Thread: Wiper motor question

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I had an idea for my stirring witch for this year. I'm going to send the fog up through it so it comes out the top. Of course it will look better if it flows like it would from a chiller. Now I could put a chiller behind it, but there is all this wasted space in the cauldren.

So I was thinking of drilling some drain holes in the bottom of the barrel, throwing in dryer house and then dumping ice on that, and having the fog flow through there.

This is a stirring witch so I was going to use metal pipe with a flange on it to have a board halfway up the barrel, then the wiper motor will attach to this and it will look normal.

My question is do I need to worry about waterproofing the motor and connections? Has anyone had problems with wiper motors and them getting wet? What were your solutions?

Has anyone done this idea successfully?

Thanks.

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I use a wiper motor in a stirring witch prop that has copper cooling coils inside the cauldron to chill fog that ports in from the bottom to about half way up, then spills over the top. I duct taped over the housing where the wires enter the motor housing. I've seen condensation on the motor at the end of the night but it has never caused any problems. Hope this helps!

So basically as expected, as long as I protect the power supple connection, I should be ok.

I should think so. If not, that's why they make circuit breakers! Seriously though, I've been running mine for 4 years with no issues.

I also used my wiper motor with fog and have had no problems, but i bought a cheap plastic container from the dollar store and custom built a plastic housing over the motor to protect it, works like a charm.

what did you do, just a drill a whole in the top for the connecting arm?

For a real wiper motor it should be no problem. In a car the wiper motor is exposed to the environment and has to deal with rain, snow and car washes. I wouldn't submerge it, but getting it wet should be no problem. Just make sure the electrical connection is also weather resistant. Also, make note of any drain holes, if your motor has them, especially if they rely on gravity to drain them, may need to plug them.

The wiper motor I had in my stirring witch went out on me days before Halloween. We had a lot of rain that month, and it must have gotten wet. I have to buy a new one before this year to replace it. I had good connections, even bought the quick connects from Monsterguts to make it a snap, but it didn't help. Guess it wasn't that safe on my front porch.

This question comes up a lot and I usually stay out of it because my answer is going to be totally different than almost everyone else .

Of course we should think safety first but sometimes we can go overboard and let our minds dream up things that are so far fetch that you would have a better chance at winning the power ball than getting hurt using 12v DC at the amps we are using it at.

There is no need in covering a wiper motor or the connections. The motor is made to work in wet conditions. The motor is sealed and the gears have enough grease on them to over come any dampness.....if water gets to them. Which is very unlikely.

Think you will be killed or badly injured if you touch the connections while it's wet? You wont! Like I said earlier, you have a better chance at winning the Power Ball. You actually have a better chance at getting hurt driving to the store to get the cover for your motor and connec tions than by 12v of DC Current.

Anyone ever changed their car battery while it was wet outside...how about giving someone a jump? Did it kill you? Hurt you? Shock you? Go outside and raise your hood and grab the positive and negative cables on your battery and see what happens. I bet you don't feel a thing and that battery is putting out way more AMPS than the wall-wart we use to power our motor.

See any warnings to cover the battery or other 12v connections when you wash the engine of your car? Anybody ever see a garden railroad train?They run on 12 to 18v of DC current and made to run outside on rails ======== the rails are "hot" other words they have current running through them just like the wire going to the wiper motor. Positive going to one and negative to the other. Some of the large hobby trains are pulling 8+ amps, you have just as many volts going through that track as you do at the connection. An entire industry is built on that being a safe hobby for adults and children.

Just another point of view...