My seestar got caught in a rain shower

[John Edwards]

Hi there thank you for adding me to the group, last night I was imaging with my seestar, everything was going well , there was a rain shower I'm leaving my ssstar to try out for the night luckily it didn't get too wet.

Any advice please would be welcome, normally I'm very careful, Just  came indoors to make a cup of tea, when I went back out it had started to rain quite heavily

Edited February 24 by John Edwards

[Knighty2112]

Get a hairdryer blowing on it for a while, then leave in a warm room for a few days to dry out further. If any covers can be carefully unscrewed also to help it dry out further if possible to do.

[maw lod qan]

Find a plastic box with tight lid it will fit in. 

Use a product called DampRid, it's for getting humidity out of closets. It comes in a container with an area at the bottom for the water it sucks out of the air.

I had a Canon camera get caught in a heavy rain while shooting for meteors.

You could see water, not moisture,  in the lens.

DampRid worked.

[RT65CB-SWL]

I think you can also use rice.

[Stickey]

6 hours ago, RT65CB-SWL said:

I think you can also use rice.

It has been reported that the Apple company now advise against using rice to dry out their mobile phones if they get wet. They fear that microscopic dust may get inside the device. Look into the details before trying out the rice idea

[ONIKKINEN]

My whole imaging rig, including camera and mini-pc has been rained on twice now. The mini-pc seemed particularly bad since it has vent holes on the top, which is basically a direct route for water to find its way to the motherboard.

I did the rice thing for the PC, but not sure it actually did anything other than give me some peace of mind. Its been more than a year since the last water incident and everything still works. Maybe i got lucky, or maybe a slight drizzle on electronics is not so catastrophic, in any case just dry everything as best you can and dont power anything up until you are certain things have dried down.

[Carbon Brush]

Only just seen this.

REMOVE BATTERY. This buys time.

After this warm air, radiator, etc with other covers off.

In a rush sorry can't go into detail.

 

 

 

 

[LondonNeil]

I saw some news articles this week that apple had issued advice on drying their phones if exposed to water.   They say don't use rice (I've heard before it's just a myth and does nothing), and don't use an external heat source ( radiator or hair dryer).  Do,  open sim slot and shake with ports down,  then place in a dry spot and possibly use a fan to blow air over the phone. 

 

Same approach with any electricals should have a decent chance. 

[Neil H]

Washing powder works well too better than rice just put open tub in a big bag with the device and then seal it the washing powder will pull any damp out 

 

[Naughty Neal]

Washing powder acts like a decassant  pack or simply buy a bunch of reusable decassant packs.

Edited February 25 by Naughty Neal

[Oortraged]

The main thing to remember with electronics is to resist the urge to turn them on and 'check' they're working still before you're absolutely sure they're dry. Metal, silicon and plastic all have no problem with water - the issue comes when a current is put through the components and water creates nasty bridges and shorts between parts. As tempting as it is to reassure yourself sooner, once you're sure it's dry - wait 48 hours! I'm sure you'll have no lasting issues 👍

[Carbon Brush]

Thank you @Oortraged for providing much useful information. Particularly the long wait.

I would add that if you have electronic equipment in pieces, a rinse using isopropanol is very good for removing left over water that may in nooks and crannies.
For scope lenses, Baader wonder fluid is great for getting stains off.

[Oortraged]

Thanks @Carbon Brush! And great advice about squeezing some IPA (isopropyl alcohol rather than a nice Indian Pale Ale) into localised areas where the water residue is slow to clear.

Just to give @John Edwards an explanation as to why that's a good idea - alcohol has a far lower boiling point than water, so adding this in will facilitate the unwanted water evaporating much faster - as counterintuitive as it may seem to add a liquid to solve a problem with water! 

Edited February 25 by Oortraged
Missed word!

[Carbon Brush]

This is yet another thread where a member has asked for advice and not returned since posting.

If I had real concerns about possible kit damage, I would not walk away from the thread.

On behalf of the OP I am going to thank all those SGLers who have freely given their time to offer good advice.
On Sunday when I first saw the thread, I was on the verge of taking the covers off my S50 to look into routes for water ingress and how best to deal with it. But I was out all day.
I am glad that I did not make the effort. It also makes me think that in future I should check post history before taking time to offer help or advice.

[LondonNeil]

It's got responses as its a useful topic to talk about.  The OP not returning isn't that important to this particular disgusting discussion. 

[LondonNeil]

Oops!  Unfortunate phone text typo which I just spotted as I checked the reaction notification!