Cleaning equipment

[Malcolm Leonard]

 Wow! Where do you get your old test gear from that it is dirty enough to require high pressure cleaning?I have about 20 pieces of test gear awaiting rebuilding,and some goes back to the 50's and has been stored in dirty cellars,but even the mostr grimey ones respond very well to a much  less drastic cleanup treatment.The fact that you have experienced two problems already,related to your cleaning methods is a clarion call to use less drastic techniques.Moisture is the great enemy in old electronics equipment;adding more of it,which is driven into poorly accessable places by hose pressure seems a poor idea to me.Why do you approach your cleaning in such an overly aggressive manner?Has your test gear been dipped in heavy grease,or something?

Malcolm Leonard


  "charles w. morehouse" <cwmorehouse at WORLDNET.ATT.NET> wrote:
Hi,
Another one. I use my dishwasher. Care must be taken as sometimes the
paint comes off. Also remove meters and transformers or anything that
can be damaged. Threw the wife out years ago so that is not a problem.
Happy washing.
Wayne;
W4GBW

Terry Perdue wrote:
>
> I don't remember if I mentioned this method here before, but something that
> has worked well for me on really dirty gear has been the neighborhood car
> wash. I remove or protect (eg. with saran wrap and a rubber band) anything
> that might get damaged by water, and have at it with the hot soapy water at
> high pressure. This cleans places that you can't get to by hand. Be sure to
> rinse well to avoid water spots, blow out what water you can with an air
> compressor, and let sit for a few hours in the oven at the lowest possible
> temperature to bake the remaining moisture out of controls and anywhere else
> it could accumulate. While spraying with the wand, use a toothbrush or
> paintbrush on any stubborn areas.
>
> This method may sound radical, and I can't guarantee that it will work on
> everything, but it's worked wonderfully for me on dozens of pieces of test
> and ham gear. Just be sure to 'bake' long enough to ensure that no water
> remains in anything you couldn't remove or cover, like transformer end
> bells. Before reassembly, lubricate any mechanical parts.
>
> This method only got me into trouble twice - once in a chart recorder with a
> gearbox that got water in it, and once on a Tek scope where some water got
> into the power transformer through unused terminal holes in the end bell.
> That one arced over on the outer (primary) layer, and fortunately was easily
> repaired. I'm sure it wouldn't have happened if I'd let it dry out longer.
>
> For what it's worth...
>
> Listserver Subscription:listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - "subscribe heath 'name' 'call'"
> Listserver Submissions: heath at listserv.tempe.gov
> Listserver Unsubscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - -"signoff heath"

Listserver Subscription:listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - "subscribe heath 'name' 'call'"
Listserver Submissions: heath at listserv.tempe.gov
Listserver Unsubscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - -"signoff heath"


---------------------------------
Do You Yahoo!?
Get Yahoo! Mail - Free email you can access from anywhere!

Listserver Subscription:listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - "subscribe heath 'name' 'call'"
Listserver Submissions: heath at listserv.tempe.gov
Listserver Unsubscribe: listserv at listserv.tempe.gov - -"signoff heath"