Solution to sand in drone motors (DJI mini 3 pro)

Interdental brushes are the single best tool to repair crunchy motors after a crash in sand.
Drone footage: Atacama desert, Chile (December 2022).
Filmed on a Pixel 7 pro.

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Thank you for making such a succinct, to-the-point video with absolutely zero BS and no clickbait!
You covered everything perfectly, with both dialog and video. Two minutes twenty four seconds. That's what I call efficient!
Best of luck to you in your droning activities!

[username-mcjw]

#1 - You're not dumb. You had a crash. Crashes happen to the best pilots. #2 - You shared some valuable information with the rest of us, which makes you more of a hero, than dumb. Thank you for sharing your experience, what you tried, what worked, and what didn't. I live in Utah. We have LOTS of sand here. I may just need to be doing this procedure some day in the near future...

[chrisfrykberg]

Something (sand?) ended up in one motor of my drone today and triggered a motor not rotating message? I tried a few things, but was beginning to think it would have to go in for repair. Then, I came across your video. I borrowed one of those small gum brushes from my mother in law, and tried gently cleaning the motor windings. It didn't take much to free it up. The drone is now functioning perfectly, with no more grinding noises or nasty sticking of the motor. Thanks!!

[Aerosnapper]

Thank you for taking the trouble to record and post this video - very valuable advice that worked well for you - and should work well for anyone else experiencing a similar misfortune

Thank you, you saved me 2 weeks and a lot of money. I had same problem with my Mavic 3. I tried all the methods. I poured alcohol on it and tried it with a toothbrush, but the plastic tips of the brush got stuck between the motor windings. Still, no sand came out. Finally, I put distilled water in a bowl, completely immersed the engine in it and took it out, and the grain of sand was gone. I vacuumed the water with a vacuum cleaner. I flew for half an hour and dried it completely.

[Mason_]

I crashed my Spark last week into a pit of sand. I hacked it for manual mode, and even though I can fly fine in manual mode; I misjudged the height of the drone and crashed into the sand. Sand got in the gimbal, and in the cooling fan. I was very lucky to not have caused any permanent damage. I tapped it against a table at all angles, and blew compressed air into the gimbal and top vent; which ended up getting all of the sand out. 10 flights later and it's flying great! Crashes happen to the best of us.

[rickparkinmoto]

Excellent result. It sounded awful with the sand grinding in there. Glad you managed to fix it, and thanks for the tip!

[jateldesign]

thanks for a very clear, straight to the point video. Great value!

[josephtherealtor]

Idk why I didn't think of canned air. I've had a drone sitting on the shelf for a year but got it fixed with your help. Thank you!

[Quabbeli]

Yesterday I crashed my Mavic Mini and thanks to your idea with the brushes it's already been in the air Today. Thanks a lot!

[djSpinege]

one of the reasons DIY drones are so much better is you can take the bell off the stator and clean them out easily. you did a great job fixing an "unfix able" drone!

[crash_lander]

I regularly fly on a construction site and also have crashed in dense dust, general air dusting did the job. Never experience jammed motors, however if ever it happens, now I know what to do. Thanks and cheers 👍🏼

[elbolsillo]

This is the best video I’ve seen for cleaning it. Granted I’ve only seen 2 so far, but I can tell this one is exactly what I need to do. Gracias

[javierrojas]

THANK YOU SO MUCH!! I was on a travel and a dog attack my drone throwing it in to the sand, but thhanks to you i could fix my drone. You're the best!!!

[xav]

My drone landed vertically, ending with 2 arms in the sand after failed hand catch. I worked on it for 2 and a half hours, but now it works again. Great video, thanks a lot.
Extra tip; buy the ultra thin wooden tooth picks. Then position the gap between magnets in front of the coils. The ultra thin wooden tooth picks, fit in the gap so you can clean between the coil and the rotating part.

[alna]

Vielen Dank für deine wertvollen Tipps! Du hast das Leben unserer geliebten DJI noch im Urlaub gerettet!!!

[NeilBartlettSocialFreak]

I was so close to sending my drone back for repair but luckily I ran across your video and you saved my drone's life!! Cheers!! Forgot to mention, I have an airbrush and was able to use the cleaning brushes from that.

[DeffaUtama]

Thank you very much, I can confirm this trick is working on my DJI MINI, the rotors got beach sand. For those of you who is looking for the name of the Brush it's INTERDENTAL BRUSH - can easily be found on your local convenience store, I got mine from my local pharmacist.

[chrisnow]

When my drone was landing, it slid off the picnic table onto the sand on Lake Michigan and stuck one rotor into the sand. You can imagine how much my drone liked it. The rotor was stuck. Me and my wife used yours method and with one time use dental plastic spiral brushes and air compressor after one hours our drone was in the air again. Thanks for the great tip !

[PhreddCrintt]

Thank you for your time making and sharing this very useful video. Very appreciated.