Used gear arrived with coated with pooled water inside and out- Can it just be dried?

[poppaflavor]

Looking for a reality check on the potential consequences of a device being exposed to pooled/standing water.

The (used) unit arrived like this (see images). The water forms a sheen on *everything* and also pools onto components and faceplates/knobs. It happened before arrival, as it was already showing all this water immediately upon opening and my studio space interior is quite dry so it certainly didn't condense this water upon arrival. I've got it under a gentle fan in a dry area to hopefully remediate it.

Is it even possible for you all to help guess-timate the damage done by this water to pots, components (ICs, Rs, Cs, etc)? If so, based on your experience, could you take a stab at what the negative outcomes may be? I don't know if it has been with this amount of water for any significant amount of time; I'm giving the seller the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't dragged out of a pool right before shipping. If that is so then the water exposure is likely max ~7 days (from ship to arrival).

I realize I will need to run signal through to assess (once it dries out) and maybe even do some REW testing. Also, I've contact the seller and shared these pics, and am awaiting a reply. But I'm hoping for some context from others here in GDIY who have experienced this level of water exposure to help me triangulate the correct next course of action. I'm not going to do individual component testing for this, it's a basic test-and-keep or return-for-refund scenario. I would indeed like to keep it, but not at the cost of component testing or extensive trouble shooting.

Sigh.

Many thanks in advance.

 

[scott2000]

Not sure about the pots... Would think everything else would be ok as long as it is totally dry.... I'd pull the chips from the sockets too...

Maybe some compressed air and a little bath in some ipa or something could help displace some water and speed up the process....?idk....

 

[k brown]

Might also try what's recommended for cameras that get dunked - fill the unit with uncooked white rice for a few days. Then blow out any dust left behind, and vacuum out well.

Yes, the pots may have to be replaced, but everything else might be OK.

 

[scott2000]

lol

 

[poppaflavor]

Not sure about the pots... Would think everything else would be ok as long as it is totally dry.... I'd pull the chips from the sockets too...

Maybe some compressed air and a little bath in some ipa or something could help displace some water and speed up the process....?idk....

Could you please clarify? Would you pull the chips now, or wait until the visible water dried and then pull the chips to allow the sockets to dry further?

I love the idea of the neat IPA. I have that for other electronic purposes and could dab a bit across the board with a brush to aid the evaporation. And I have compressed air to, which if I understand correctly may blow out latent, lurking tidbits of water?

Might also try what's recommended for cameras that get dunked - fill the unit with uncooked white rice for a few days. Then blow out any dust left behind, and vacuum out well.

Yes, the pots may have to be replaced, but everything else might be OK.

Great idea. I will do that soon as the standing water is no longer visible. I always have dry rice and beans on hand. In fact, you just reminded me that I think I still have some desiccant packs that I sometimes use when I prepare nutrient powder blends. So I can put them into a plastic sack with the board and desiccate further.

lol

I try to think that is *not* what the seller did prior to shipping me the device. But my imagination has indeed been running amok at the origin story of this water, and that image did spring to mind :-/

 

[k brown]

I'd take the chips out ASAP to give the sockets the maximum time to dry. Don't think you need to worry about the boards themselves; water won't harm them.

Also, I wouldn't do anything with alchohol until you try a good dry-out with time, air and rice first, then see how it responds. It's conceivable that alcohol might soften some materials used in construction, and may dissolve some of the lubricants in the pots.

 

[poppaflavor]

I'd take the chips out ASAP to give the sockets the maximum time to dry. Don't think you need to worry about the boards themselves; water won't harm them.

Also, I wouldn't do anything with alchohol until you try a good dry-out with time, air and rice first, then see how it responds. It's conceivable that alcohol might soften some materials used in construction, and may dissolve some of the lubricants in the pots.

Thank you very much for the insight and in such a timely manner! Just what I was hoping for. I'm diving into the fixes now in the order you've suggested.

I appreciate your help!

BTW- I found a clue that may tell the tale of how this device got so jacked up. It would seem from the tattoo (pic below) they dropped on it that it was previously used by the Dead Kennedys. Nothing punk comes without warts! Dam you DKs.

 

[k brown]

Are you sure the 'wet' wasn't alcohlic refreshment?

 

[poppaflavor]

Are you sure the 'wet' wasn't alcohlic refreshment?

Yep absolutely certain. I tasted it. Just water.

Then had to go find my own alcoholic consolation while dreaming what a DC24 low end split band stomping on a ribbon mic-Coil 70 combo might sound like.

Hopefully I'll know soon, but I guess better to be patient and wait a day to find out then to plug it in wet and hear a snap crackle pop.

 

[Script]

I have successfully water-washed stuffed PCBs . But without pots, trims, styro caps on them -- without anything that can trap water inside

Very low humidity on winter sunny days might do the trick. Summer is the better season.

 

[Philbo King]

Heat-soak it in an electric oven set to 130-140 deg F with the door cocked open a little for 8 or 10 hours should help. But follow that up with some time with a hair dryer gun to try to blow water out of the pots and from beneath ICs, then a thorough PCB cleaning with swabs & isopropanol.

 

[scott2000]

Heat-soak it in an electric oven set to 130-140 deg F with the door cocked open a little for 8 or 10 hours should help

add the kwh usage to the refund...

 

[Brian Roth]

The pix in Post #1 almost make me wonder if it was a big situation of condensation during shipping. Seen that a few times, but not to that degree. However we've had some wild temp swings recently in the USA.

Anyway to @poppaflavor .....If you have access to a small electric room heater with an internal fan (like something Grandma would use to keep her feet warm in winter while she watches TV) that may be an option to consider.

Don't be in a hurry and sloooowly use low velocity moving warm air for a few days.

(I was gonna tell "war stories" about a LARGE, full pitcher of beer dumped by a drunk into a FOH mixer, a large cup of Diet Coke dumped into a Panasonic Pro broadcast video production switcher, etc. Nevermind! lol)

Bri

 

[MagnetoSound]

As everyone has practically said, the unit just needs to be thoroughly dry before you power it up.

If you have an airing cupboard with a hot water cylinder in it, where you would normally keep fresh sheets and blankets (or any other warm, dry place) just leave it in there for a day or two with the lid off. Better than an oven or heat gun, imo.

Even the pots should be ok, as any lubricant will likely not have been displaced by the water. If they feel rough or sound crackly, any decent contact cleaner/lubricant should restore them. The only thing to worry about is any mineral salt deposits carried in by the water, but as long as the unit wasn’t wet for too long this is unlikely to be a problem.

Just be patient. It should be fine.

 

[Trouble Report]

Looking for a reality check on the potential consequences of a device being exposed to pooled/standing water.

The (used) unit arrived like this (see images). The water forms a sheen on *everything* and also pools onto components and faceplates/knobs. It happened before arrival, as it was already showing all this water immediately upon opening and my studio space interior is quite dry so it certainly didn't condense this water upon arrival. I've got it under a gentle fan in a dry area to hopefully remediate it.

Is it even possible for you all to help guess-timate the damage done by this water to pots, components (ICs, Rs, Cs, etc)? If so, based on your experience, could you take a stab at what the negative outcomes may be? I don't know if it has been with this amount of water for any significant amount of time; I'm giving the seller the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't dragged out of a pool right before shipping. If that is so then the water exposure is likely max ~7 days (from ship to arrival).

I realize I will need to run signal through to assess (once it dries out) and maybe even do some REW testing. Also, I've contact the seller and shared these pics, and am awaiting a reply. But I'm hoping for some context from others here in GDIY who have experienced this level of water exposure to help me triangulate the correct next course of action. I'm not going to do individual component testing for this, it's a basic test-and-keep or return-for-refund scenario. I would indeed like to keep it, but not at the cost of component testing or extensive trouble shooting.

Sigh.

Many thanks in advance.
Hi Poppa,

I disagree with those that suggest it might be OK to just dry it out. I have the "benefit" of having been involved in the aftermath of a couple of studios that went under water - literally - during the superstorm Sandy incident. Water and its effect on electronic components is sneaky stuff. In the instance of the two studios I mentioned, we were able to swish the the equipment out (a Neve console, power amplifiers, microphones, etc.) with fresh water. You haven't lived till you intentionally dunk a Bryston 4B in a tub of water. We got about 80% of the stuff working - apparently. It wasn't till a year later that we realized we uncorked the Champaign a bit too early. That was when transistors started falling of their leads, and the residue from water contaminants began conducting enough to create spurious and hard to locate noises. Apparently, the degradation to the various metals used continues even though all initially seems well.

You might get away with it. By the looks of the circuit board "damage", my vote is that you won't. If this gear was recently purchased, why not toss it back to the seller and go looking for something that hasn't taken an ersatz bath?

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[Tubetec]

It does depend on the type of water that got in , flood waters are very different from drops of rain,
Examine for any traces of residue as its drying ,
A q-tip moistened with alcohol removes contamination from the pcb without the need to dunk anything or waste vast amounts of the liquid . sometimes I might swab the board down 2-3 times ,wiping dry with a clean cloth in between .
Cigarette filters that come in the plastic wrap are also really useful used as a kind of microfibre mop for cleaning pcbs , keep the outer wrap around it to prevent shedding of fibres , it also disolves and scrubs away any excess flux without any harm to the pcb finish .

Its easy to blast components off the board with compressed air so make sure you dont over do it with the pressure .

I think I''d avoid using food products to dry things out ,
I recently had luck getting s bunch of laptops damaged by flood waters going again , ran a dehumidifier in a small room near them for a few days , then carefully removed any grit and salt residue , the memory back up battery had some corrosion on the terminals that needed cleaning up , aside from various levels of screen damage ,all 11 laptops powered up and were usable , with external monitors in the case of a few .

 

[TJTex]

Looking for a reality check on the potential consequences of a device being exposed to pooled/standing water.

The (used) unit arrived like this (see images). The water forms a sheen on *everything* and also pools onto components and faceplates/knobs. It happened before arrival, as it was already showing all this water immediately upon opening and my studio space interior is quite dry so it certainly didn't condense this water upon arrival. I've got it under a gentle fan in a dry area to hopefully remediate it.

Is it even possible for you all to help guess-timate the damage done by this water to pots, components (ICs, Rs, Cs, etc)? If so, based on your experience, could you take a stab at what the negative outcomes may be? I don't know if it has been with this amount of water for any significant amount of time; I'm giving the seller the benefit of the doubt that it wasn't dragged out of a pool right before shipping. If that is so then the water exposure is likely max ~7 days (from ship to arrival).

I realize I will need to run signal through to assess (once it dries out) and maybe even do some REW testing. Also, I've contact the seller and shared these pics, and am awaiting a reply. But I'm hoping for some context from others here in GDIY who have experienced this level of water exposure to help me triangulate the correct next course of action. I'm not going to do individual component testing for this, it's a basic test-and-keep or return-for-refund scenario. I would indeed like to keep it, but not at the cost of component testing or extensive trouble shooting.

Sigh.

Many thanks in advance.


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If there was no water damage to the box it was in, like looking like it was dropped into a pool of water, then this all looks like condensation. I don't know where you live in the US, perhaps a northern state? It looks like the device was left out in the cold or transported in the cold and then brought inside and opened immediately. Even a 23% RH at 70 degrees would produce significant condensation on a cold unit.

How do you get it fixed? Well you need to let it come up to temperature and dry out. I would leave it for a couple of days just to make sure it is completely dry. Trying to force dry it by blowing air on it will only drive any contaminants deeper into crevices. Once the unit is completely dry, you can start to check out if the unit works. I would suspect things like pots would be affected (maybe scratchy from having water dry on them and you may need to use some pot cleaner spray. The Integrated circuits should be ok since there is a tight seal from the socket connection to the IC leads. I have seen this before with condensation.

 

[cyrano]

Rinse repeatedly with demineralised water.
After that, let it air dry for a long time. Like a week in a dry environment.
Even after that, there might still be some humidity under certain components. If that's the case, dip in IPA for a night and let it air dry at least 24 hours.

I once saved an expensive Hifi system that was on the bottom of a canal for months. There was only one component that failed, an inductance in the cassette deck.

The electrostatic speakers were worse off. I first deemed them total loss. After months they had dried out without any intervention. I connected them to an amp and to my surprise, a very faint level came out. So I started washing the sand and dirt out with just plain water. As the wood was distorted, it was just curiosity. After many washing and drying cycles, they seemed more or less OK electrically. I gave them to a friend who's a carpenter and he made new cabinets. AFAIK, they're still playing in his living room.

I've tried drying in an oven. It works, but it also kills some components.

Silicate isn't "strong" enough for equipment that's really wet.

 

[Disco Volante]

I've rescued a number of hifi units from the dump by washing them with soap and water, then a rinse and dry out in the warm lab for a week. Some were covered in nicotine and tar from years in a bar, some barnfinds were full of mud and cobwebs and what not. I've never had any components fail later, but I ususally do a full recap anyway. Anything older than 20 years needs a recap, I'd say...
A bit of alcohol clears out any greasy residue. Citric acid will clear those popcrackle switches right up.
Just my 2c.
Happy tinkering!

 

[Whoops]

Put in next to a Dehumidifier for a few days without the top cover
if you have a Heat Fan, send light warm air into it

Make sure everything is dry, after everything is dry turn it on, probably everything will be ok