ELECTRONICS AFTER FIRE

I had a shop fire. All the electronics, except one computer power supply, survived even the dousing that some of them got (I poured water out of a couple units).

Mechanical things (VCRs, printers, tape decks and anything with a fan) took a beating. Some things worked initially and died later, some died before the fireman left, and others survived with a superficial cleaning.

Anything bad that might have happend to your stuff, is not going to get any better. If it still works and was exposed to that environment--and you are concerned--get it cleaned, expecially if someone else is paying for it.

jak

" snipped-for-privacy@aol.com" bravely wrote to "All" (05 Feb 06 15:57:47) --- on the heady topic of "ELECTRONICS AFTER FIRE"

mc> From: snipped-for-privacy@aol.com mc> Xref: core-easynews sci.electronics.repair:357611

mc> Hi, mc> I had a kitchen fire on 10/20/2005 with " medium" smoke and soot mc> damage. It burned my cabinets, but not all the way through, but there mc> were also plastic bowls that melted. mc> My question is... How does the smoke and soot affect my electronics mc> such as Fridge, dishwasher, TV, Computer, cameras, DVD player, stereo, mc> speakers, phones, etc.? mc> I asked my Insurance Adjuster about them and he said they could be mc> cleaned. That's fine, but it's now been over 3 months since fire. mc> Now I'm wondering if sending them to be cleaned will correct any damage mc> that may have started. I just need to know the best way I should mc> handle this. Last week my DVD player just quit and it was only 1 yr mc> old. I do pay for the " replacement value" on my homeowners mc> insurance. mc> Also, how does the smoke and soot affect my ceiling fans/lights? The mc> cleaning company wasn't able to clean the inside of them. Should mc> these be replaced? mc> What about electrical outlets, etc.?? mc> I appreciate all your help!!

mc> Thank you! mc> ClassieM

I think your claims expert is trying to bilk you. Most electronic components have a storage temperature of 250'C and since in a fire the ambient temperture usually exceeds this by quite a lot, your adjuster should really be writing off the electronics in one fell swoop. Consider that if the plastic inside the cupboards melted then likely too the solder in a circuit board and insulation in wires.

A*s*i*m*o*v

... If all else fails, hurl it across the room a few times!

Hi!

Fires are not great for electronics. That said, I think a lot of your chances lie in how hot the devices got.

If they didn't get very hot, you might only need to clean them up. Depending upon the device, an exterior cleaning may be all you need to do. Devices that handle tapes, or contain sensors of any type should be probably be disassembled and have any sensing, tape path related or optical devices inside cleaned.

For devices that were exposed to temperature extremes...you'll just have to try them and see. It really depends upon the quality of the device and...to a certain extent...luck. Some devices will shrug off even severe abuse. Others will turn upside down and die if you just look at them wrong.

I'd expect that your refrigerator, dishwasher, speakers, stereo and phones will be fine, depending upon how hot they got. At most I'd expect these devices to need nothing more than a simple surface cleaning. Your TV and computer stand a pretty good chance of being OK as well. (However, I'd make a backup of the important things on the computer.)

The cameras and DVD player may need to have their optics cleaned. For a camera, cleaning the lens would probably do, depending upon how far the smoke got. As for the DVD player, it should probably have the laser pickup cleaned.

Ceiling fans and lights should be fine as long as they're intact. Your outlets should be OK too. Any of these that have melted or deformed should probably be replaced unless you can be absolutely sure the melting has caused only cosmetic damage. Outlets are so cheap that if they're even minorly deformed I'd still replace them.

William

"William R. Walsh" wrote in message news:meCFf.749378$x96.404278@attbi_s72...

Don't forget the smoke smell - sometimes they can't get that out - and the DVD laser pickup gets contaminated inside, at the turning mirror, wnich cannot be cleaned.

Mark Z.

My fire was caused by a malfunctioning window mounted AC/Heater unit; and was confined to only that window. The plastic face, plastic blinds above it, and a very small portion of the window sash were the only source of actual flame. The smoke and soot from burning plastic left a film of soot over every surface...with long streamers of soot--like cobwebs--hanging everywhere.

The FD caused much more damage than the fire, breaking every window and the door; spraying down that entire end of the building (where the bulk of the electronics were set up). I'm not complaining.....

The soot and the fire retardant (not to mention water and axes) were far more damaging than any temp extremes or flames.

The CD player which was within six ft. of the fire, and from which I poured a quantity of water, operated (still operates) fine. The VCR never worked again. A computer which was in the direct stream of water booted as soon as the power came back on. I slammed off the power switch as soon as I saw it. The one which died was maybe 15 ft. away. A good vacuuming and a new p.s. fixed it.

None of the optical or floppy drives (in the three computers) in the room suffered any malfunction...although one eventually ate the pulley which operated the sled...might have been related.

jak

Hi!

I've yet to run into a smoke smell that just wouldn't come out. Some do take a long time, though.

An electric fan or repurposed DC "muffin fan" can help with this problem. I once had a web page up showing how I'd cleaned up a nearly new computer monitor that was involved in a very messy fire. Patience and a fan cleared the smoke smell completely out.

As for the DVD player, I'd definitely try it. Laser pickups do seem awfully vulnerable to external contamination under the right circumstances.

William

William R. Walsh spake thus:

Incense can go a long way toward masking (and eventually eliminating) objectionable smells. Really.

"William R. Walsh" wrote in message news:wHMFf.537249$084.147645@attbi_s22...

My shop often does work for a fire/water restoration company. They use an ozone chamber to remove smoke smell, and often the pieces still smell when we get them. Maybe additional treatments get the rest of the smell out.

Mark Z.