Cleaning circuit boards (Smoke Machine Fluid)

FWIW, I believe the chemical is (ethylene) glycol mixed with water. In the US they are called fog machines.

On Wed, 29 Nov 2006 08:51:17 +0800, Antony N. Lord Has Frothed:

I would use flux stripper.

See how it works. i would think water or water/alcohol would be best.

greg

Short of using some dedicated flux remover or PC board cleaner in a can, here is one thing you can try: WD40. SPray on WD40 and scrub with a small paint brush, tooth brush or Q-tips. I had a old pioneer board last week i tried with alcohol and such and it would not come clean or would leave deposits on the board. The WD40 seemed to do the trick.

I have also tried small portable steamers with limited success.

Bob

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I've had pretty good luck with Simple Green and a scrub brush (tooth brush for hard to reach spots).

jak

There's a particular commercial board that I repair in large quantities, which gets very dirty with food residues, in some cases. It is all conventional leaded and surface mount R's, C's and semis. Has a few pin-type, and box header type connectors. No enclosed items. No coils. I wash these with hot water and normal washing up detergent. I squib some detergent on first, then flick on some hot water from a running tap ( faucet ), using a nylon-bristled long-handled dishwashing brush. The detergent can then be worked up into a lather with the brush, and the board given a good scrub, both sides. It is then thoroughly rinsed under the running hot water, then firmly shaken to remove the bulk of the water, and finally placed on end in front of a fairly powerful fan. It is totally dry inside a couple of minutes, and looks like new. Have never had any issues with any kind of short or long-term problems, following carrying out this cleaning.

Arfa

"Arfa Daily" wrote in news:vMqbh.516$ snipped-for-privacy@newsfe7-win.ntli.net:

I've run circuit boards through my automatic dishwasher using Calgonite(no rinse agent),but I prefer a drying oven (not >150 degF) with a slight negative pressure inside to draw out moisture.This was particularly good for hi-Z DMM boards,often solving leakage problems.

At TEK-Indy and Orlando,we used a sprayed Kelite solution(commercial degreaser),water rinse,and into the drying oven for 3 days minimum,but that was for whole instruments.

I like to use Naptha, it seems to leave components untouched, but dissolves most residues from circuit boards.

H. R. (Bob) Hofmann

The message from Jim Yanik contains these words:

Re WD40 Have you ever tried to resolder joints after contact with this product?

I find one of the foaming cleaners sold for car upholstery the remedy that suits me.

I second this. Works great for oily goop, not so great for water based goop.