| "You are better off soaking the wet electronics in isopropyl alcohol." Where I am ethanol (EtOH-95%, H2O-5%) is much cheaper and much more readily available and works almost as well. If silica gel is not available, then a fan works well followed by a warm (not hot) oven baking. Make sure the alcohol has essentially all evaporated first. Keep in mind that some components can be affected by both EtOH and propan-2-ol — component markings, coil doping resins can dissolve, etc. Both alcohols are also good at removing solder flux resins/residues. (Oh for the days when freon and freon mixtures were available, component damage never happened.) Devices with power transformers pose special problems, best to dry with alcohol first (hoping enamel coatings on wire aren't softened), then bake in oven on warm heat for a long while, sometimes 24 hours or more is necessary. With transformers it's important that this is done as soon as possible after wetting. Edit: as I'm reminded by nyanpasu64 keep both alcohols away from LCD screens (likely all screens). I had a netbook PC and put it in a carry bag with a bottle of EtOH and it leaked. The PC still worked but the screen suffered the same outcome. |
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| ▲ | hilbert42 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Right, if you live where duty is applied to ethanol then it's expensive. In Australia, where I am ethanol is available as a denatured product. That is, it includes a very small amount (much less than 1%) of denatonium (aka Bitrex) which renders it undrinkable (it's the bitterest substance known). As such, excise tax is not levied. Here, one liter bottles of denatured ethanol are available in every supermarket everywhere, and up to 20 liters available in hardware stores (at bulk rates it's even cheaper). For comparison, here denatured ethanol costs about $5/l [in US dollars] versus isopropyl at between $25 and $30/l. | | |
| ▲ | DebtDeflation 2 days ago | parent [-] | | In the United States, if you buy "Denatured Alcohol" at a big box store, it will be a toxic brew of often 50-60% methanol as well as smaller amounts of MEK, MIBK, and even acetone in addition to the ethanol. However, you can order "Specially Denatured Alcohol (SDA)" from various chemical suppliers or even Amazon. "SDA 40B 200" will be 99.5% ethanol with 0.1% tert-butyl alcohol and 0.0005% denatonium benzoate. It's what I use for camp stove fuel since I refuse to carry methanol in my pack with food. | | |
| ▲ | hilbert42 2 days ago | parent [-] | | I understand the problem with purchasing EtOH in the US. Frankly, I consider adding MeOH, MEK, etc. to denature it as both dangerous and an archaic procedure. (Moreover, outside lab reagents, MeOH should never exist without denatonium, it's just too dangerous.) Some people will drink EtOH whether it's denatured with MeOH, etc. or with the much safer denatonium. Why blind or kill these people when one doesn't need to? Sure, EtOH will likely get them anyway but why should the State be their executioner? There's something awfully wrong with that I reckon. | | |
| ▲ | InDubioProRubio 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Puritan wrath, a nice mixture of hatred of ones own ant-existance and hatred on others not participating the labour camp race to the bottom, thats why? | | |
| ▲ | 0_____0 2 days ago | parent | next [-] | | Typically I would dismiss this as a bit overwrought but I came back from overseas last week and promptly was forced to drive in Boston, an activity that both takes place in the heart of US puritanism and perfectly encapsulates something that is frustrating in a way that could only happen in a place where "it's shit, it's supposed to be shit, and if you don't like it, there's the door" is a core principle. | |
| ▲ | hilbert42 a day ago | parent | prev [-] | | Right, I was being polite, my question was rhetorical. |
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| ▲ | a day ago | parent | prev | next [-] | | [deleted] | |
| ▲ | 1oooqooq 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | it's cheaper and the free market is regulating itself as god intended. |
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| ▲ | gpderetta 2 days ago | parent | prev [-] | | Isn't the ethanol denatured? There's a duty on that as well? | | |
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