough that I'm using the air-con in my home and RV.
{view album} - I only just started this album today so you can see how nice it is here at the moment. Includes the pond where this happened, and a hawk that had to check out the drone at a couple hundred feet.

Maybe it a marker to tell the manufacturer the drone has been immersed.

Well that is something I posited in my my original post {2nd paragraph}... Hoping someone would know for certain what it is.

But you will still need to dry out the motors.

I blew it all out with my air compressor, including the motors. Plus a couple/few days in an 80°f low-humidity RV should do it some good.

 

[mdowney58]

The warmer the air, the more moisture the air can hold.
I'm no expert, but I believe that 45% humidity @ 70° contains less moisture than 45% humidity @ 80°
Someone let me know if that is not accurate please.
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[tlhintoq]

I've taken your suggestions and set up a small fan on the counter- blowing at the drone. The ceiling fan is on and right over head as well, just to keep the air from the dehumidifier circulating throughout the RV.

 

[mcphipps]

Cross your fingers. Lets hope all this backyard voodooism works..LOL
Nuttin' better then to witness the bird rise again...I'm thinking Pheonix here.....
Good luck bud. I think you will be alright.

 

[Roger S]

Uncooked rice (as noted before), Silica Gel (two types - one indicator type that changes colour when fully absorbed) from Drug Store (Chemist) or cat litter (which has small amount of silica gel in it) will do the trick. Drone or any other item must be rinsed in fresh water first.
I fell in salt water one time with an expensive Motorola two way radio and managed to rise it out with fresh water straight away and let it dry for around 30 mins and it worked fine after that.


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[Roger S]

And yes seal in in a large air tight container for a few days!


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[tlhintoq]

UPDATE: Drone powered up and flew through 2 full batteries. The bird itself behaved as if nothing bad happened.

BIG sigh of relief!

 

[Chris Hunt]

@tlhintoq great to hear!


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[mdowney58]

Whooot-Whoooo!

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[Walkers13]

UPDATE: Drone powered up and flew through 2 full batteries. The bird itself behaved as if nothing bad happened.

BIG sigh of relief!

View attachment 49570

Was it a new battery or the drowned one? Either way that's great to hear it's working again.

 

[tlhintoq]

I've gone through all 4 batteries I own, which includes the drowned one. They are all lasting within a 5 minute range of each other. Added a photo to my album tonight from about 300'. Nothing exciting; just the surrounding area. More of another test flight than anything else... double checking camera modes... gimbal operation... hover stability... etc.