a disaster

[DoogUK]

I used wd40  :-)

[CLS2086]

Hi,
look at the solutions on this thread :

http://www.amiga.org/forums/showthread.php?t=35704


You can put 2/5s empty box in Oven  ;-)

[LoadWB]

WD-40 is a water displacer by name and function, but it leaves a greasy film which attracts other contaminates, and I believe it also conducts.  My understanding is that you should never use WD-40 on electronic equipment, with the exception of moving parts like drive mechanisms, and even then you should use a lithium grease.  This was well-known back the in BBS days, and I assume that similar mentions are on the Internet or in news groups.

I am in the process of transferring all of my electronics into plastic storage crates for several reasons.  The primary being ease of transport, either moving or shuffling around in the storage area, and the secondary being that I found my storage boxes causing accelerated yellowing.  The storage crates I have chosen are not air-tight, but have a good history of keeping out the creepy-crawlies.

[AndyFC]

Have you got contents insurance? If so, try that route if the hardware still fails to work.

Comiserations. Even though my A1200T is in tge roof at the moment (through lack of space), I would be gutted if it got damaged like that.

[therail]

DoogUK wrote:
Yesterday morning, they have been on the radiator for over 24 hours and are dry as a bone.

yeah why dont you just {bleep}ing throw all your amigas on a burning hot fire while your at it?! seriosuly i sympathise with you a lot ovber you r accident, but you really cant {bleep} around when it comes to electronics. you should have let it dried in a cool/warm place for at least a week before you try anything!!!!!

[Ral-Clan]

I'm not adding anything useful here, but I just gotta chime in and agree with all the others here.  24 hours is not enough time to get computers dry.  A week, as the others have said, is what you should have waited.  Sounds like you might have damaged the Amiga that you turned on after 24 hours, as there was probably moisture still underneath the components, and in all the nooks and crannies of the circuit board (not just the visible places).

[amigaksi]

What conclusion are we trying to draw here-- that even if you bathe the Amiga, it will still work as long as you dry it out for a week+ ?

I had a floppy drive that was really dirty and most disks failed on it.  I bathed it in water and tried after letting it dry for a month and it still does not work.  It was better when it was dirty.  Now it reads ZERO disks.  Seems like I killed something just by the bathing process.

[Xamiche]

amigaksi wrote:
What conclusion are we trying to draw here-- that even if you bathe the Amiga, it will still work as long as you dry it out for a week+ ?

I had a floppy drive that was really dirty and most disks failed on it.  I bathed it in water and tried after letting it dry for a month and it still does not work.  It was better when it was dirty.  Now it reads ZERO disks.  Seems like I killed something just by the bathing process.

Huh?  :-?

The conclusion is, if your Amigas get soaked in water it's probably better to dry them out over the course of a week, than only for 24 hours. There's no guarantee that they will work after that week, but you increase the odds of them working.

I'm not sure why you'd be surprised at your floppy drive not working after soaking it in water, but I'm guessing you're trying to make an analogy. No one is saying that a water soaked Amiga will work after a week of drying. They're saying 24 hours is not enough time, and one may increase the survival chances of said Amigas if they wait longer for them to dry.

[Damion]

LoadWB wrote:
WD-40 is a water displacer by name and function, but it leaves a greasy film which attracts other contaminates, and I believe it also conducts.  My understanding is that you should never use WD-40 on electronic equipment, with the exception of moving parts like drive mechanisms, and even then you should use a lithium grease.  This was well-known back the in BBS days, and I assume that similar mentions are on the Internet or in news groups.

I agree. I'd blast them off with some contact cleaner (possibly removing Agnus - I could see water getting trapped underneath), maybe a little compressed air and let dry. Iso in lieu of contact cleaner. There is no way I'd hit a motherboard with WD-40.

[amigaksi]

>Huh?

I was looking for a more technical answer that's why I gave the example of the floppy drive.  If we know the exact thing that's happening when water is poured on electronic equipment, we can find the best solution.

[WotTheFook]

Guys,

I never said that WD-40 was a perfect answer, it was just to displace the water and prevent legs of chips etc. from rusting until such time that he could get around to drying it properly.

He could clean the board with methylated spirits afterwards and still be able to dry the board effectively.

WTF

[DoogUK]

An update......both a500's are ok...both working fine.
Gotta love these undestructable units.

Maybe its because they had 2 n half days drying under heat.

[Boot_WB]

amigaksi wrote:
>Huh?

I was looking for a more technical answer that's why I gave the example of the floppy drive.  If we know the exact thing that's happening when water is poured on electronic equipment, we can find the best solution.

Oxidation and deposition

If oxidation of tracks occurs this can reduce the cross-sectional area of the track, thus increasing overall resistance in the track, thus increasing heat dissipation per unit track lingth and increasing the chances of a burnout at some critical higher-resistance point (a narrowing, a track corner, etc) or where the track is transferring a higher current.

Where there is deposition (as I believe someone else has already pointed out) this may cause shorting, or increased interference where complete shorting does not occur.

Both oxidation and deposition may also prevent conduction at any point where contact is required, eg edge connectors, chip sockets, etc.

At least, that's my interpretation of possible water damage modes.

Regards



Rich

[WotTheFook]

Told you so....A500s have legendary durability.



WTF

[Ral-Clan]

amigaksi wrote:
What conclusion are we trying to draw here-- that even if you bathe the Amiga, it will still work as long as you dry it out for a week+ ?

I had a floppy drive that was really dirty and most disks failed on it.  I bathed it in water and tried after letting it dry for a month and it still does not work.  It was better when it was dirty.  Now it reads ZERO disks.  Seems like I killed something just by the bathing process.

I think it's pretty well known that you can use water to clean enclosed, non-moving components like a circuit board. The motherboard and components (mostly plastic) are all fairly inert things.  A bit of washing & drying won't hurt them (as long as they are not powered up at the time).  Some people have even put computer motherboards in the dish-washer (i.e. Amiga boards) and then allowed them to dry entirely, without problems.

However, you put a disk drive with moving, non-sealed components (i.e. the motors) in water. In a disk drive there are coil-wraps in the motors, other parts that can corrode, water absorbent materials (like the piece of felt opposite one of the drive heads & even cardboard components).  There are also lubricated/greased parts that can be harmed by water (the lubrication can be washed away).  Placing a disk-drive in water was a probably a mistake.

I also suspect that your problem was greater than dust contamination.  Probably head-misalignment.

Water cleaning is only intended for non-moving, inert, sealed components like motherboards, ICs, resistors, etc.

You could have removed just the circuit board from the disk drive and washed that, though, without worry.  In fact, I suspect the circuit board from your disk drive works just fine. It's just the mechanics that are faulty.

Now, in the case of a flood, where you have no choice, and even the moving parts are soaked, a weeks worth of drying is your only choice.

[Marcb]

So...how did you dry the bedroom carpet ?

(that'll get them going)