Rained on equipment

[microstar]

A big storm came thru a day or two ago and blew the roof off the control room at a local amphitheatre. The dimmer racks and console got soaked over a good period of time since the site is out in the countryside. Any tips on what to look for and cleaning relatively exposed pc boards (old Electro-Controls quad racks)? This is not going to be fun (144 dimmers).

 

[JD]

Was any of the equipment powered up at the time (even if not on)?
If there was no power feed, and you have kept the power feed off, then the damage may not be catastrophic. Unlike sea water, rainwater is fairly free of conductive or corrosive elements but is not pure by any stretch of the imagination. You will need a professional service tech to go over everything, but the first step is to get the equipment in a very dry environment. (fire up the dehumidifiers and get out the plastic sheeting.)
Unfortunately, even if there was no power to the equipment, there are always back-up batteries and such that may have induced damage in the presence of water.
If there was power present going to the racks, or power was switched on, there may be some big time damage.

 

[FMEng]

I would go a bit further. I would do some disassembly to assist in drying the equipment. Circuit boards that have dirt and slime on them can be rinsed with distilled water. I would pull dimmer modules out of the rack, and spray all of the connectors and contacts with DeoxIT. The connectors and board sockets are where any oxidation or corrosion will cause problems, even IC sockets. Unfortunately, switches and faders on the console may be ruined. Perhaps a trip for repair is in its future.

 

[DavidNorth]

All the advice posted is very good, and I have saved electronic equipment from rain and even flood damage using similar steps, however, I would take one other step first. Call the insurance company before doing any work. From all my experience, a system this large and this old will always have issues, especially with water intrusion, and will be an ongoing maintenance and repair burden for years. It is possible that the insurance company will replace the system, and with an EC rack, it's time.

Water isn't as much of a problem as what's in the water. Dust, dirt, and anything else that was in the rack or in the roof, is now under components and in air gaps. Contacts can corrode, turn green, oxidize, and cause loss of connection or arcing. It probably can all be saved, but spare parts are not readily available. Ask the insurance company to come give an assessment and worst case, perhaps they pay for a recovery company that does this work.

Good luck,

David

 

[microstar]

Many thanks for all the great advice. Will be going out to the site today; apparently the building was not covered by insurance but the contents were, so that is good.

 

[RickR]

And take lots of photos, with a visible date stamp if possible

 

[MikeJ]

If you do end up needing to keep it an get the stuff working. 50/50 isopropyl alcohol and ammonia, and a tooth brush does a pretty good job. We have had a lot of luck buying flood damaged lots from insurance companies, and reviving the gear. As long as it was not powered on, most things can be saved. Salt water is a different story.

Faders on an old console might not be worth the work, once you get them clean, they don't move smooth because all the lubrication is gone, and many are not designed to be opened and re lubricated.