Welcome to Laser Pointer Forums - discuss green laser pointers, blue laser pointers, and all types of lasers

Buy Site Supporter Role (remove some ads) | LPF Donations

Links below open in new window

FrozenGate by Avery

DX 30 took  a Bath

potatorage

potatorage

0
Joined
Mar 20, 2008
Messages
1,341
Points
0
Well, My DX 30 kinda took a bath.... and now it puts out a blob of green, Uploading pic soon...
Is this permanent? What mode is this?
What would be a good replacement?
 





Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

Wet mode ;D there is probably water behind the lens when it dries it might leave minerals on the glass and you might have a different kind of blob. If it was mine i'd dunk it in distilled water in the same way it fell in the regular water shake it out and open everything I can and put it in a bag of rice to absorb the leftover humidity.
 
I will bet that a tine bit of water got behind the lens, and it is condensating on it. Your best bet is to take out the lens, clean it off and let it dry for an hour before putting it back in, if that doesn't work I don't know what else would work.
 
I left it out to dry, and when it was at about 100 degrees, it was beautiful. Then, it cooled down and It's making a blob again...
 
potatorage said:
I left it out to dry, and when it was at about 100 degrees, it was beautiful. Then, it cooled down and It's making a blob again...
Click to expand...

still moisture inside it - try putting it on an air vent or something overnight to let it dry out
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

Bath water on the optics and crystals are going to be an issue when it dries. Scale and whatever else was in the water will film up on these areas and fog it. The diode is probably ok, those modules are sealed pretty tight. But if enough got in to the area of the crystal, expect some spots in the beam. :(
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

If you heat it up to 100 degrees as soon as it cools down you will get condensation forming inside again, you should have listened and stuck it in a bag of rice for a few days the rice would have absorbed the water. but as stated before it would probably leave mineral deposits behind hence why i said to wash it out with distilled water first.
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

I guess any mineral residues will become a problem, but its hard to predict how badly so.

I'd just take it apart as far as you are comfortable with and let the parts dry out for a couple of days, preferable on top of a radiator or in summer where exposed to some sunlight.
 
I dont know if isopropyl alcohol or acetone would damage the crystal or lenses, but I know they displace water and evaporate much more rapidly. So if you were feeling daring you could give them a dip. Acetone damages plastic pretty easily so if there are any plastic lenses you can kiss them goodbye. I would try isopropyl myself...
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

Acetone will probably kill it indeed, not only does it damage plastic lenses and components, it might dissolve glues and such quite readily. I'd recommend acetonly only for cleaning and drying glass and metal components.

Rubbing alcohol is generally a lot safer, though i wouldn't be totally sure about the coatings on crystals and lenses. The same goes for ethanol, which can be a good drying agent in some cases as well.
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

If there is any plastic involved, acetone fumes alone can melt it! A gentle way to clean is pure ethanol, wet a clean stip of paper, and drag it across the surface to be cleaned. No rubbing is needed, and a clean piece should be used for each pass. Isopropyl contains additives other than alcohol, and depending on its percentage, can also leave residue.
 
thejunkmonger's method is definitely best. Leaving it in a warm bag of rice or painter's dessicant for a few days after a rinse in distilled water should fix it.

If allowed to dry properly without oxidizing, getting wet doesn't really harm electronics or crystals or plastics. Best make sure its clean water, though, hence the distilled part.
 
Re: DX 30 took  a Bath

probably dont have one, but a chemical dryer would do great. it will suck water out of anything.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.


Back
Top