Control/Dimming Leprecon VX2400 Series 2 Damaged by Flood

[klappjack]

We recently had a major flood in our area. The water got higher than it ever had been in known history.

Our theater has a rack of 5 VX2400s of which 4 were completely submerged. I know the submerged ones are toast, but what about the dry one. Is there any chance that it is OK? I can't power it up and attempt to use it yet as power to the rack has not been restored, and even if I could, I'm afraid I'd damage it further.

Is there any way I can test this unit? Can you recommend somewhere to take it for testing? I am near Binghamton, NY.

Thanks.
Jack

 

[DrPinto]

Ouch.

I would call Leprecon directly.

You could also try calling ALPS in Randolph Ma. They're a Leprecon dealer that I've used before and had a very positive experience with. Kathleen Maynard, Service Manager - (781) 437-1140

ALPS Home

Good luck.

 

[TimMiller]

Were they powered on when it flooded? If not get them dry ASAP, some air then place them in a big ziplock bag full of rice and let them sit about a week. Yes they do have ziplock bags big enough. You can pull off the covers and try to use a towel and blow dryer. I saved a hog1000 that went swimming for about a week and it still lives. Poor console went through a fire a while back and melted parts of the keys and front panel, then went through flood...... I have also saved some movers and dimmer rack that went through a flood. I just opened them up used a hair dryer until all of the moisture evaporated. Just be sure before opening up any equipment the power is turned off and disconnected.

 

[klappjack]

It's unknown if the power had actually failed before the water came in. However, the submerged units, along with everything else in the room, were covered with a thick coat of slime. My question is whether or not the dry unit is OK. Thanks, Jack

 

[FatherMurphy]

My city went through a major flood a couple years ago, and one of the lessons I've learned is that electrical gear survives submersion much better than you might expect. The main thing is to get stuff flushed out with distilled water as quickly as possible, to clean out the flood mud and neutralize any stray chemicals carried by the flood (like the gas stations with in-ground tanks and the electroplater that was upriver from us). Some people will use dilute bleach to clean and sterilize flooded things, but you must then rinse the bleach off thoroughly as well, or the bleach will corrode lots of stuff. Once things are clean and *dry*, then you can see what does and doesn't still work, and many things will still function, including computers.

However, there's always the possibility that you missed something during the cleaning phase, and corrosion will cause problems later, so don't reuse any submerged gear if it's mission-critical or could pose a safety hazard (including bursting into flames), and be very cautious the first time you fire things up. If in doubt, just chuck it onto the insurance pile, rather than take a chance.

The 'dry' dimmer should be fine as is, but if you're not used to working in dimmer maintenance, then sending it to a service center to check is a good idea. Your insurance might even cover the cost, since it will be cheaper than buying a new dimmer rack. Worst case scenario is that it got hit with a voltage spike before the power died, and there's a component on the brain card that is intended to fail during overvoltage situations to protect everything else - I replaced three of them once on a 36 channel VX-2400 touring rack that had gotten wired up to a 480 volt generator, and that was all that was needed.

 

[FMEng]

The dimmers are likely salvagable if they are rinsed out with clean water and thoroughly dried. I would replace all switches (DMX addressing) and circuit breakers, because any oxidation, dirt, or loss of lubrication there will cause problems or a safety hazard.

Do not power them up without first conducting a high-pot (HiPot) test. This is a leakage test with high voltage applied. If you don't know what this is and how to do it properly, then box the equipment up and ship it to the manufacturer. Doing any less is a big risk and your insurance carrier will walk away if anything happens.