submerged electronics

Got a question for you hardware gurus. What electronics are ruined by falling in water even if they were off? I just dropped an SD card adapter and micro SD that wasn't mine, and had important data in it. Will it be fine? Long ago I dropped something, and let it dry completely before using it. The device seemed ok after I tried it days after. Searching on the web I read about using rice to fix this, but sounds like baloney.

 

Rice works. It's not the best, but people suggest it because you probably have some in your house & time is the biggest factor.

If you are near a place that sells DampRid, get that. It'll work better than rice.

 

Depends on several factors. For example, how long it was submerged , was it salt water or fresh, what happened right after the incident.

Here are the steps I follow:
1. If the device has a battery, remove it asap.

2.If device can be easily taken in parts, do it.

3.Try to remove excess water the best you can, Shaking the object, rice, hair dryer, blowing pressured air. Leaving it in the sun. Leaving it on a space heater.

4. make sure it is fully dry before powering it.

I dropped my cell phone in the water once ( toilet ) and followed all these steps and it still worked.
Most electronic parts will not suffer from water itself, some people even put motherboards in the dishwasher..
The problem is when moisture gets trapped in the device. This can lead to oxidation over time and in the more immediate, electrical problems if the device is powered.

Considering all you dropped is an SD card you should be perfectly fine. Just leave is in a warm place for a day, or two just to be sure and you will be fine.

 

FIY rice don't do nothin.

the whole myth that rice could "fix" wet electronics, stems from people using rice in salt shakers to stop the salt clumping from moisture.

generally sd cards flash memory is under filled with epoxy and there isn't much on the Pcb. Could even be single layer?

micro sd are completely sealed, even marketed as waterproof now..

 

Generally it's the corrosion that kills the device, eats through the fine multi layer Pcb bam gone..
see people with wet phones almost every day, all the internet myths don't do a thing.

strip the device down, wash it in isopropyl.
The service centre I worked in used to use a ultrasonic bath filled with isopropyl to help clean up corroded pcbs. Then run full diagnostics and replace, rebuild the Pcb, rerun traces ect.
THIS WAS ONLY DONE for serious cases ie: a device had evidence for a court case ect.
usually we just quoted for new pcbs /handsets as it was cheaper than the phone coming back every couple weeks because something else broke on it as a result.

 

All right thanks guys. I dropped it in fresh water. I'm still curious if there is an electronic out there that even with all these solutions, would be screwed. One with insides that are damaged as soon as water touches it. Would be nice to know in case I own it.

 

Silica gel beads might actually help absorb latent water vapor in the air helping to encourage any liquid water to phase change but silica gel is a far cry from rice in terms of efficacy.

 

I've heard that if you drop a microwave into the toilet, time ceases to exist. I dunno, it might just be a myth. I just don't know...

 

You misspelled bathtub lol.

 

I image if you have a device that contains cardboard-ish materials (maybe some types of speakers?), those would deform and/or rip.

 

I see. Unlike nearly everyone here, I dont rip into electronics or have the ability to work with them.

 

Of what I know, micro/SD cards are suppost to be water-proof...

 

Rice helps to absorb excess moisture, making it dry as bit faster, that's all.

HDDs will die pretty fast if dropped in any kind of water that's not distilled (or very clean source water aka not the toilet)

 

Motherboards with the CMOS pulled can and will survive water, if given long enough to dry before the CMOS is returned.

I wouldn't recommend you do this on your brand new, i7 RICERX400 REPUBLIC OF PR0 GAMERS w/e motherboard. I did it on one that had the cmos removed at some point and was involved in a basement flood (submerged in six feet of filthy water for weeks).

Bit of a controversial subject here. Some people didn't agree with it at all and said a hobbyist in his bedroom should shell out for isopropyl.

 

I found a trinitron 27'' TV set that had been in the rain for days. When I tipped it a bunch of water came out.
I let it dry in the sun for two days and tried it. It worked fine.

But then when I went to move it I could hear water inside, so I took the casing apart and found that the Subwoofer compartment was now an aquarium lol.

I don't know for sure but I would think vintage electronics containing Paper and oil capacitors should stay away from water.

 

I think you are misusing the term cmos.

CMOS is just a nonvolatile memory, which uses a battery to keep its contents. I assume you are talking about a motherboard with the cmos battery removed?

 

Yes! and thanks for the correction. I think colloquially most people know "pull the CMOS" means to pull the battery but in this case I should have specified.

 

Generally water is a threat only if there is a battery or power source, yes that means most pokemon games before the DS. BTW if it has a clock that doesn't reset or stop at power off it probably has a battery. Also note that a large capacitor will behave like a battery. Some insulation barriers are water sensitive but those are for 100v+ circuits. Any optical components will need cleaning or replacement If you have hard water you may need to remove mineral deposits from any mechanical components, motors and belts may need replacement.

 

I worked in the industry for years, never heard anyone say "pull the cmos" always "pull the cmos battery" or "erase the cmos"

Maybe its what all the cool kids say now? =/

 

The thought of me being a cool kid puts the willies into me, but I'm making an effort not to use this incorrect terminology.