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Washing amplifiers

bhairavi

bhairavi

AK Subscriber
Subscriber
What kind of trouble can I get into if I use simple green to clean, and water to wash, an amp?

I've done it twice so far with no issues. Dousing with simple green, letting it sit for a few minutes, then hosing down with low pressure but high volume water, blowing off excess, letting it drip dry in the sun. We get 100F days and the thing is bone dry in a couple hours.

It seems to me that there's very few components that can get affected, and it doesn't seem like pots or trimmers can be damaged. To be safe I was thinking I could apply D5 or F5 to the trimmers before making any adjustments. OTOH I think being careful about water not ending up inside a transformer casing would be important.

But maybe there are other things I'm not accounting for. Opinions? Experience?
 
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bhairavi said:
What kind of trouble can I get into if I use simple green to clean, and water to wash, an amp?

I've done it twice so far with no issues. Dousing with simple green, letting it sit for a few minutes, then hosing down with low pressure but high volume water, blowing off excess, letting it drip dry in the sun. We get 100F days and the thing is bone dry in a couple hours.

It seems to me that there's very few components that can get affected, and it doesn't seem like pots or trimmers can be damaged. To be safe I was thinking I could apply D5 or F5 to the trimmers before making any adjustments. OTOH I think being careful about water not ending up inside a transformer casing would be important.

But maybe there are other things I'm not accounting for. Opinions? Experience?
Click to expand...
What you have done is the standard cleaning procedure for old, dusty, oil-caked, super nasty units that have been in a dirty garage or shed, for decades.

Works with Simple Green, Formula 409, and Dawn detergent. Thorough rinse, followed by a week or more in the sun.

:thumbsup:
 
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I try to avoid trimmers when spraying degreaser/rinsing. If you can a blow dry is good for removing excess water as fast as possible. Water tends to sit under the components. The exhaust vent of a vacuum cleaner with the bag removed blows quite well.

Done it a few times now and it is so much better to work on a clean pcb, it also gets rid of any cigarette smoke smells far better than the paintbrush and vacuum cleaner method.

Worst way I've seen on a video was someone had an aerosol duster and blew years of accumulated dust into their home!
 
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John3655 said:
I try to avoid trimmers when spraying degreaser/rinsing. If you can a blow dry is good for removing excess water as fast as possible. Water tends to sit under the components. The exhaust vent of a vacuum cleaner with the bag removed blows quite well.

Done it a few times now and it is so much better to work on a clean pcb, it also gets rid of any cigarette smoke smells far better than the paintbrush and vacuum cleaner method.

Worst way I've seen on a video was someone had an aerosol duster and blew years of accumulated dust into their home!
Click to expand...
Yeah I use compressed air to blow out all the dust I can first - but my workshop is my garage. Then I do it again after washing but from further away because I don't want to force water into anything.

Really the only place that worried me was the place that wiring exits the transformer. I was thinking in the future I might stick a blob of hot glue on those ports to guarantee no water intrusion.
 
bhairavi said:
Yeah I use compressed air to blow out all the dust I can first - but my workshop is my garage. Then I do it again after washing but from further away because I don't want to force water into anything.

Really the only place that worried me was the place that wiring exits the transformer. I was thinking in the future I might stick a blob of hot glue on those ports to guarantee no water intrusion.
Click to expand...
Oh yeah I wouldn't dream of getting the tx wet. The tx can just be wiped down.
 
I've read that polystyrene caps can absorb water and I've avoided putting boards with those on them into the ultrasonic but I've had no trouble cleaning most switch boards, pots, and some other parts in there. I'm with you on transformers too.
 
bhairavi said:
Yeah I use compressed air to blow out all the dust I can first - but my workshop is my garage. Then I do it again after washing but from further away because I don't want to force water into anything.

Really the only place that worried me was the place that wiring exits the transformer. I was thinking in the future I might stick a blob of hot glue on those ports to guarantee no water intrusion.
Click to expand...
Aiden of AH-fix-it on YouTube regularly power washes vintage stereo receivers of the early transistor era (70s-80s), though doesn't recommend it specifically. There are several power washing videos on his channel, many of which draw horrified comments from viewers. After washing, he blows off the water and then puts the unit into a warm ( ~150°F) oven to remove the remaining water.


Hope that helps.
 
^Cool.


I actually suspect propping up the amps against the concrete and stucco of the side of my house in the sunlight on our dry 100F days is superior to an oven!
 
I won't do it! If it's that bad I'll keep it as a parts unit. I feel your asking for trouble. It's also if the unit is considered valuable or special on treatment. Well only if you plan on rebuilding it.... Maybe I'm paranoid?
 
Never washed a complete unit but I have done dozens of circuit boards in the dishwasher. The cleaned boards are much easier to evaluate and work on afterwards. Often it makes the resistor color codes easier to figure out after they are clean. I have tried with and without the detergent pack and often the board will clean up without the detergent. If the boards have some kind of oily residue I use the detergent. The dishwasher does dry the boards but here in Arizona the sun will definitely dry out the components. IPA [ 99%] will help dry things out but some units do have a shellac coating on the foil side and it will dissolve and come off. If you use less than 99% and there is shellac on the board it will end up with a white film all over the foil side. The pots and switches then get the DeOxit treatment afterwards.
 
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