Flying through steam

anyone flown through a steam train’s steam?

Ive flown through cooling towers steam with no problems ;o)

Im sure the drone police are steaming at the suggestion of such an outrage ;o)

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interested in temperature issues, soot etc

If you’re at the drone code distance, certainly temperature won’t be an issue. If you can see steam, it’s not really steam, it’s water vapour and well below boiling point by the time it would reach you.

Soot - can’t see that there will be an issue.

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The only thing I’ve been warned about is the spores and shit that are carried within the vapour, not sure how true this is (or if its just a power station thing).

I think you need to be close to get good effect, Ive stood on bridges though as they’ve gone under and got good footage

for a possible job so can as close as I like,. just doing some research before I kill my M2P, might take a spare on the day as well just in case

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They would have had to survive temperatures considerably above boiling point. That should sterilise anything?

If I could get close - I’d not be worried about it at all.

just worried about how hot the steam will be and if it will kill the drone plus the crap that’s also going to be coming out of it

Too hot? I recall as a kid standing on foot bridges that were less than 6 foot above the trains. Can’t recall anything hot - and had there been I’m sure (even with the lack of health/safety of the '60s) they wouldn’t have had foot bridges that low.

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Maybe it’s not just the temperature that you need to worry about but your drones IP rating. Considering that most drones may not have an IP rating for moisture ingress protection then it could be a risk. You could be fine but then again it only takes a few particles of moister to interrupt critical systems on the drone.

The amount of time you’ll be in the water vapour will be pretty brief, and have far less impact than flying for a whole battery on a misty/foggy day.

I, and others, have flown through fog without any issues.

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better put it in a bag and duck tape it all up :rofl: :rofl:

That will over heat it nicely! #RoastDuck. :wink:

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If you’re in any doubt … I’ll bring my MP along for you to use … providing I can also have the permission to fly close to it … as a hobbyist! :+1:

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:rofl: :rofl: can rent one from hobby mounts for the day. could maybe do with a second view keep you posted

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Seriously, though, I’d not hesitate.

A whopping blast of steam unsteadying it, if you’re really close, might be the biggest issue to be ready for … but DJI drones can handle that kind of thing pretty well too. (The chuck it in the air to hand launch scenario.)

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Legionella is notorious within cooling towers and heat exchangers as the cooled water in the basin is the perfect temperature for growth.

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But the steam from a steam train has just been at high pressure and some way above 100C … not sat about exposed to the air in medium temperature water. A significant difference.

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Oh I thought we were talking about cooling towers, hadn’t read the full thread :rofl:

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