Cooked71 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 How are you guys cleaning your PCB boards (i.e. Driver board, cpu board etc)? I've heard simple dishwasher cycle works, but want to confirm before setting off the pots and pans cycle with my circuit boards. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
con Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 I try not to wash unless absolutely filthy but if required luke warm water with vinegar and soft brush? do not know about putting in dish washer as water may be a bit too hot and damage components? likewise using solvents and soap may cause corrosion? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiredoug Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 all most boards need) is a liberal dose of spray and wipe, a hose down and a blow dry with an airline. but remember to think about whats on it ... switches (including relay) cant swim.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini2544 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Should rinse with distilled water prior to drying. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manny65 Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Other than making the boards look nice & clean, is there other reasons that cleaning them is good to do? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns-Arcade Posted June 4, 2016 Share Posted June 4, 2016 Other than making the boards look nice & clean, is there other reasons that cleaning them is good to do? Keeping the dust off doesn't hurt, and I use a large very soft brush for that. If the PCB has rat crap, etc on it, I take it outside and hit it with the hose. I may then spray the PCB with isopropyl alcohol to dissipate the water. I've also used the Dishwasher in the past, low setting with no detergent, but it's really overkill and the hose works just as well. Regards, Johns-Arcade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini2544 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Keeping the dust off doesn't hurt, and I use a large very soft brush for that. If the PCB has rat crap, etc on it, I take it outside and hit it with the hose. I may then spray the PCB with isopropyl alcohol to dissipate the water. I've also used the Dishwasher in the past, low setting with no detergent, but it's really overkill and the hose works just as well. Regards, Johns-Arcade. You really need to be careful with washing with water, Some areas are on tank water & as a result of pollution, tank water can be Acid. This is the case where I live & we put Bi cab of soda in the tanks to bring the acid down to a neutral PH 7.0, It's foolish to assume all water is the same because it's not. Also those using washing detergent, have a read on the bottle most manufactures add Caustic soda as a grease cutter. Caustic soda is a corrosive to copper & tin. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason1 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Some areas are on tank water & as a result of pollution, tank water can be Acid. dont tell the Greenies that, Soon there will be memes and campaigns all over facebook, and protests around parliament house saying "climate change Ruins pcb's" lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boots Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 Other than making the boards look nice & clean, is there other reasons that cleaning them is good to do? If you have repaired battery damage the only way to make 100% sure it's all gone it to give it a good flooding Even then sometimes it takes a few goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns-Arcade Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 You really need to be careful with washing with water, Some areas are on tank water & as a result of pollution, tank water can be Acid. This is the case where I live & we put Bi cab of soda in the tanks to bring the acid down to a neutral PH 7.0, It's foolish to assume all water is the same because it's not. I've been cleaning PCB's, monitors and all sorts of things this way since the 80's and haven't had one PCB or monitor eaten away from using water yet. Personally, I'd rather wash the rat shit and piss off a PCB with water than let the urine slowly eat the board away, and I've certainly seen my fair share of ruined equipment due to this. As mentioned in my post, I normally hit the PCB with Isopropyl Alcohol to help dissipate the water. One very important point to remember with any advice given by anyone, is to engage something called common sense. Regards, Johns-Arcade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gemini2544 Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 I've been cleaning PCB's, monitors and all sorts of things this way since the 80's and haven't had one PCB or monitor eaten away from using water yet. Personally, I'd rather wash the rat shit and piss off a PCB with water than let the urine slowly eat the board away, and I've certainly seen my fair share of ruined equipment due to this. As mentioned in my post, I normally hit the PCB with Isopropyl Alcohol to help dissipate the water. One very important point to remember with any advice given by anyone, is to engage something called common sense. Regards, Johns-Arcade. John, I'm not saying don't wash with water, I'm saying some area's are acid. Also Isopropyl Alcohol will not neutralize any acid left behind on the PCB once dry. Please understand I know what I'm talking about I worked once for a chemical company & I also have a Telescope here the size of a hot water service. The Primary mirror needs to be cleaned from time to time, If your water is either too Acid or too Alkaline you can destroy a $1000 plus mirror. So PCB's can also be damaged "UNDER THE WRONG PH CONDITIONS". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Arcade King Posted June 5, 2016 Administrators Share Posted June 5, 2016 Well technically the batteries are Alkaline so there's no acid. Corrosion would be a better word to use. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
narf_ Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 You really need to be careful with washing with water, Some areas are on tank water & as a result of pollution, tank water can be Acid. This is the case where I live & we put Bi cab of soda in the tanks to bring the acid down to a neutral PH 7.0, It's foolish to assume all water is the same because it's not. Also those using washing detergent, have a read on the bottle most manufactures add Caustic soda as a grease cutter. Caustic soda is a corrosive to copper & tin. Can agree my parents live on rainwater and few years in had it tested for a fish tank. Quite a shock to find out They live 11km from a coal fired power station. I knew parking there used to eat clearcoat off from cooling towers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Johns-Arcade Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 John, I not saying don't wash with water, I'm saying some area's are acid. Also Isopropyl Alcohol will not neutralize any acid left behind on the PCB once dry. Please understand I know what I'm talking about I worked once for a chemical company & I also have a Telescope here the size of a hot water service. The Primary mirror needs to be cleaned from time to time, If your water is either to Acid or to Alkaline you can destroy a $1000 mirror. So PCB's can also be damaged "UNDER THE WRONG PH CONDITION". I understand that some areas might have acid water, some area are subjected to coastal conditions, the list goes on, but that's were common sense comes in to play. The isopropyl alcohol is to dissipate the water only, not to neutralise any acid/alkaline that may be on the PCB. I'm also not referring to battery damage, I'm simple talking about cleaning a PCB that is covered in dirt and crap. Washing a PCB even in water is in most cases a one off event, that once done doesn't need to be done again, provided the PCB is stored correctly. Of all the PCB's, monitors I've washed, I've only ever had to do it once. Regards, Johns-Arcade. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Super Moderator GIBO Posted June 5, 2016 Super Moderator Share Posted June 5, 2016 I use the PCB wash that Altronics sell,tip it into a spray bottle and a couple of squirts onto the pcb and a soft paint brush then rinse with warm water and then blow it off with light compressed air. I remove anything socketed on the board before any cleaning is done http://www.altronics.com.au/p/t3180-chemtools-pcb-wash-defluxing-solution-1-litre/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wiredoug Posted June 5, 2016 Share Posted June 5, 2016 avoid water ? lol .. if you need to wash it at all then its too late to worry about distilled water. I have had boards so skanked up i have had to wash them in auto degreaser in the ultrasonic cleaner. Do it too long and it takes the coating off but that isnt a bad thing when the corrosion is already under it. use the right tool for the job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jlanders Posted June 7, 2016 Share Posted June 7, 2016 We use ultrasonic cleaners often for this, a good frequency for cleaning PCB’s is around 37KHz, It’s also important that the unit has the “Sweep” function as this causes a variation in the ultrasonic frequency to eliminate potentially damaging harmonic vibration and what are called “standing waves” of cavitation that can damage components. This article for cleaning PCB's with ultrasonic cleaners might be useful Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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