How do you feel about flood damage?

[Chris Brown]

I went to check out a Yamaha PC2002 amp and the thing that stood out more than anything was the RUST. It was particularly noticeable on some of the outside areas where the paint had come off as well as most inside surfaces where there was exposed metal.

For the price, I had to pass.

But it got me thinking about flood damage. What does a piece look like when it has flood damage? Is it possible for a piece to still be in working condition afterward or is that a death sentence?

I don't actually know if this amp had been through a flood or not, but I did happen to notice that the car they had parked in the driveway had a Louisiana plate...

I've also heard of a surge of flood damaged items coming from Japan after the semi-recent Tsunami.

In each case there is never any mention of any flood damage. It seems like even the honest sellers are only willing to go as far as "As is" or "It worked last time I used it" (presumably before the flood).

 

[gadget73]

it doesn't always mean a death sentence, but it does always mean headaches. All of the pots will be dirty, there will usually be a crust of crap on the boards, anything metal will have corrosion, and then the cosmetic problems. Generally speaking, unless it was an absolutely stellar piece of equipment for nearly free, I'd pass on it. Its just more trouble than its worth.

 

[ConradH]

Things can be saved from flood damage, but only if action is taken within hours of the flood- I know from personal experience! The problem is that the amount of work that needs to be done to recover from a flood is usually overwhelming and you never get to everything. We're talking multiple fresh water rinses, compressed air blowout and baking at low temperatures. If you see rust and deposits, and the item isn't some irreplaceable classic (and sometimes even if it is) RUN!

 

[Watthour]

What does a piece look like when it has flood damage? Is it possible for a piece to still be in working condition afterward or is that a death sentence?

Maybe a little like this:

It was salvageable, and turned out about as I expected:

 

[jsixis]

pa amps rust on the outside due to sweat.

 

[RadioNZ]

Interesting topic.

Electronics can survive being wet, or even submerged. As previously mentioned a lot depends on how quickly you can get to it and clear the water out.

Salt-water is a killer however - even units flushed out immediately with fresh water tend to suffer badly if they've been dropped in the tide.

The other issue is whether the device was powered at the time. If it was unplugged, it will be in far better condition electrically than if it was powered (or turned on) at the time.

I have successfully restored equipment in the past that's had water damage.

There are some good photos on a site I was looking at recently: http://www.qsl.net/rast/

Scroll down approximately 1/4 of the page to the heading: "The HS0AC horror story at AIT".

Thailand suffered some major flooding recently (and it's one of the reasons the cost of hard drives has skyrocketed as most production is done there).

 

[Renzor213]

I wouldn't mess with something looking like that. Amazing if that unit still functions. Biggest problem being, is water carries lots of minerals that can short out circuit boards. Cars caught in flood waters, with the undersides of the seat spring suspensions looking like that, are usually totalled.

 

[Ruxman]

The transformer will be screwed.

 

[rasenthiran]

Hi Wathour,

How did you remove the rust??Did you use addictive?I have Sansui AU 999 with surface rusts.

 

[AAA3330]

I agree with the other posters who say it's generally not worth it. Even if the damage is minor, it will likely be a lot of work, headaches, and potential future problems. I once saved a car that had been almost completely submerged, but it was a lot of work and I had to replace much of the electronics. Circuit boards that are damaged severely enough just aren't going to be salvageable no matter what you do. I would want to see the circuit boards before buying anything with water damage and like the others say, if it's not free and not valuable, run. A little minor white oxidation on the surface could likely be cleaned, but severe damage to the circuit boards cannot.

 

[bowtie427ss]

Depends what it's been flooded with. It takes a long time for fresh water that's free of chemicals to do any damage.

What the OP is describing isn't flood damage. Highly visible surface rust is usually the product of REPEATED exposure to moisture, likely from the amp being used in an amateur professional capacity where it spent most of it's life between gigs stored in the back of the band's truck or trailer.

The worst rust i've seen comes from beachside/seaside installations where salt water is not too far away, no flooding necessary.

FWIW, another AKer is currently enjoying a Crown D150 that was under water for 3 days here in Sep 2011. It remained untouched until it was packed up and shipped to him a couple weeks ago. Works as it should without repair of any kind.

pa amps rust on the outside due to sweat.

Only the ones left stored in a lousy and improper environment.:yes:

 

[ConradH]

Keep in mind that circuit boards can be cleaned in dishwashers (commercially) with no problem. It was pretty common to hose out the old Tek scope plug-ins every year or two. It's the pots, switches, displays, relays and transformers and places where water and contaminates can get in, but not out, that scare me. And don't forget those wire-wrap connections. It's just a question of labor. Is the piece worth anywhere near the value of the labor it's going to take, and if it isn't perfect when done, will that bother you. When my basement had a water back-up problem, it was clear rain water and I lost very little. OTOH, a salt water flood with mud or sewage is a whole different thing.

 

[T Tanner]

Yep the Crown d150 I purchased was a flood victim. I used compressed air, paint brushes, and deoxit. and a few hours cleaning it be for I plugged it in. I checked for D/C offset voltage on the speaker terminals (nothing to worry about) So I hooked up a pair of speakers hit play on the Supertramp CD and music, Loud and clear

 

[DualRef]

Plus items that have been in floods have a particular smell to them, and maybe even some roaches inside too.

 

[ConradH]

Inspired by this thread, this morning at the dump I found a Sansui 2000x covered with mud and crud. Very likely a flood victim. Brought it home. Pound for pound, I think I sometimes bring more home from the dump than I take in. Anyway, if it looks salvageable I'll tune it up and post some before and after pictures.

 

[stereofisher]

Its case by case....

Years ago I had a car radio from a flash flood. So outa here! Toast. Found three Kenwood receivers at the dump. All survived after some cleanup. Have an 80s Pioneer amp that is part of a daily player on the Mrs's system thats also doing well. Its kind of lucky draw.

 

[ConradH]

Well, so much for my "flood" unit from dump. It might have gotten rained on for a few minutes, and maybe the front panel got splashed with mud, but inside it's quite clean, with no corrosion or anything. OK, so maybe something's toasted or it has bad caps. After all, it was built around 1972, so it's 40 years old. Nope. All the critical caps are within tolerance and have low dissipation. I replaced an open fuse, powered it up and got nice clean FM. I'm in the process of replacing the dial lamps. I hate dial lamps! Maybe something will fail during burn-in, but my guess is somebody just shorted out the speaker terms and blew a fuse. They probably tossed it because they couldn't see the dial anymore. The tuner is traditional and complex, so it should make a good practice unit for alignments.

edit- Man, the tuner dial is off a bit, but the sound is fantastic. Way better than a "tuner on a chip"! Even the AM is good.