How to keep equipment/racks/space dust free??

vishsp

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So i was wondering how the rest of you folks are dealing with this issue. Are there any specific items or products that can help fight or avoid the dust that settles on the equipment or on the racks where the hardware is placed. Enclosures are useful yes but dust still finds a way in and it just ends up looking untidy.

Just wanted opinions and suggestions because im sure there must be quite a few people faced with issue. i tried looking on this forum for this sort of a thread but couldnt find anything.

Thank you all in advance

Vishal
 
Thanks for bringing this up. I too face the same problem!
I was thinking of picking up an air purifier.
Let's see what other FMs have to say.
 
Simple cloth cover once unit is closed.
l use on AVR, LED too.Plastic also can be used once unit cools down.These methods usually help to prevent dust getting inside and damaging pcb.
 
Dust settling on PCB's are especially prone to failure during rainy weather or just under high humidity. The moisture condenses on the dust and makes it conductive and causes mild shorts across the boards. Cleaning the insides periodically is a good practice where dust is a big problem. Clean all the RCA connectors too ! They used to sell PVC caps to cover and close off unused RCA sockets . Don't see any nowadays.
I have a friend who uses three layers of thick cloth to cover his equipment after use . His equipment always looks brand new !
Racks are hard to keep clean unless they have doors on them. Not very convenient from usage point of view. I think the use of thick cloth is probably the easiest and I've seen it work very well. In a rack the spacing should be large between shelves otherwise it's hard to cover the equipment easily.
 
Dust settling on PCB's are especially prone to failure during rainy weather or just under high humidity. The moisture condenses on the dust and makes it conductive and causes mild shorts across the boards. Cleaning the insides periodically is a good practice where dust is a big problem. Clean all the RCA connectors too ! They used to sell PVC caps to cover and close off unused RCA sockets . Don't see any nowadays.
I have a friend who uses three layers of thick cloth to cover his equipment after use . His equipment always looks brand new !
Racks are hard to keep clean unless they have doors on them. Not very convenient from usage point of view. I think the use of thick cloth is probably the easiest and I've seen it work very well. In a rack the spacing should be large between shelves otherwise it's hard to cover the equipment easily.

Exactly...good point actually...

I frequently open up my gear and I actually give it a good scrub with baking soda, and wash it off under running water from a tap.

I know it sounds scary, but as long as you give it sufficient time to dry off, it's worth the endeavour. I've tried it with everything from my dac to my power amps. And never had a problem even once
 
Exactly...good point actually...

I frequently open up my gear and I actually give it a good scrub with baking soda, and wash it off under running water from a tap.

I know it sounds scary, but as long as you give it sufficient time to dry off, it's worth the endeavour. I've tried it with everything from my dac to my power amps. And never had a problem even once

Are you washing the PCB with water?
 
Are you washing the PCB with water?
Yeah...

Just buy some baking soda in sachets from a super market. Put it in a bowl and add water to make a thick paste. Now use an old tooth brush and give the pcb and all components a good scrub with the tooth brush. Wait for 20 mins for the soda to remove all the oxidation. Now wash all the bits and pieces under a tap. Dry them with hot air from a vacuum cleaner. Wait for 2 days for it to dry completely. Now box everything back, and enjoy your brand as new kit again :)

Only thing to take care is...please inspect the capacitors after Dismantling. If you see any leaks from the caps, then don't do the above. And needless to say, that amps with caps, have to be kept switched off for at least a day for the capacitors to completely drain before you start scrubbing them.

That's my power amp. Opened up for a good hot water bath :D
 

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What about ipa/isopropyl alcohol or thinner?

Hi...I did read about isopropyl alcohol which is supposedly available in medical stores. But was too lazy to make the trip. So I tried with baking soda which was already home, and it worked like a charm.

Unfortunately I don't have any pics now...But I had posted detailed pics of me dismantling my entire dac down to chips and pcb, and giving it the scrub in my hyderabad WhatsApp group. So it works :D
 
Using air purifier alongwith the cloth cover over the rigs works. Use the air purifier when the components are in use and during the 'Peak Dust Hours' of the locality i.e. industrial/ commercial/ Highway side etc.
I have been doing this for quite a sometime and found the Air purifier usage has further reduces the dust deposits on the rigs as well as over the rack, top of the TV etc.
 
Using air purifier alongwith the cloth cover over the rigs works. Use the air purifier when the components are in use and during the 'Peak Dust Hours' of the locality i.e. industrial/ commercial/ Highway side etc.
I have been doing this for quite a sometime and found the Air purifier usage has further reduces the dust deposits on the rigs as well as over the rack, top of the TV etc.

Thanks for the response Sir. Where do you put your air purifier exactly? Near the equipment, behind it ??
 
Using air purifier alongwith the cloth cover over the rigs works. Use the air purifier when the components are in use and during the 'Peak Dust Hours' of the locality i.e. industrial/ commercial/ Highway side etc.
I have been doing this for quite a sometime and found the Air purifier usage has further reduces the dust deposits on the rigs as well as over the rack, top of the TV etc.
Thank you. I was really serious about the air purifier. Your post really helps.
 
I usually use blower with different speed settings depending on the equipment. Itz almost more than 8 years that I have stick to this method and till today the AV's are working fine
 
Thanks for the response Sir. Where do you put your air purifier exactly? Near the equipment, behind it ??
I am using Dr.Aeroguard SCPR-700. It has two side grills and rest two are blocked. So grill side should face towards the area of interest. But it works on all sides. I think it was launched earlier than MI , Kent etc. Bit expensive at Rs. 25k.
 
Where I live right now is a new apartment and a lot of work is still going on, so there is plenty of dust. Also, as our flat faces the main road, we get more dust than many others whose flats face away. I got the equipment furniture designed by myself, one for our A/V system and the other for our dedicated stereo system. Both the designs are closed, and have glass doors for IR remote access. I made sure that the shelves have an inner depth of at least 8 inches so that there is sufficient space above the components. This arrangement still limits contact with air outside and equipment will run hot. Since our rooms are small and I only use 8 ohms speakers of high sensitivity, I don't think I will be needing very high power and physically large amps. The heat from the amps seems normal to me. For stabilizers, I use V-Guard's mainline series, which have a metal body, fan and larger cabinets than their modern counterparts with sleek plastic cabinets. The heat, in this case as well, seems fine. I found that with this arrangement we can minimize the dust attack. I use a powerful blower to blow dust that still manages to creep-in, once every two weeks. In that way, my electronics are protected. If heat still becomes an issue, I recommend using racks with sliding glass doors, so that you can leave them open during long musical sessions.

For speakers, they have to remain exposed anyway. I leave the grills on most of the time. The dust over the cabinets can be wiped off. My speakers have laminate finish, so using a wet cloth is not a problem. The blower must not be used on the grills, when they are mounted. I remove the grills occasionally and use a paintbrush to remove the dust. The same also works for termination and binding posts. A cloth may also be used to cover the speakers, when they are not in use, as many have already said.

If you observe that the PCBs inside electronics are covered in dust, then you will have to open the cabinet and use a blower first. Followed by this, you can use a soft paint brush to remove the dust. You can also use isopropyl alcohol (IPH) spray, to clean the PCBs. But please make sure that the manufacture has explicitly stated that the product is meant to be used to clean electronic boards.
 
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