Water-proofing your ebike, post your tips

[spinningmagnets]

There's a lot of older ES members that are fading away, and a lot of newbies joining. I'd like to preserve some of the experienced ebikers tips to pass on to the new guys, to save them a lot of anguish, time, and money. The best tips will be added to the first post, and credited to the author.

[insert pics here]

 

[spinningmagnets]

reserved for future use

 

[spinningmagnets]

reserved for future use

 

[HK12K]

for my commuter bike which sees a ton of rain I use a potted controller. My batteries are stored inside a sealed job box with a gasketed cover. External connections are all soldered and sealed with marine grade heat shrink, with the exception of throttle and brake which I used Higo's for ease of serviceability should the need arise. Charger input is an xt90 however I do not leave it bare, instead opting to keep another half-connector plugged in, with a loop coming out of the end for easy removal.

My Raptor has it's handy dandy frame to keep water at bay, though I do plan to gasket the side panels one of these days. It doesn't get rained on much anymore though.

 

[Mclewis1]

a) fenders - just keeping water (the high pressure spray from the wheels) out of key areas (downtube battery/controller) really helps
b) plastic covers for occasional use - split ziplock bag over the display, or a larger form fitting plastic bag over the battery are used only during heavy rain.
c) sockets/connectors treated with dielectric grease - this helps to keep dirt and moisture out and maintains good electrical connections
d) black tape around "waterproof" connectors - the extra layer of protection seems to help and it's a throwaway, it gets replaced any time the connectors are opened.
e) in the fall I start to use higher viscosity lubricants on any moving parts. The slightly heavier/stickier lubricants seem to do a better job in wetter conditions. Spring time brings more cleaning and lighter and sometimes "drier" (wax based) lubricants.
f) the fall cleaning, relubing, and connector checking ... a deeper overall preparation for the rainy season. A good cleaning helps to catch issues with cables and connectors (looking for splits, cracks, wear, etc.). Re lubing as mentioned above. The connector checking is pulling off any tape, opening connectors and re applying the dielectric grease and tape.

 

[kauaicycler]

a) fenders - just keeping water (the high pressure spray from the wheels) out of key areas (downtube battery/controller) really helps
b) plastic covers for occasional use - split ziplock bag over the display, or a larger form fitting plastic bag over the battery are used only during heavy rain.
c) sockets/connectors treated with dielectric grease - this helps to keep dirt and moisture out and maintains good electrical connections
d) black tape around "waterproof" connectors - the extra layer of protection seems to help and it's a throwaway, it gets replaced any time the connectors are opened.
e) in the fall I start to use higher viscosity lubricants on any moving parts. The slightly heavier/stickier lubricants seem to do a better job in wetter conditions. Spring time brings more cleaning and lighter and sometimes "drier" (wax based) lubricants.
f) the fall cleaning, relubing, and connector checking ... a deeper overall preparation for the rainy season. A good cleaning helps to catch issues with cables and connectors (looking for splits, cracks, wear, etc.). Re lubing as mentioned above. The connector checking is pulling off any tape, opening connectors and re applying the dielectric grease and tape.

Great list! I switched out "black tape" for "self fusing silicone tape" in d). Awesome stuff, it's waterproof and doesn't stick to parts, only sticks to itself.

 

[motomech]

Carry a large, plastic poncho and when you put it on, position (drape) it so it covers the h.bars, controller and Batt. and the wires in between.
Hub motors don't need any special attention in the rain.

 

[MoneyPit]

Mastic tape to replace self-fusing silicone tape, although the silicone stuff is good. 3M Rubber Mastic Tape 2228 and 2229 (one or the other is thicker; I forget which one) is a solid, sticky rubber tape that is non adhesive - the rubber itself is sticky - that can be wadded up into any shape to plug any point of water ingress you need it to, or used as a straight up seam barrier on say a battery box. It can easily be stretched and once you work it into a seam or over a connector it will never come off. Unless you pull it off. Its mercifully simple to remove with a cut of a knife and a couple of good tugs.

Flexible cutting board from Amazon, along with gorilla tape, can be used as fender extensions. The length of zip tie you snip off and throw away? Put that under the tape lengthwise along your extension as a stiffener.

A ziploc bag and a rubber band over the display works wonders so long as you remember to have plastic in front of where the cable enters the display. Water coming off the front wheel will spray up and you will ride right into the spray, which goes right onto that spot oftentimes.

A small square of Saran wrap, rubber-banded over your PAS panel, waterproofs it but lets you use the buttons still. Leave some excess so it hangs over the cable ingress point. Do the same thing for your throttle but attach it loose so the throttle can be moved under the saran (or square of plastic cut from a lunch baggie).

If canvas battery bag: Silicone spray or Scotchguard it.

If its rainy, it should also be cold. So the battery can be wrapped in plastic and then tossed into the battery bag.

 

[Chalo]

Fenders make my e-bike life feasible. I'm sure my controller would fault out somehow if it were sprayed heavily with dirty water, but fenders make it much less likely to be sprayed.

 

[ZeroEm]

Fenders, yes I second that. Most take them off the trikes but them front wheels carry a heavy stream of water.

One thing have not see as yet is drip loops. Any outside electrical needs a drip loop. This is where the wire has a sag/half loop in it so gravity pulls the water off so it does not run into a device, hole/entry point. Any device should have the wire entry points towards the ground.

 

[nicobie]

I like this stuff for hard to waterproof areas. Amazon has it for cheap today. Stock up!

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00004WLKT/?creative=9325&camp=1789&tag=dealnewscom&smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&th=1&ascsubtag=835rtes4b4z666ny4njmNrzIR7J1rbHX