Cleaning Electronics Devices
Don
scenario" situation. A few months ago I acquired a rather high-end
Mitsubishi VHS VCR from eBay for not much money. The seller said the
VCR was in excellent condition, and very clean. I'm sure everyone has
heard this before... LOL. To make a long story short, when I received
the VCR it was an absolute disaster from a aesthetic and cleanliness
point-of-view. Obviously, the original owner was a heavy smoker, and
the VCR absolutely reeked of smoke, and nicotine stains were the worst
I've ever seen inside and out the unit. To put it mildly, it was
horrible, and I almost felt I needed to put on rubber gloves just to
touch it!
Strangely, it worked fine, but otherwise it was a real mess. So, I
decided to disassemble it and clean it manually. It didn't take long
to realize that this was hopeless. Thus, I did the
unthinkable,especially for a VCR. Once disassembled, I put each board
and the chassis/transport into the dishwasher taking care to cover and
protect the video head drum. No dish washing detergent, just the
water. After a full wash, rinse, and dry cycle, I removed it, and
gently dried it with compressed air, and then placed it into a 100
degree oven for a short time.
After 3 months, the VCR is still working fine, and it looks (and
smells) like new. Realistically, I had nothing to lose by trying this
worst-case cleaning method, but it worked. It sounds like this would
be an absolute disaster for a VCR, and I must admit, I am surprised
that it was successful.
I have used this method for cleaning other types of electronics in the
past, but not a VCR.
N_Cook
news:f2e92c69-535a-4a2b...@z10g2000yqb.googlegroups.com...
What is the largest item w x h x d you can put , entire, into a domestic
dishwasher ?is dismantling racks possible in some models.?
With tobacco staining I just use oven cleaner (after test patches) on the
outside and drops of fragrent oil on whatever gets warm on the inside. Last
weeks treat for me was an amp a dog had pissed in the back of - frangipan
oil went in that one after localised cleaning.
Meat Plow
Flux stripper spray and 90% Isopropyl on pc boards and other things that
won't be damaged by chemicals. Window cleaner on the outside.
Bob Villa
30 years ago, when I worked with circuit boards for cash
registers...we would steam clean and blow off board that had
spillage,smoking tars, insect or rodent nests on them.
bob
William Sommerwerck
Their lubrication wasn't affected?
stra...@yahoo.com
What's unthinkable about a dishwasher for PC boards? We put all 40
boards of a 1978 Ampex AVR-3 into the dishwasher in 2006 and they
worked fine. We did have the bonus of a commercial food dehydrator so
we cooked them at 105° F for 17 hours. Oven baking is OK so long as
you dnon't overheat them. Electric is preferred over gas as a
combustion byproduct is water - what you're trying to get rid of.
The transport however....
G²
Don
as well as the bottom of the motor underneath the chassis. After the
wash, I went through and fully lubricated all points in the transport
which were previously lubricated. Mitsubishi used a special type of
graphite grease, and I located it online. Of course, I knew the PC
boards could be cleaned in this manner, as I used to work for an
electronics manufacturer. However, an entire VCR was a bit of a
bizarre thought. I had nothing to lose with this approach, as my
initial thought after receiving the VCR was to put it in the trash.
All of the membrane switches, all of the mechanical and electrical
aspects of the machine work fine after 3 months of use. Needless to
say, I am pleasantly surprised everything is still functioning to
spec. We'll see if it has any long term affects in the coming
months.
The top cover wasn't in the best of shape, so I contacted a friend who
does powder coating, primarily for custom cars. He stripped the
cover, and powder coated it, and now it looks better than new. He
only charged me for the powder... $10.
William Sommerwerck
Adam Sampson
> I have used this method for cleaning other types of electronics in the
> past, but not a VCR.
There was a discussion on the TekScopes list a few months ago about
Tektronix's procedure for cleaning their oscilloscopes and other test
equipment during refurbishment: use a spray gun with plenty of hot water
and detergent, rinse with clean water, then dry in a warm oven for 24
hours. A dishwasher approximates this pretty well.
The instructions list a few caveats: try to avoid getting power
transformers or paper-cased capacitors wet, and relubricate switches and
other moving parts after drying. List members noted that Tek were
reasonably careful to choose switches and pots that could be washed this
way, and more careful drying may be necessary for equipment made by
other manufacturers...
If you're a member of the list's Yahoo group, there's a good article
with photos here:
http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/TekScopes/files/Tek%20Scope%20Cleaning%20by%20C%20Phillips.pdf
--
Adam Sampson <a...@offog.org> <http://offog.org/>