[TowerTalk] Equipment Corrosion

[Tower (K8RI)]

An open air shack, or unheated building is about the worst place you can put 
electronic equipment.  The air flow is not completely free and every time 
there is a temperature decrease you will get condensation.

I don't know what kind of climate you have, but the description leads me to 
believe you are in a warmer climate than Michigan.<:-))
>
>
>
> 1)       The problem is that the shack is too air tight.  Water vapor gets
> in (maybe I sweat in the shack), and then it can't get out.  So when the
> weather is right it condenses, and that causes rust.  The fix here might 
> be
> to install vents, like you would typically have in an attic or basement.
>
> 2)       The problem is that the shack is too leaky.  It needs a vapor
> barrier.  The fix here might be to paint the walls to create a vapor
> barrier.


Your problem is a combination of the two.
The building is too leaky and moistre gets in. The temperature falls each 
evening, and with weather changes, creating condensation.

The building needs to be made more weather proof. It needs a more constant 
temperature and it needs the humidity kept relatively low.

A small window type airconditioner such as the ones used in mobile homes 
should do nicely.  I picked up one for $10 and have been using it to keep 
the temperature and humidity down in my shop.  They tiny little 
airconditioner doesn't use a lot of power and it does an admirable job on a 
28 X 40 foot shop. Of course the shop  is well sealed and insulated.  Even 
the concrete floor is insulated from the ground under it.

> In either case, I suppose that I could install some kind of dehumidifier 
> as
> an alternative, but that only works without vents, I think.

The building can not be "air tight" but from your description it could use a 
wee bit of tightening.  Put in some vapor barrier and interior walls, a 
dehumidifier, or small airconditioner.  The airconditioner would be the best 
bet.  Then create some small vents that you can open and close.

The building does need to breathe, but not to its current extent.

What you have now is a design that will destroy equipment in a relatively 
short time.

Up here in the "North Country" where we regularly see some drastic daily 
changes in temperature, I often see some very nice rigs that have been 
destroyed from storing them in unheated garages and sheds. Many of the 
pieces are rare and would be valuable except for the fact they are beyond 
restoration.

These were once prized stations of some ham, but are now no more than junk 
because their heirs didn't know how to store them.
>
I'm currently trying to restore an old Hallicrafters S-40B to operation for 
a friend so he can listen on his father's old receiver.  It was stored in a 
barn. Out of all the equipment from that estate, it is the only piece that 
appears to be salvageable.


Roger Halstead (K8RI, EN73 & ARRL Life Member)
N833R, World's Oldest Debonair (S# CD-2)
www.rogerhalstead.com
>
>
> Any ideas?
>
>
>
> Thanks much!
>
>
>
>                               ***dan, K6IF
>
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