How to keep big and small electronics moisture free?

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raksrules

raksrules

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I got idea of this thread from my own thread wherein it seems moisture has caused issues with my mouse. I want to buy something or need solutions using which I can protect my electronics from moisture. I live in Mumbai so I feel this is even more needed for me.

I checked amazon and they sell those small silica packets but reviews are mixed and I am not sure whom to buy from. I also see those bigger cloth like bags costing Rs. 500 or so, not sure if those can be used indefinitely or need to throw them after sometime.
I have already read about being able to "recharge" silica gel packets by keeping in oven for an hour but I don't know if all silica gel packs can be recharged or I have to find special one.

Any suggestions on this from people who have been using some solutions or looking for answers, please pitch in.
 
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Silica gel packets just absorb moisture and turn into gel form. After heating them up they become like powder. Reusable moisture absorbers are better than the other types that turn into water or some liquid. You don't want liquid touching electronic stuff or clothes etc. Those carbon powder bags are probably fake and don't help much.

Edit: more expensive solution is to use your AC as dehumidifier. With the continuous rains, humidity in air is always >80%, so you need either a dedicated dehumidifier or an ac to regulate the humidity in the air.
 
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Run your electronics stuff almost daily. Heavy appliances doesn't need that much maintenance. But pc, laptops, usb devices etc. requires.
Put moisture absorbent and silica gels in the boxes where you pack these items, in drawers, cupboards etc. But simply relying on them isnt foolproof. Power on these items occasionally for pro longed hours.
 
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6pack said:
Reusable moisture absorbers are better than the other types that turn into water or some liquid. You don't want liquid touching electronic stuff or clothes etc. Those carbon powder bags are probably fake and don't help much.
Click to expand...

Do you have any links for reusable moisture absorbers?
 
Buy those silica gel packets you linked in the mouse thread or something like this


These gel packets become little bloated after absorbing moisture and you can put them in fridge to revive them. Fridge dry air acts like dehumidifier too.
 
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If you're talking household stuff that can fit in any airtight container - you can make a DIY dry box - like this one I did for my DSLR and lenses when my dry cabinet malfunctioned.

All you need is a suitable size airtight container + add sufficient silica gel packs or use the silica beads (I prefer the colour indicating silica beads available on Amazon) + a digital hygrometer (any one is fine - get 2 if you want to have a failsafe crosscheck) and put them in the box and simply seal it up. Monitor the drop in humidity until it stabilizes in the 35%-45% range - don't let it drop too much or it will dry out the lubrication used in some electronics. Once it stabilizes in the correct range - as long as the box is left shut - it will remain fine for a fair decent amount of time.

GtGdqpp.jpg
 
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I read rice can also be to suck out moisture. Don't know if its a good idea in electronics. Probably not a good long term idea ? Something to explorer me thinks
 
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forgot to mention you can also lightly dust the container with an anti-fungal powder before you use it - not excessive - just lightly. I have no clue if that makes any God damn difference to the growth of moulds - but as long as you can carefully place the items in the box (I use ziplock plastic bags but open and with sufficient open distance between the opening of the zip lock bag and the top of the container to allow the air inside access to the cam/lenses when the lid is closed so as not to trap moisture inside the ziplock bag itself) the powder should have no impact/risk of getting on to the electronics - but should theoretically help with preventing the growth of fungal molds.
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raksrules said:
Do you have any links for reusable moisture absorbers?
Click to expand...

I used these: https://www.amazon.in/WI-Color-Indi...ords=silica+beads+blue&qid=1598162370&sr=8-15

can recommend them
 
raksrules said:
How do you use them as they seem to be separate pieces. Like you keep in a bag or something? Or just spread it in the box with electronics?
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just put them in a small plastic bag or any wide-ish container box without any lid or cover inside the dry box itself. It's preferred to use as wide a container you can inside the dry box to maximize the surface area the beads can spread out and interact with the air inside the dry box.

eg - you could use and old Vicks bottle (cut it in half if you need) - or just an old johnson's earbuds container even (again cut in half if you want).

never left the beads loose randomly and in direct contact with the electronics.

In my experience when using the beads - they are far more potent than using those white silica gel pouches you get as standard - so just start off with using a little at a time and monitor/adjust as per the levels that reflect on the hygrometer readings.
 
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Came across another option on amazon: https://www.amazon.in/s?k=activated+charcoal
Its 'activated' charcoal. google says treating charcoal to high temps makes activated charcoal - a very porous material with high surface area. . Reviews are mixed. Many say its makes no difference. What I gathered, its only good for small areas. and effective for odors.
 
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So I gotta share my silly story.

Every Monsoon I get some PC start or monitor not coming on issue. My old family PC monitor keeps going off only in monsoon, so I keep the comp on during the day with the screen saver on and the monitor behaves itself.

The second PC, my gaming PC has started to act up this monsoon. I generally turn off everything in the night and turn on in the morning, but this time the PC refused to turn on.
I have several silica gels in the case (new ones) etc. I even kept silica gels under the case as PSU is bottom mounted. The comp would still not come on though the RGB Led power is on the mobo.
I tried taking out ram, cleaning etc, nothing helped. I knew it was moisture but what do I do? How do I get this to warm up? Leaving the power on whole day didn't help. I don't have hair dryer either.
Next morning totally fed up, I saw the sun up, alright I thought, time to put the PC out in the sun. Weird I thought, par chalo. 30 mins kept it there, the case was nice and warm and voila PC started. Lol, this has got to be a first, SUN DRIED PC! Lols. I decided to never turn off PC this monsoon.
Then lights went off one night for 1 hr or so and yes surely, my pc wouldn't turn on. I was like cmon man, 1 hr only you were off.
Next morning no sun either... Sheetz! How do I warm this thing? No Sun, no hair dryer. I got an old 200 watt bulb and lamp, attached it there and kept it near the SMPS/PSU for 30 mins or more, the case had gotten really hot and then she finally came alive.

What Smps am I using? Corsair 650W, it is 6 yrs old. Looks like capacitors or something weakening I suppose. What do you guys think?
 
nikrusty said:
So I gotta share my silly story.

Every Monsoon I get some PC start or monitor not coming on issue. My old family PC monitor keeps going off only in monsoon, so I keep the comp on during the day with the screen saver on and the monitor behaves itself.

The second PC, my gaming PC has started to act up this monsoon. I generally turn off everything in the night and turn on in the morning, but this time the PC refused to turn on.
I have several silica gels in the case (new ones) etc. I even kept silica gels under the case as PSU is bottom mounted. The comp would still not come on though the RGB Led power is on the mobo.
I tried taking out ram, cleaning etc, nothing helped. I knew it was moisture but what do I do? How do I get this to warm up? Leaving the power on whole day didn't help. I don't have hair dryer either.
Next morning totally fed up, I saw the sun up, alright I thought, time to put the PC out in the sun. Weird I thought, par chalo. 30 mins kept it there, the case was nice and warm and voila PC started. Lol, this has got to be a first, SUN DRIED PC! Lols. I decided to never turn off PC this monsoon.
Then lights went off one night for 1 hr or so and yes surely, my pc wouldn't turn on. I was like cmon man, 1 hr only you were off.
Next morning no sun either... Sheetz! How do I warm this thing? No Sun, no hair dryer. I got an old 200 watt bulb and lamp, attached it there and kept it near the SMPS/PSU for 30 mins or more, the case had gotten really hot and then she finally came alive.

What Smps am I using? Corsair 650W, it is 6 yrs old. Looks like capacitors or something weakening I suppose. What do you guys think?
Click to expand...

It's usually accumulated dust on the PCB absorbing moisture during humid weather and causing micro shorts. That's why either getting rid of the dust or drying out the moisture solves the problem.
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mach9 said:
forgot to mention you can also lightly dust the container with an anti-fungal powder before you use it - not excessive - just lightly. I have no clue if that makes any God damn difference to the growth of moulds - but as long as you can carefully place the items in the box (I use ziplock plastic bags but open and with sufficient open distance between the opening of the zip lock bag and the top of the container to allow the air inside access to the cam/lenses when the lid is closed so as not to trap moisture inside the ziplock bag itself) the powder should have no impact/risk of getting on to the electronics...
Click to expand...
It sounds terrifying to risk getting powder on lenses or sensors but practically in reality the risk is probably no more than in general use.
 
Julian said:
It's usually accumulated dust on the PCB absorbing moisture during humid weather and causing micro shorts. That's why either getting rid of the dust or drying out the moisture solves the problem.
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It sounds terrifying to risk getting powder on lenses or sensors but practically in reality the risk is probably no more than in general use.
Click to expand...

Yes - that's why I said lightly dust the container first before putting anything in it. Then tilt it over and tap out excess.. some amount of the anti-fungal powder will still remain and line the inner side ideally - then when you put your stuff in - you put it in the ziplock first and place them gently in the box. If you have a large enough box - there's no problem with space and letting the ziplocks "breathe" inside the box when you finally put the lid on top. This way there's not really any risk of dust falling on to the lenses or the camera.

Another easy alternate that usually photographers make use of is a dry cabinet - plenty of options on Amazon. The only drawback is electricity consumption and that these days is really killer! But basically it can be used for any moisture sensitive electronics. The principle is the same.

Activated charcoal is mostly effective for odours - otherwise it's silica gel is best for moisture.

AMAZON Link to dry cabinet if electricity costs don't bother you much:
 
Julian said:
It's usually accumulated dust on the PCB absorbing moisture during humid weather and causing micro shorts. That's why either getting rid of the dust or drying out the moisture solves the problem.
Post automatically merged:
Click to expand...

Well I did use the AC blower to clean the PC and the SMPS properly but that seems to have not helped. The dust stuck on it due to moisture, am not sure that got released, probably not. Perhaps I should turn it off and clean it with blower immediately?
 
nikrusty said:
Well I did use the AC blower to clean the PC and the SMPS properly but that seems to have not helped. The dust stuck on it due to moisture, am not sure that got released, probably not. Perhaps I should turn it off and clean it with blower immediately?
Click to expand...

Try using a hair dryer on medium setting first to warm and dry up areas before using the general blower.

I have a Stanley high power blower - That's usually more than effective. However I usually never do it in the rainy season - I always clean my PC for dust in the May when the humidity levels are relatively low and the temperatures are warm enough. Once rains start and the moisture levels climb, best not to mess with electronics.
 
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mach9 said:
Try using a hair dryer on medium setting first to warm and dry up areas before using the general blower.

I have a Stanley high power blower - That's usually more than effective. However I usually never do it in the rainy season - I always clean my PC for dust in the May when the humidity levels are relatively low and the temperatures are warm enough. Once rains start and the moisture levels climb, best not to mess with electronics.
Click to expand...
Hmm, okay. Thanks. I'll get a hair dryer and try this and see.
 
The micro shorts i mentioned can't really happen with large gaps. It's mostly IC feet with spacing less that even a millimeter that these happen. And so a blower is not going to get rid of the sticky dust between these contacts. You will need to brush it out. May need brushing with a contact cleaner or IPA.
 
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mach9 said:
If you're talking household stuff that can fit in any airtight container - you can make a DIY dry box - like this one I did for my DSLR and lenses when my dry cabinet malfunctioned.

All you need is a suitable size airtight container + add sufficient silica gel packs or use the silica beads (I prefer the colour indicating silica beads available on Amazon) + a digital hygrometer (any one is fine - get 2 if you want to have a failsafe crosscheck) and put them in the box and simply seal it up. Monitor the drop in humidity until it stabilizes in the 35%-45% range - don't let it drop too much or it will dry out the lubrication used in some electronics. Once it stabilizes in the correct range - as long as the box is left shut - it will remain fine for a fair decent amount of time.

GtGdqpp.jpg
Click to expand...
Any recommendations for a good hygrometer? What do you even look for when buying something like that?
 
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