Restoration of Nixie clocks

[Mich...@aol.com]

I don't want to make this a long story or to get pity; however, ....

 

My house caught fire 2 weeks ago.  Structure is fine.  Cause of fire was salt water tank (not a nixie clock).

 

Structure is fine, but smoke damage has destroyed a LOT.  Reason for my post is that I have (or had) over 30 nixie clocks and stock piles of tubes.  They tell me they dip (in what?) electronics, but are worried that the TUBE devices (the clocks).

 

I have a day to decide if I want them to try dipping.   Suggestions on an answer or sell off the clocks as is for a premium (heh - sad face) as they are covered in soot and obvious smell of being in a fire.

 

I did take 2x MOD6 clocks on Friday to work to see if I could just clean them myself.

On my way to work, I got rear-ended, so needless to say, those 12 tubes were destroyed in the back.  Uhhhg, bad luck.

 

So, question - anyone know 'what' they are going to DIP the clocks in and will it destroy the tubes?

 

Michail

 

[David Forbes]

Michail,

Sorry about the fire. If modern electronics can be dipped in something,
then tubes can also be dipped in it, I would expect. As long as it's
safe for glassware. The glass that tubes are made from can handle quick
temperature changes.

You might want them to test it on some Russian tubes with upside-down 2s
for 5s, so you won't be too sad if it fails.

--
David Forbes, Tucson AZ

[Nick]

On Monday, 26 October 2015 15:45:43 UTC, nixiebunny wrote:

If modern electronics can be dipped in something,
then tubes can also be dipped in it, I would expect. As long as it's
safe for glassware. The glass that tubes are made from can handle quick
temperature changes.

Might not be happy if it is an ultrasonic cleaner....

Nick 

[David Speck MD]

Many PC board assemblies are given a final wash in what amounts to an industrial dish washing machine to remove residuals of solder flux. 

The only thing I would do is to remove any Nixie tubes from their sockets, as you might get corrosion between the Nixie pins and the socket contacts from retained cleaning solution.

Soldered-in Nixie tubes would probably be just fine, but could easily shatter if exposed to an ultrasonic cleaner.  Just record the tube ID numbers before cleaning, as the printed tube labels will probably be washed away. 

Dave

[Nick]

When PCBs are washed, some components have watertight seals on them, e.g. piezo sounders & transformers etc. Normally a small piece of mylar/kapton tape is used to protect any components at risk - this is removed later.

You shouldn't assume a board is safe to wash just because it was done before - it may have been masked first...

Nick