Question Did i damage my pc via condensation?

[ethan.crabtree45648]

So it was chilly in my dorm room the other morning so i turned on the heater. Little did i know the thermostat was not set correctly so the temp in my room went from 69F to 76F in the span of arround 10 mins or so.

I know warm air and cool surfaces lead to condensation so is there a risk i damaged my pc by this due to my room heating up that fast? Im not at my room to check my pc but im worried i fried it.

Im sorry if this is a dumb question but i get anxious easily and i want to make sure i didnt screw up. If my pc is damaged will it be obvious most likely?

 

[USAFRet]

It is fine.

 

[ethan.crabtree45648]

It is fine.

Isnt that a big leap in room temp in that ammount of time though? I also live by a large river so the humidity of the area im is higher than usual too.

 

[USAFRet]

Isnt that a big leap in room temp in that ammount of time though? I also live by a large river so the humidity of the area im is higher than usual too.

Was the PC on during this room heating?

 

[ethan.crabtree45648]

Was the PC on during this room heating?

It was not at the time which is another reason im worried. If it was i am 100% sure it would be well over whatever the room temp was the entire time.

 

[USAFRet]

It was not at the time which is another reason im worried. If it was i am 100% sure it would be well over whatever the room temp was the entire time.

Consider the delivery of a new system, in the winter.
Riding around in the back of a cold truck all day, then brought inside the house.
Instant warm up.

Or a laptop thats been sitting in your car all morning, in January.
Then bring it inside to use.


Any condensation will quickly burn off.
And 69F to 76F is NOT a big temp swing. Do you see condensation on anything else?

 

[ethan.crabtree45648]

Consider the delivery of a new system, in the winter.
Riding around in the back of a cold truck all day, then brought inside the house.
Instant warm up.

Or a laptop thats been sitting in your car all morning, in January.
Then bring it inside to use.


Any condensation will quickly burn off.
And 69F to 76F is NOT a big temp swing. Do you see condensation on anything else?

Sorry if this is dumb but arent those 2 situations also at risk of condensation forming? Any time i bring my laptop in from outside i let it warm up inside its carrying case for a few mins before i boot it up again.

I didnt see any condensation that i remember but i was not really looking for it at the time, i had to get to class so i quickly turned the temp back down on my way out

 

[USAFRet]

Sorry if this is dumb but arent those 2 situations also at risk of condensation forming? Any time i bring my laptop in from outside i let it warm up inside its carrying case for a few mins before i boot it up again.

I didnt see any condensation that i remember but i was not really looking for it at the time, i had to get to class so i quickly turned the temp back down on my way out

If any condensation DID form, it was gone by the time you got home.

Any "problem" would occur if the parts were consistently wet. Which they weren't.

 

[ethan.crabtree45648]

If any condensation DID form, it was gone by the time you got home.

Any "problem" would occur if the parts were consistently wet. Which they weren't.

Ah ok, so this isnt something i need to worry about?

 

[USAFRet]

Ah ok, so this isnt something i need to worry about?

If it were, electronics all over the world would be dying every single day.

 

[Rokinamerica]

Ah ok, so this isnt something i need to worry about?

In a word, no.

 

[helper800]

Unless you walked into your room and the inside of the PC looked like it was foggy or it had actually thick dew like condensate, I would not worry at all.

 

[johnbl]

at least the condensation is chemically pure and does not conduct electricity and should not cause a short. you need a salt for the electricity to conduct and dissolve circuit traces. (also most traces are covered in a non conductive layer except at the contact points)

 

[helper800]

at least the condensation is chemically pure and does not conduct electricity and should not cause a short. you need a salt for the electricity to conduct and dissolve circuit traces. (also most traces are covered in a non conductive layer except at the contact points)

That is incorrect. There are enough particles of surface dust on the PCBs to cause electrical shorting somewhere the condensation forms. This is because condensation is uniform over the surface area. The question is whether or not it can or will cause damage if the computer is currently being actively used, turned on after the condensation occurs, or has standby power already on.

 

[johnbl]

That is incorrect. There are enough particles of surface dust on the PCBs to cause electrical shorting somewhere the condensation forms. This is because condensation is uniform over the surface area. The question is whether or not it can or will cause damage if the computer is currently being actively used, turned on after the condensation occurs, or has standby power already on.

yes, you are correct the condensation can solvate any chemical it lands on or it can allow conductive particles on the surface to move in the liquid film.

 

[SyCoREAPER]

If you didn't see condensation anywhere else, the PC was off and you didn't turn it on right after, chances are any small amount, if any, evaporated.

When in doubt, keep electronics off until you are sure.

That said, that small difference is a delta you'd probably see under just normal use from the computer heating up vs ambient room temp.

As mentioned above about laptops, granted it was a work laptop so I DGF, there were mornings id walk from the parking lot into the building and turn on laptop in the comparatively warm room with visible condensation and never had an issue.

Tomorrow/Later today it will be dry if it was t already. If it turns on, which it should, it's fine. If something goes pop which is highly unlikely IMO, well, you have your answer.

 

[Misgar]

The only time I'm really careful is bringing electronics back up to room temperature after testing at -40°C (-40°F) or -51°C (-60°F) in a climatic test chamber. When any ice on the PCB melts, I wait for it to evaporate, before applying power.

You might also have problems in the tropics, bringing a laptop into an air conditioned building or vehicle, if the RH outdoors is close to 100%.

In your case, I wouldn't worry.