Cleaning an AC3?

[musty baby]

I have an unusual problem. I purchased a brand new AC3 in December. I've known that I would be looking for a new residence for some time and decided that I'd hold off on installing it until I found a new place and set the tank back up in its new location. Until then it was stored with the rest of my stuff, in the basement of my childhood home.

Cue four inches of rain and one extremely flooded basement.

The AC3 box was a foot off the ground and 1/2 submerged. The DC8 and ph probe were on top of it, so they're ok. Question is: what can I do with the AC3? Would it be possible to send it in for a cleaning? Should I try doing it myself? Is it FUBAR? I've had good luck cleaning waterdrenched electronics in ethanol, if need be I can try it on the AC3 as well.

Just wondering where I should go from here. Two water sensors had to fail for this to happen, but of COURSE they both did.

[kenargo]

This is the kind of thing that homeowners insurance is for.

[musty baby]

Thank you for the extremely helpful comment.

Also, you're quite wrong.

http://www.insbuyer.com/floodinsurance.htm

[kenargo]

Interesting reading but in my experience it may not be completely accurate in all cases and all states. When we lived in NC we had a basement flood due to heavy rain and failed sump. A computer server that I kept in the basement was damaged; our home owners insurance paid for the replacement of the computer.

In either case, I would still suggest contacting your insurance company. Since insurance is (I believe) state regulated you may be protected. That said it might not reach your deductible so you might still be out of luck.

[60Cubed]

I'll buy it from you.

[musty baby]

Getting it replaced isn't a problem. The electrician that put in the sensors, tied in with the security system, mucked it up.

Homeowner's insurance does not cover it.

I just want to know if it can be repaired. Hell, I'm not so sure it wouldn't work if I just plugged it in, but I don't want to let it dry and leave any dissolved stuff behind without having rinsed it out first.

[kenargo]

If you want to try; no guarantees though. Take the unit apart and flush with fresh water (RO/DI if you have it). Many electronic circuits are washed with water after assembled. If you can separate the display and switches before you rinse that might help success.

[dougchambers]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12429509#post12429509 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by musty baby
Getting it replaced isn't a problem. The electrician that put in the sensors, tied in with the security system, mucked it up.

Homeowner's insurance does not cover it.

I just want to know if it can be repaired. Hell, I'm not so sure it wouldn't work if I just plugged it in, but I don't want to let it dry and leave any dissolved stuff behind without having rinsed it out first. Musty - As Ken mentioned, you should be able to remove the cover and flush the printed circuit assembly thoroughly with RO/DI water. You can also do a final rinse with propanol and blow the assembly off with compressed air. DO NOT apply power until the unit is thoroughly dry! We perform similar rinse operations on $10K assemblies almost daily, but after the rinse, they are baked out for 30-60min at ~80°C. A warm hair dryer can work as well. I haven't cracked the case so I can't guarantee that everything on the printed circuit assembly can handle the temperature. You may see some slight white discoloration to the solder joints after using propanol if the assembly is built with no-clean flux. It won't look as pretty, but the residue is active and shouldn't cause any leakage problems.

Another thought for you is to give Curt and the boys a call and see if they would be willing to check it out for you. If not, give it a shot, but I would definitely rinse it down and dry it. Be particularly careful with the LCD module...

-Doug

[musty baby]

Pulled it apart, submerged and shook the entire thing in RO/DI, did a final rinse in another bucket of RO/DI, and ran a fan on it for the night to dry it off/out. Works exactly as it should, just hope I haven't reduced its life expectancy at all.

[60Cubed]

That's why I said I would buy it from you! Should work good for you. Dang-it. I wanted a spare!

[kenargo]

Glad to see everything worked out; I suspect you have many good years left in it. I had an old AC2 drop into the tank and rinsed as I mentioned; it's still going (~10 years later).

[musty baby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12454389#post12454389 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 60Cubed
That's why I said I would buy it from you! Should work good for you. Dang-it. I wanted a spare!

Don't worry- I wasn't about to part with it at a discount without knowing whether it would work or not :)

It's good to hear that yours has lasted that long, kenargo.

Now I just need to do the same thing with the computer that was beside it :rolleyes: