Soggy Shake

Technical Support
1

Well, today in SoCal we got a very good amount of about rain about 2in (50.8mm) in under 12 hours. After the rain pretty much coming to a stop I started to get some spikes in data from the shake and decided to check in on the shake.
Lo and Behold, I check in on the vault and there’s a about 2 in (50mm) of water in the vault and the water had just started to lick the bottom board of the shake and send out those spikes of data. My POE splitter was completely underwater and surprisingly was still giving power to the shake and sending data back. (I intentionally put the splitter in the lowest point in the vault so that if water did get it it would take out the splitter and I would notice but oh well :)) I was super lucky to be home and be able to pull the shake out immediately and bring it inside. When pulling the shake out not much water dripped out of the enclosure so hopefully I didn’t do much damage.

Anyway’s the main reason I posted was to get advice on things to do before powering the shake back up. I’m obviously letting the shake dry out for now but what I’m more worried about is the geophone on the shake. It appears to have taken the worst of it and I’m worried about long term damage to the geophone given all of the small metal parts inside of it that might rust and/or corrode.
I’ll attach some pictures but the water seems to have only made it less then half way up the geophone. If possible would it just be better to replace the entire geophone? I attached some photos of my shake as well as roughly where the waterline was when I pulled it out of the vault.

I know this is a odd topic and this is a risk I take by putting a indoor shake outside but any advice would be appreciated!

PSA: If anyone has a outdoor vault I would also highly, highly, highly recommend spending the $10 on a water leak sensor because had I had a working one this would of been completely avoided. :slight_smile:

Thanks,
SCE

RCEA5 Bottom View
RCEA5 Bottom View3282×3024 3.01 MB
RCEA5 Front View
RCEA5 Front View1762×1876 648 KB
RCEA5 Side View
RCEA5 Side View1658×1994 690 KB

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Hello!

I would remove and rinse the boards with pure isopropyl alcohol (at least 90 % grade) to prevent corrosion and remove any residue. I do this on the regular basis when I repair and clean old electronics. Make sure to dry the board completely at the room temperature before use.

Not sure about the geophone. Perhaps you were lucky and it is sufficently sealed to prevent any intrusion of water from the bottom. Hopefully nothing got inside since this is the most expensive part of your Shake.

Best regards,
Gregor

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3

thanks, would you suggest using anything to “scrub” the board with or don’t touch it?

4

Since you are in the US, look here on Amazon:

This stuff is ideal for cleaning up electronics, absorbing any water remaining etc.

Not suitable for direct application to skin, but it can be used to make hand sanitizer, and add 10% distilled water to make up a solution suitable for use on human skin.

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5

Light brush would do in case of any particles or residue. Just be careful and make sure you brush very gently.

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6

@Seizmolog Thanks for your help. I had some 91% Isopropyl Alcohol on hand and rinsed the board with it. All is good now and the shake is producing data once again.
Now I just have to keep the water out of the vault for good :slight_smile:

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