[SOLVED] how to prevent water oxidation of motherboards?

[That_Tech_Guy_Again]

So i bought all the parts and built my own computer. It lasted for about 1.5 months. Then it stopped working. Then i sent the motherboard to get repaired and it worked..... I turned it on/off 2 times to check if it was working and then left it for 3 days before using it again.....

Then when i tried using it 3 days later. It was already broken, with the SAME problem. Oxidation caused by water. My best guess is it was caused by humidity; although i cannot be certain.

So now i have the motherboard back from repairs..... for the second time... And i am too scared to even take it out of the box.

So i was wondering how to prevent or minimize oxidation problems?

Just to clear, i do NOT have a water cooler, And it was not exposed to any water, although it was very VERY hot, and there was a lot of humidity (i had to open my windows and doors to make the house colder during the day).


The motherboard is the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 With Wifi.

 

[drea.drechsler]

So i bought all the parts and built my own computer. It lasted for about 1.5 months. Then it stopped working. Then i sent the motherboard to get repaired and it worked..... I turned it on/off 2 times to check if it was working and then left it for 3 days before using it again.....

Then when i tried using it 3 days later. It was already broken, with the SAME problem. Oxidation caused by water. My best guess is it was caused by humidity; although i cannot be certain.

So now i have the motherboard back from repairs..... for the second time... And i am too scared to even take it out of the box.

So i was wondering how to prevent or minimize oxidation problems?

Just to clear, i do NOT have a water cooler, And it was not exposed to any water, although it was very VERY hot, and there was a lot of humidity (i had to open my windows and doors to make the house colder during the day).


The motherboard is the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 With Wifi.

What exactly makes you believe it is water that's causing the problems?

The way water cause a problems in computers is when it condenses on the board and that happens when board components goes below ambient temperature in a high humidity environment (below the dew point to be precise). That might happen if you have a chilled A/C vent blowing into the computer while operating. The heat from the operating computer keeps it warm and dry but when you turn it off in the high humidity it condenses out on cool, chilled surfaces.

So you probably have to find out why the system is being chilled below ambient to find why water is condensing inside the system. One thing you could do is aim a fan that blows AMBIENT air into the case...that is, the same air and temperature as the air surrounding you. It won't be as cool, so temperatures inside the case won't be as well controlled, but you won't run into below-ambient conditions.

 

[The Paladin]

leave the pc on it will evaporate any possible condensation as it tried to form

 

[That_Tech_Guy_Again]

So i bought all the parts and built my own computer. It lasted for about 1.5 months. Then it stopped working. Then i sent the motherboard to get repaired and it worked..... I turned it on/off 2 times to check if it was working and then left it for 3 days before using it again.....

Then when i tried using it 3 days later. It was already broken, with the SAME problem. Oxidation caused by water. My best guess is it was caused by humidity; although i cannot be certain.

So now i have the motherboard back from repairs..... for the second time... And i am too scared to even take it out of the box.

So i was wondering how to prevent or minimize oxidation problems?

Just to clear, i do NOT have a water cooler, And it was not exposed to any water, although it was very VERY hot, and there was a lot of humidity (i had to open my windows and doors to make the house colder during the day).


The motherboard is the Gigabyte X470 Aorus Gaming 7 With Wifi.

What exactly makes you believe it is water that's causing the problems?

The way water cause a problems in computers is when it condenses on the board and that happens when board components goes below ambient temperature in a high humidity environment (below the dew point to be precise). That might happen if you have a chilled A/C vent blowing into the computer while operating. The heat from the operating computer keeps it warm and dry but when you turn it off in the high humidity it condenses out on cool, chilled surfaces.

So you probably have to find out why the system is being chilled below ambient to find why water is condensing inside the system. One thing you could do is aim a fan that blows AMBIENT air into the case...that is, the same air and temperature as the air surrounding you. It won't be as cool, so temperatures inside the case won't be as well controlled, but you won't run into below-ambient conditions.

Ummm.... Because the manufacturer said it was caused by water oxidation? Would not having the case fans turned on cause a difference in the temperature?

 

[That_Tech_Guy_Again]

leave the pc on it will evaporate any possible condensation as it tried to form

Ummmm...... No..... I would prefer not to keep a 600 or so Wattage computer on 24/7. Try doing the maths calculations and see how much it costs to keep it running 24/7 at 0.30 Cents AUD per kilowatt

 

[racksmith101]

You need a can of acrylic conformal coating. Mask up all the heatsinks and connectors ( mask them up well) on the board (and the battery) and give the board 4 or 5 good even coats one side (allow to dry, about half an hour) then repeat on the other side. It will give you a waterproof coating on the PCB.

 

[drea.drechsler]

Ummm.... Because the manufacturer said it was caused by water oxidation? Would not having the case fans turned on cause a difference in the temperature?

Then you'll have to prevent condensation inside the case.

The fan's alone can't lower temperature below ambient, which is necessary to create condensation. But turning the computer off with no airflow MIGHT...if the air inside the case came to a very warm above ambient temperature with humid conditions and then cooled off with no fans to move that humid air out as it cools. That's a very narrow band of possibility but if air is super saturated i guess it could happen.

The best way is leave it on (it stays warm, no chance for condensation) and the next best is open case after you turn it off and place an outside fan blowing on it for a half hour or so until it fully cools off. But IF you are putting chilled AC air blowing into the case to keep an overclock stable in hot temperatures, don't. But if you have to turn it off a half hour or so before you turn off the computer to allow it to warm up first.

I don't think the conformal coating idea will work because you have to leave the connectors un-coated. It works on military and aerospace hardware because connector contacts have extra thick gold plating (a noble metal that won't oxidize easily) but this is el-cheapo commercial hardware. Marketing claims aside, this is pretty thin gold (if at all) that can take very few mate/demates before exposing copper that allows corrosion.

Oh yeah, and being close to salt water (ocean) will hurt this a lot too. Salt deposits are hygroscopic...attract moisture from the air...and also very corrosive.