Salinity Monitor Question

[Domboski]

I dropped my damn salinity monitor into a bucket of fresh saltwater :irked: If I take it apart and clean the board with a Q-tip and rubbing alcohol do you think it can work properly again? Or is it friggin garbage now? :irked:

Thanks in advance for the help / advice.

 

[ming]

I dropped an auto feeder into a freshwater tank before. It worked after I let it completely air dry a few weeks before putting batteries back in and it worked. Hopefully you didn't short circuit the electronics in there from the battery.
If the battery is inside, it might need to be replaced though. And the salt residue inside the equipment may cause it to rust extremely fast making it more likely to fail in the near future even if you do get it working.

 

[KathyC]

Oh wow, that really stinks! Hope it works for you!!

 

[masterswimmer]

Agree with ming. If you got the battery out before it cycled and no current flowed through the circuit board, you can let it air dry. I wouldn't even use a Q-tip. It might leave behind micro fibers that can actually do more harm (cause a short circuit) than good.

Again agree with ming, the saltwater even after drying for a couple of weeks will leave behind some creep. It'll work for awhile, IMO and then it will corrode from the SW. If it was pure FW you'd have no long term issues. It was the SW that will shorten the life of the circuit board.

R

 

[Cloud1921]

Funny you should mention this.
Same thing happened to me with my salinity monitor (Pinpoint)

You can def try wiping everything clean.
I also used a blowdryer on the insides, leave it on the chip for a while.
Just make sure it is all dry before powering it on.
My salinity monitor still works till this day.

 

[ghostshadow]

pull the batt, swish it around in RO real good, then let it dry.

that will get the salt out.

 

[masterswimmer]

pull the batt, swish it around in RO real good, then let it dry.

that will get the salt out.

Not a bad idea. Let it air dry for a good couple of weeks. If you had a small fan blowing on it that could help get air circulation inside some of the crevices that might not dry as completely as some other areas, that might be helpful too.

I really like the swishing around in RO/DI FW. Go for it Dom. The 'FW dip' is good sound advice.

R

 

[ghostshadow]

a coworker spilled an entire cup of coffee into his laptop keyboard. i'm talking one of those jumbo cups. had tons of sugar in it too. coffee was oozing out of every crevice.

i call my dad the electronics whiz and asked what we should do. he said take it to the bathroom, crank the faucet, and run it under the sink. my jaw dropped and thought he was kidding. after a solid flush, we leaned it against a fan for a few hours to get all the moisture out.

laptop needed a new harddrive but everything else worked. he had it back up and running from IT in a couple days. what did we have to lose?

let us know how it goes dom!

dan

 

[skene]

A lot of equipment these days tend to be somewhat waterproofed, as they put a clear thin plastic coating to protect the electronics from moisture. Now it is not to say that it is wise to drop anything into water, but the most common failure of soaked electronics is corrosion. You can prevent this by taking out the board and after the drying, using a soft bristle toothbrush and cleaning out the contacts. I do not at any point in time recommend dunking the board back into fresh water, but rinse and scrub.
If you don't trust wter too much, you may want to try some electroncs cleaner. That is something you should be able to pick up at a radio shack or something along those lines.

 

[Domboski]

Thanks everyone! The monitor did not have a battery in it as I was using the AC adapter. Hopoefully that doesn't make it worse. I stood the monitor straight up hoping the water would run down as it dried. I turned the monitor on this morning and it works fine However I decided to try and wipe it down and do some of the things recommended here. Thanks MR

I actually have two monitors but the probe on one doesn't seem to work right no matter how many times I set it. It just sucks that the one I dropped was my only working monitor :irked:

I'll keep everyone posted. Thanks again! :hug:

I'll let you know how it goes!