PC cleaning, Can of Air or Vacuum

[usacvlr]

The crap on the board that the water mixes with does conduct when the system is turned back on no matter if it's dry or not. The instant distilled water touches anything unclean it's no longer distilled.

Water won't hurt anything if there is no electricity involved. That means don't plug it in. I've cleaned out numorious PCI cards, heat sinks, MB's (remove the battery), etc just running it under the sink. Water isn't a magic malicious entity. In fact PURE H2O doesn't conduct worth a damn. If you have especially hard well water or whatnot you could always use distilled water from the store for a final rinse. As long as everything is DRY when you apply power nothing bad will happen. You do need to be careful that everything is dry, but water won't hurt.

I've never seen any amount blowing with air do the wonders a quick rinse under the sink can do. Things look just like new.

 

[usacvlr]

Static is really a non issue. Who here can honestly say they are 100 % certain they've seen a system killed by static? If you are working on a desktop and it's plugged in then ground yourself to the case once and do it again if you walk around the room. If you simply unplug the case then there is not enough potential difference in the metal of the cabinet to create a spark between you and it or vice versa. The third prong of the power cord which is grounded and attached mechanically to the case through a grounding stud in the power supply is what causes a spark to be drawn or thrown. You can also think of it like the bird on the HV line. He's too small to represent enough potential difference to get nailed.

 

[DrumThumper]

You can also think of it like the bird on the HV line.

I was always under the impression that due to the fact that the bird was not touching anything other than said HV line, he wasn't grounded, therefore the electrical current will not harm the bird.

Good information regarding air compressors here. I've got a small 3 gallon compressor and two water traps (I'm attempting to take up airbrushing) already, I might have to try this. What PSI should I be using? I'm using 35 for AB work.

 

[sys-eng]

The PSI really doesn't matter much. You need volume of air which is why leaf blowers work well. Just do not get the air nozzle very close to the equipment and see my warning about the fans.

 

[sys-eng]

Static is really a non issue. Who here can honestly say they are 100 % certain they've seen a system killed by static? If you are working on a desktop and it's plugged in then ground yourself to the case once and do it again if you walk around the room. If you simply unplug the case then there is not enough potential difference in the metal of the cabinet to create a spark between you and it or vice versa. The third prong of the power cord which is grounded and attached mechanically to the case through a grounding stud in the power supply is what causes a spark to be drawn or thrown. You can also think of it like the bird on the HIV line. He's too small to represent enough potential difference to get nailed.

It is assumed that the equipment is unplugged and probably outside when being cleaned - - at least if it is very dirty. There was another thread about ground and static when working on equipment.

 

[arrow_runner]

I killed an mp3 player with static once. It was winter and very dry. I noticed that when we plugged the mp3 player into the usb extension cord, there would be a shock/spark. Finally, it just wouldn't turn on anymore. Luckily it was w/in 30 days of purchase so I got a new one for free.

I think that was mainly due to a grounding issue at the house we were at though...

 

[usacvlr]

It probably was the RF spike that killed it from the spark, not the discharge current itself since it should have been going only through the negative metallic case to the negative shield of the usb jack..

 

[sys-eng]

It probably was the RF spike that killed it from the spark, not the discharge current itself since it should have been going only through the negative metallic case to the negative shield of the sub jack..

Actually, the current from the ESD goes everywhere that is conductive - - including the supply terminal. If it went everywhere equally, then there would be no damage at all because the potential between supply and ground would remain the same while floating on top of the rise. It is not unusual for the grounding in data cables to not be ideal but have an ohm or more of resistance. When 10-kV or more is applied via ESD, that resistance increases the decay time so the high potential difference exists longer. This high voltage will damage transistors regardless of the tiny amount of current flow.

This is probably more information than most people care about but some folks like learning about such things. I happen to know this because I was an engineer for data center systems and telephone central office switching equipment where grounding is very important. On such equipment, you might notice that there are static grounding straps that seem very large (#2 GA or larger) just to carry the tiny amount of current from ESD. The large conductor is used to lower the electrical resistance rather than for current capacity.

Although RF is emitted from all sparks, the strength is usually much less than what is already in the air from TV and radio station transmitters. The RF outside the range tuned by the receiver does no damage.

ESD damage is more common today because of the number of transistors used in the equipment. The odds of damaging a transistor may be 1 in a million but that could be several hundred dead transistors on a board.

 

[usacvlr]

Any semiconductor junction in any piece of equipment is at risk from an em pulse no matter if it has a tuned input circuit or not. Supposedly there are nukes that are designed to accentuate their emp factor just for the purpose of knocking out a country's semiconductor based technology. I like tubes

 

[sys-eng]

Yep, if someone sets off a nuclear-bomb generated EMP, we repairmen will have lots of work to do - if we survive it.

My comment about the tuned circuit had to do with RFI, not an ESD generated EMP. I have read about those EMP weapons, and the USA has one in test that is airborne. It has a small nuclear generator onboard to power it. I believe they used the same power system that is used for the laser weapons.

The bomb-generated EMP's are still untested because there is no good test area. Even the Arctic and Antarctic have too many environmental test stations to allow for such a test. That is probably a good thing.

 

[allanc]

I user a vacuum and haven't had an issue yet. The vacuum has a blower built in, so first I vacuum up the mess that is obvious, then blow out the rest, and vacuum up the left overs. Outside of the case gets some elbow grease with a damp cloth, and we call it a day.

Which model of vacuum do you use?

 

[frostbyte5014]

I use canned air to break loose the dust and use the vac to remove it.

 

[evlfred]

I use a six gallon pancake style air compressor in my garage or in the back of the fatgeek mobile (pickup) when on site. The one I bought is only 36lbs and very portable. Plus it has tons of pressure, just make sure you invest in a good gun style nozzle so you can vary the output.