Standby Power On

[3db]

The plumbing let go that drains the washing machine water and one load went through (laundry room is on the main floor) and it rained water all over my HT setup. The Vizio, a cable box and blue ray player received the brunt of it, teh turntable and my RX-V1800 was spared most of it. My center channel and l/r main PSBs got wet as well. They're off at the insurance company now in a special room to dry off electronics. The display and blue ray player I don;t care about because prices have fallen so much for those items. I may be able to get a 55" plasma for the same price that I bought my 47" Vizio for. I'm worried about the most about my receiver and turntable. The RX-V1800 performed flawlessly with gobs of power to spare. If it goes bad, I hope they will give me enough to get an RX-A2000 which I consider to be the equivalent of the 1800.

What are the chances that even in standby mode, nothing happened to the receiver? Has anyone else gone through this kind of thing before?

 

[Alex2507]

Intermittent problems like the volume control going to maximum and failure to store memory settings plagued my H/K AVR 430 after it was stored in a garage with a leaky roof. It was wrapped in plastic and I discovered a puddle of water that had collected on top of the wrapper. I'm not sure if any water got in to the unit.

Had it been insured I would have told the insurance company that the power cuts out intermittently and let them search for an impossible fix until they made good on the claim.

 

[3db]

The insurance company took everything and placed it in a special drying room. They say they will then look for damage, test it and warranty it if it passes the test.

 

[3db]

Got the word back. Everything I figured would have to be replaced is good. Water was streaming through the LCD and Cisco PVR but somehow both survived. I get to keep my old faithfull Yamaha RX-V1800 and my PSB speakers which is a relief. The one that that did not survive and I thought would was my turntable.

 

[FirstReflection]

Well of course everything is "fine" according to the insurance company You think they're in the business of ever paying a claim to anyone for anything? You'd have to videotape one of their own employees personally destroying your property and have them sign a sworn statement that they did it in front of Superman and the Pope to ever get a cent from them.

That said, electronics are not nearly as fragile as we tend to think when it comes to water. So long as none of the internal circuitry experienced a short (which typically only happens if the unit is actually powered on and in opperation when it is exposed to water), it's usually fine. However, being in a damp environment for a lengthy period of time can often cause corrosion or oxidation (rust). If you let an electronic device that got wet dry fairly quickly after the incident though, it'll usually be fine

 

[3db]

Well of course everything is "fine" according to the insurance company You think they're in the business of ever paying a claim to anyone for anything? You'd have to videotape one of their own employees personally destroying your property and have them sign a sworn statement that they did it in front of Superman and the Pope to ever get a cent from them./QUOTE]

All my affected electronics are now claimable for two years post accident. I figure long term water damage will rear its ugly head in that time span.

That said, electronics are not nearly as fragile as we tend to think when it comes to water. So long as none of the internal circuitry experienced a short (which typically only happens if the unit is actually powered on and in opperation when it is exposed to water), it's usually fine. However, being in a damp environment for a lengthy period of time can often cause corrosion or oxidation (rust). If you let an electronic device that got wet dry fairly quickly after the incident though, it'll usually be fine

Time will tell.

 

[racquetman]

Saving electronics from water

I've saved quite a few electronic items for people in the past - a camera that someone dropped in a toilet and a wrist watch that fell into a bathtub come to mind off the top of my head.

Here's what I recommend if you are desperate to try and save something that got wet. Don't try to turn it on to see if it works!! Remove power cord, batteries, etc. (any power source). Contact a local analytical laboratory and ask if you can get some deionized water. You will want water with the highest resistivity (lowest conductivity) you can get. You will want a resistivity of at least 1,000,000 ohm-cm (a.k.a. 1 Mohm-cm, "M" standing for "mega" or "million"). Resistivity = 1/Conductivity by the way.

Many labs use >=18.0 Mohm-cm deionized water with 18.2 Mohm-cm being the theoretical maximum (at 25 degrees C). This is called "Type 1" water and it is what you want ideally.

You can pour this water directly onto your item, submerge the item in the water, rinse out cavities, etc. The idea is to remove any normal water that is inside your gear. By doing this you will be removing any ions (cations or anions) that could cause a short. If there is any other foreign material on the item, this is also the easiest way to get it off.

You will want to do this as soon as possible. Don't wait until the item is dry to do this. Evaporation will leave behind the impurities from the tap water (toilet water, river water, etc.). Residue left behind from evaporation could cause a short and will be difficult to remove by the above process if it "cakes" on the item.

Once you have rinsed the item thoroughly and are confident that everything has been removed, let it dry completely. Deionized water will not leave any residue behind. Reintroduce power and hopefully you are good to go.

Obviously this won't work if the item has already shorted. Like I said, though, I have resurrected quite a few different items that people were sure that were dead using this method. It is certainly worth a try if you were just going to pitch it in the garbage.

 

[slipperybidness]

I've saved quite a few electronic items for people in the past - a camera that someone dropped in a toilet and a wrist watch that fell into a bathtub come to mind off the top of my head.

Here's what I recommend if you are desperate to try and save something that got wet. Don't try to turn it on to see if it works!! Remove power cord, batteries, etc. (any power source). Contact a local analytical laboratory and ask if you can get some deionized water. You will want water with the highest resistivity (lowest conductivity) you can get. You will want a resistivity of at least 1,000,000 ohm-cm (a.k.a. 1 Mohm-cm, "M" standing for "mega" or "million"). Resistivity = 1/Conductivity by the way.

Many labs use >=18.0 Mohm-cm deionized water with 18.2 Mohm-cm being the theoretical maximum (at 25 degrees C). This is called "Type 1" water and it is what you want ideally.

You can pour this water directly onto your item, submerge the item in the water, rinse out cavities, etc. The idea is to remove any normal water that is inside your gear. By doing this you will be removing any ions (cations or anions) that could cause a short. If there is any other foreign material on the item, this is also the easiest way to get it off.

You will want to do this as soon as possible. Don't wait until the item is dry to do this. Evaporation will leave behind the impurities from the tap water (toilet water, river water, etc.). Residue left behind from evaporation could cause a short and will be difficult to remove by the above process if it "cakes" on the item.

Once you have rinsed the item thoroughly and are confident that everything has been removed, let it dry completely. Deionized water will not leave any residue behind. Reintroduce power and hopefully you are good to go.

Obviously this won't work if the item has already shorted. Like I said, though, I have resurrected quite a few different items that people were sure that were dead using this method. It is certainly worth a try if you were just going to pitch it in the garbage.

Interesting technique. You say this has worked for you in the past? The only hole in this theory is that once the UPW hits the contaminated parts, it is no longer UPW (by definition), so it could still pick up ions from other areas of the device and deposit them on the critical areas. I suppose enough UPW would dilute the ions to negligible levels, and I guess there is nothing to lose at that point.

What about using Si gel or rice to help speed up the drying once you do the water rinse?

 

[racquetman]

Interesting technique. You say this has worked for you in the past? The only hole in this theory is that once the UPW hits the contaminated parts, it is no longer UPW (by definition), so it could still pick up ions from other areas of the device and deposit them on the critical areas. I suppose enough UPW would dilute the ions to negligible levels, and I guess there is nothing to lose at that point.

What about using Si gel or rice to help speed up the drying once you do the water rinse?

Yes, I've been successful doing this quite a few times.

You answered yourself with the "dilution solution".

You can use any drying method from that point. I have used a hair dryer for fast results because I wanted to quickly see if my efforts were successful.

 

[slipperybidness]

Yes, I've been successful doing this quite a few times.

You answered yourself with the "dilution solution".

You can use any drying method from that point. I have used a hair dryer for fast results because I wanted to quickly see if my efforts were successful.

Well, I work in a lab with top of the line Millipore 18Mohm system. That is good to know. Also been a few times we've had leaks in the lab kill electronics, so I may consider this as a last-ditch effort in the future.

 

[racquetman]

Well, I work in a lab with top of the line Millipore 18Mohm system. That is good to know. Also been a few times we've had leaks in the lab kill electronics, so I may consider this as a last-ditch effort in the future.

I'll put my Barnstead unit up against your Millipore system any day!!

Just a joke . . . your response got me to wondering if there has ever been a thread war over who makes a better water polisher. That would be some ultimate geeking out . . .