Power tools got soaked. What next?

[Mike G]

Three of my power tools just got caught in an absolute deluge. They got properly wet whilst I was inside scrabbling about trying to get boots on to go and rescue them. I've let them drip dry for an hour, and I then spent half an hour removing some of the casings and blowing them through really thoroughly with an air-line. They're now in the airing cupboard.

When I take them out tomorrow, is there anything else I should do before I plug them in and give them a try? Two are 240V, and one is a little battery-powered impact driver.

 

[Doug]

My paddle mixer managed to fall motor first into a bucket of water a year or so ago, I drained it off & put it above the boiler for a few days after which I plugged it in via a trip socket & it worked ok, only problem is the speed control has never been the same but no Biggie.

You can get water displacement spray to spray the motor if you are worried about plugging them in.

 

[Mike G]

WD40, Doug?

 

[Lurker]

I'd give them several days, and then try the cheapest tool.
I was thinking, this morning whilst watching the weather forecast, if you had had any rain.
Now I know!

 

[Lurker]

WD40, Doug?

Can't see that helping, where is the water going to displace to?
Further into the gubbins is my guess.

Don't own a dehumidifier do you?

 

[Doug]

WD40, Doug?

Years ago my boiler leaked into the electrical components box fortunately at the time the boiler was off, a friend gave me a can of water displacement spray to spray the circuit boards & electrics which worked well, sadly I can't remember the brand, I'm sure Bob would know.

 

[Pete Maddex]

Airing cupboard is the best thing give them a couple of days and you are good to go.



Pete

 

[Mike G]

.....Don't own a dehumidifier do you?

I do.

 

[novocaine]

A bag a rice for 5 days.

 

[Pete Maddex]

A bag a rice for 5 days.

Airing cupboard works much much much better than rice, it’s one of those internet things that don’t work, like a teaspoon in a bottle of fizzy wine stops it going flat.

Pete

 

[9fingers]

The battery is the greatest risk having a both a power source and electronics inside it. This means with the addition water an electrolytic cell can be set up which can reduce or etch away the circuit board tracks completely.

Its too late now but immediate steps should be to open the pack and get rid of any water straight away. Saturate in wd40 then clean it off. Dont use any metal tools inside the pack rags and old tooth brush are ideal.

From where you are now, try the tool on the battery and it might be fine or it might have discharged the battery. Recharge the battery on a metal tray or concrete floor with nothing flammable nearby. Fingers crossed all will be fine as site tools "ought" to be designed to shed water.

Good Luck
Bob

 

[Lurker]

.....Don't own a dehumidifier do you?

I do.

You could lash up a drying cabinet.
Airing cupboard is ideal but not many of us have immersion tanks these days.

 

[Mike G]

I've a boiler cupboard and a hot water cylinder cupboard. The former gets hotter. I could lash something up around the dehumidifier, but just at the moment I fancy cheese and onion pie, and I haven't even made the pastry yet.......

 

[Mike G]

The battery is the greatest risk........Bob

Thanks Bob. That gives me a little peace of mind as the battery was sheltered by other stuff, and remained almost perfectly dry. My router, on the other hand, sprayed a fine mist out when I started with the air line.

I'll re-read your advice in the morning when I come to give it a try.

 

[spb]

Most relatively simple electrical things can survive getting wet without a problem, as long as they're disconnected from power at the time and dry out thoroughly before being plugged in again. Your 240V power tools will probably fall into that category, though obviously one can't be certain without knowing what they were. Speed controls are the thing most likely to suffer on a mains powered tool.

As Bob said, the battery is the biggest risk because it is the power source, so its internal electronics will never be disconnected from power. Next biggest after that is just about any cordless tool, because the control electronics (especially, but not exclusively, for brushless tools) tend to take them out of that 'relatively simple' bracket. That said, though, modern good quality ones are generally designed for building site environments and have anything particularly sensitive embedded in resin to protect it.

If you're especially concerned, then opening them up and wiping down any of the electronic bits with acetone (ideally) or isopropyl alcohol can help - I've had good results from that method with drink spills on laptops. More complex stuff will warrant more effort put into it.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I had one of the tubs of silica gel left over from when we had stuff in storage, so after I dropped the phone down the loo I quickly took the battery out and put the phone in a sealed bag with the open tub for a few days. It was fine.

 

[AJB Temple]

You don't have a smart phone Phil. Most phones these days require tools to get the battery out. Many phones claim to be waterproof for quite some time as well.

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Its too late now but immediate steps should be to open the pack and get rid of any water straight away. Saturate in wd40 then clean it off.

Bob, as someone who laboured under the cosh, sorry: COSHH, regulations for four and a half decades, may I please gently, politely, with respect, ask: "Why WD40? Given that its 'carrier' base is basically white spirit/denatured alcohol and we are thus inundating a potential source of ignition with a flammable liquid?". I did see that you stipulate wiping it off afterward, but it has always been my experience that the residue from WD40 looks a lot like a wax an' most of them are flammable too.

When I serviced the Audio visual machines: V.C.R.'s, O.H.P.'s, tape decks, I always used 'contact cleaner' of one sort or another - one of which, confusingly, was: "W40 residue-free, contact cleaner"!!

I am not poking you with a virtual stick, Bob, I am genuinely curious and you have vastly more experience in dealing with electronics, so I am asking for education, based on said experience.

 

[Mike G]

Well, the "WD" of the title stands for water displacement. So this is what it was designed for, although as a handy by-product it is also a great penetrating fluid and a useful short -term lubricant.

-

No matter that I didn't use it, all the tools have worked perfectly this morning. Alarm over.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I read along while back that WD40 shouldn't be used on electrics as it can cause intermittent faults, which of course can be sods to find.

 

[Lurker]

off topic but,

Took her majesty’s mini for it’s MOT on Monday, one advisory was that the headlamps were getting discoloured.
When I got home, I gave them a vigorous polish with a WD40 soaked rag and they came up nicely, surprising amount of muck removed in the process.

 

[9fingers]

Its too late now but immediate steps should be to open the pack and get rid of any water straight away. Saturate in wd40 then clean it off.

Bob, as someone who laboured under the cosh, sorry: COSHH, regulations for four and a half decades, may I please gently, politely, with respect, ask: "Why WD40? Given that its 'carrier' base is basically white spirit/denatured alcohol and we are thus inundating a potential source of ignition with a flammable liquid?". I did see that you stipulate wiping it off afterward, but it has always been my experience that the residue from WD40 looks a lot like a wax an' most of them are flammable too.

When I serviced the Audio visual machines: V.C.R.'s, O.H.P.'s, tape decks, I always used 'contact cleaner' of one sort or another - one of which, confusingly, was: "W40 residue-free, contact cleaner"!!

I am not poking you with a virtual stick, Bob, I am genuinely curious and you have vastly more experience in dealing with electronics, so I am asking for education, based on said experience.

In this instance displacing the water or anything else conductive away from the permanently powered electronics is key and something that most people have handy. oily residues won't do any harm and in the case of WD40 will soon evaporate too, it is a lousy lubricant long term.

In the case you cite, residues would be a killer and I'd even steer clear of contact cleaner for other than electrical contacts as I think it does contain lubricants.

You make an interesting point that WD40 is now a brand applied to a range of products not just their original water displacer mainly used originally on high voltage vehicle ignition systems to dry them out. Proof if it were needed that use on electrical items is just fine.

Bob

 

[SamQ aka Ah! Q!]

Thanks Bob. Understood.

 

[Cabinetman]

The story I heard about WD-40 was developed to spray on aircraft aluminium parts prior to storage inside wing segments etc, yes WD stands for water displacement and 40 was from the 40th experiment to get it right, or is that another urban myth.

 

[Doug71]

If there is a sudden downpour I grab my hand tools first these days. My power tools have been rained on quite a few times and it hasn't affected them as yet but it doesn't take much rain to cause rust on chisels, planes and saws etc.

WD40 is great for cleaning paint brushes.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

If you use WD40 regularly, keep an eye on Tesco - they often have the large ones half price.

 

[AJB Temple]

You can also buy it really cheaply in 5 litre plastic containers which come with a refillable spray bottle. By far the cheapest. Aldi occasionally have it. I use it quite a bit for garden tools as it is the only way I can get my extremely lovely wife to keep tools cleanish

 

[Woodster]

A guy I used to work with was tasked with rescuing some equipment that got wet, in this case with tap water. The first thing he did was soak the items thoroughly with distilled water before careful drying. He said even the tiny amounts of salt in tap water can damage delicate electronics when it dries out. Rainwater should be fine though.