Monsoon mayhem!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[dinyaar]

Hi guys,
Was wondering if any of u guys have problems with ur gear during the monsoon months.
I live by the sea in mumbai and all my electronics have at some time or the other malfunctioned with the excessive humidity.Equipment is housed in an open rack and inspite of covering the gear when not in use and liberally using silica gel most of my cdp s play up.
Any tips/suggestions? Do any of u have any experience with a Dehumidifier?
Regards

 

[rikhav]

Hi Dinyaar
I am not that close to the sea, but where i stay as usual there is no power for half of the day when it rains like how it rained yesterday

 

[awedeophile]

Relays tend to fail with high humidity. These are the thingies that go click-click when you turn on most amplifiers, etc. The relay contacts get oxidised and arc when the humidity is very high (>85%), specially if switched OFF while outputting a signal. Once oxidised, the sound degrades and many times sounds scratchy. So ensure that you put the preamp OFF first or turn the volume down/mute prior to switching the amp OFF.

 

[persiflage]

Sympathies.

My problems are even more basic - quite some amount of water seeped in, and I have had to move the rig in order to avoid injury to life and property.

 

[persiflage]

Dinyaar,

I opted for a closed rack (originally due to other considerations - WAF). So I keep it open while playing due to heat dissipation reasons etc., but keep it closed otherwise.

Wondering if this would help in your case.

A friend who lives on Carter Road uses a dehumidifier. Can find out if it has had any effect.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi Guys,
Ya i'll probably have to opt for a closed rack too if the problem persists.
Percy please ask ur friend about the dehumidifier and whether his problems are solved.
Regards

 

[awedeophile]

Hi Dinyaar,

A closed rack will not help with humidity unless it's air tight, which it won't be.

A dehumidifier is similar in working to an air-conditioner. If you already have an A/c in your audio room, switch it on a few minutes before powering up.

You can buy a digital humidity meter like this one:
Indoor and Outdoor Temperature Thermo-Hygrometer-Clock

 

[suniil]

Lucky bloke

I live by the sea in mumbai

 

[Jambumali]

....A closed rack will not help with humidity unless it's air tight, which it won't be.
A dehumidifier is similar in working to an air-conditioner. If you already have an A/c in your audio room, switch it on a few minutes before powering up.

Will second that.

Even if you don't have an AC in the particular room, any other room's AC will do - it will take longer time - simply close all the other doors for ex. the one room with the AC will be open to the room with the setup. This will bring down the temp in both the rooms - the AC will be overworking for some time, but, once in a while it is OK, this works - trust me - I used to do this regularly to bring down the temp on hot & humid summer afternoons. Even a couple of degrees will make a huge difference.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi all,
Sunil i live by the sea in bombay lingo!!!! By that i mean unrestricted view of the sea which is a 100 metres away. Yes i consider myself lucky with the flat location as the sea has a calming effect. Envy people who live by the sea.

Now back to the humidity problems. Awedeophile/Jambumali thanks for the advice on the closed rack. Since i need a new rack anyway i was considering the option of a closed one.

Have an AC in the adjoining room and will try your suggestions.
U guys feel the air conditioner will reduce the humidity level in the room? Just seeking confirmation.

God this hobby does give me a headache ever so often!!!!!!!!

Regards

 

[rikhav]

Hi Dinyaar
The AC will definately reduce the humidity to a large extent.

 

[awedeophile]

Hi Dinyaar,

I would strongly recommend against a closed rack. Terrible for isolation and will cause a lot of heat build-up. Check these out instead:

E&T 11-D600-3W1 Audio Spider Racks New - eBay (item 350064594656 end time Jul-26-08 19:13:33 PDT)
E&T 11-D300-3A1 Audio Spider Racks New - eBay (item 350062097813 end time Jul-19-08 04:07:30 PDT)

Yes, an air conditioner is very effective in reducing humidity. Dehumidifiers work on the same principal as an air conditioner.

"God this hobby does give me a headache ever so often!!!!!!!!"

Very true, somedays I just feel like getting rid of everything and buying a pair of headphones!! But on most days I'm in audio bliss

 

[dinyaar]

Thanks Rikhav.
Awedeophile my thoughts too on some days!!!!
I always felt that if one buys better gear one gets components built to a higher standard and worthy of the price premium paid but sadly thats not always the case. By this i am referring to my Bryston amp. Surely they could have encased the protection circuitry so that its not affected by humidity!!!Am not a technical guy but surely these are basic issues any electronics manufacturer ought to address!!!!
Spoke to Them directly and was told that for whatever reason this protection circuitry is malfunctioning and hence the amp sometimes just stops playing. Anyway the only thing positive is that are assuring me of solving the problem ASAP or else send me a replacement.

 

[awedeophile]

I had a similar problem with my Pass Labs X1 preamp - it would just stop playing and then start up again after some time. Spoke to them and it turned out to be a protection circuit that switched off everything internally except the display when the AC voltage went above/below limits. They offered to guide me in changing the set limits but I instead fixed the AC power.

Maybe there is some other external problem causing the protection circuitry to kick in. You should check that also. Or it is working to protect other components in the amp against high humidity. Most electronic components are rated to work under 85% humidity (non-condensing). Bryston amps are built like tanks IMO and they have an industry beating warranty, so getting a replacement should not be a problem.

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,

Dinyaar sorry for joining late ! The reason is I never had to face this scene ! hence my ignorance in the subject ! So didn't know what to say or comment on the issue !!

But your last post is something I can surely comment !! thats why Am doing it !!

I couldn't agree with you more ! sometimes they just take things for granted and force us to accept !! but the case you mentioned,the realys being not covered or cased ! simple reason (well mostly) that most of the relays are almost sealed and sort of vacumed by default ! so its very rare that the humidity can get inside them ! but even then if its getting in, then the same thing happens to the cover thats just over these relays and has no vacume sealing like the relay itself !! this is my opinion !! although relays get carbonised over the time period of normal usage,its bit rare or atleast for me a new thing that it gets affected by the humidity !!

Also this might be off the topic,but most of the manufacturers shove stuff to India which are bit non standard compared to the same models sold in the Europe or Us ! one of the example was,if you remember some time back we were suggesting a forum to Bi-amp his NAD 2400 ! where I said the Amp has a line from experience (meaning what I had seen) and he said that in his its not there but instead has LAB input !!

Aslo I've seen some of the Asian models are made without the proper shielding like you said for example some of the models sold here does not have separate shield for power ( like a metal barrier or box for transformer) where as the same model sold in the said regions have these features incorporated !! Now what you want to call this ??

What ever said and done,I think they've made India a Dumping ground for all their junks and will continue to do it !!

Regards.

 

[rikhav]

Sreekanth,
Does that mean we are not getting our money's worth? I mean Dinyaar must have spend a big amount on the Bryston amp, and atleast from a company like Bryston what we would expect is that the quality would be same globally specially if you are purchasing from a authorized dealer.

This is a very sad sitaution. We pay almost double of what the prices are in USA and other coutries and still the quality is compromised.

 

[soundsgreat]

Hi,

Rikhav answer to your question is already there (please read carefully) !

As with the Bryston,Sure its of different league then what I've talked in the above post ! but sometimes I get doubt with almost all the companies !!

Its very true that its a sad situation in india, for an average indian its not only difficult to procure these stuff but also sometimes impossible to afford them ! Certain part of the blame has to be made towards the Indian Govt for thinking that anyone who wants to listen to these stuff must be rich !! So penalise him with max taxes !! what can we say about that ??

Only god knows when this scenario will change and an average Audio enthu like me can afford a Bryston,Passlabs or McCormack or Conrad johnson !

Regards.

 

[awedeophile]

simple reason (well mostly) that most of the relays are almost sealed and sort of vacumed by default ! so its very rare that the humidity can get inside them ! but even then if its getting in, then the same thing happens to the cover thats just over these relays and has no vacume sealing like the relay itself !! this is my opinion !! although relays get carbonised over the time period of normal usage,its bit rare or atleast for me a new thing that it gets affected by the humidity !!Regards.

Sir, what you are referring to are hermetically sealed relays. These are not normally used in audio equipment due to their large size and high cost. Regular speaker output relays are not hermetically sealed and are affected by humidity. The idea of a hermetical seal is that they can't corrode / cause damage due to sparks in the absence of air.

Also, Dinyaar does not seem to have a problem with relays but with his protection circuitry that is shutting the amp off. This could be for various reasons.

 

[dinyaar]

Hi again,
Actually i have had a problem with most gear over the years as the sea breeze all round the year plus the torrential showers during the monsoon really screw up all the HIFI, cars,Bikes et all. From my old Harman integrated, Nad power, Rotel Int and now the Bryston power all have at some point played up in the rains!!! Some of my earlier cdps were badly affected too.
To sum it up i am pretty used to it now and have to accept it as one of the cons of living here.
Awedeophile thanks for always helping and offering your suggestions.
Bryston tells me its a malfunction in the protection circuitry and hence i am just repeating it to u guys.
Shreekant i do feel some companies, audio and otherwise do use developing countries as dumping grounds. Am not saying a Bryston here is any different from a bryston anywhere though. An example is Nad. I believe the ratio of duds is a little more in the stuff thats come here as opposed to say what goes to the UK. Now that is sad. If a company feels they should have more quality checks for some regions and not so for a few other regions is really sad but a reality.
Anyway as i mentioned earlier most hobbies(HIFI,BIKESetc) do cause a lot of headache from time to time and i sometimes feel like selling the whole damn kit and buying an I POD or headphones( a la dear awedeophile).
Regards

 

[rikhav]

Just as I was discussing problems caused my monsoon with all of you, my PC switched off suddenly and i guess the motherboard has conked off and as usual the culprit is humidity. Just 2 weeks back the power supply gave way which is very common for during monsoons