I feel compelled to follow up and correct my post.
Fred's advice on Lithium is well considered. The only safe extinguisher for
it is an approved dry chemical. In an emergency throw dry sand or DRY dirt
on it.
I said, "Distilled water will disperse and dilute any "neutral ions".
I have no idea what was going through my mind when I wrote that. The phrase
"neutral ions" probably ranks as an oxymoron on a par with "military
intelligence" and "congressional wisdom".
What I was trying to convey is the idea that distilled water will dilute and
disperse any remaining ionic solution and will effectively neutralize the
board after the prior steps.
Sorry for the confusion.
Bob Smith
--- Avoid computer viruses, Practice safe hex ---
-- Specializing in small, cost effective
embedded control systems --
http://www.smithmachineworks.com/embedprod.html
Robert L. (Bob) Smith
Smith Machine Works, Inc.
9900 Lumlay Road
Richmond, VA 23236 804/745-1065
[EMAIL PROTECTED]
----- Original Message -----
To: "Multiple recipients of list CHIPDIR-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2004 7:34 PM
> I think Bob Smith offers good advice on the cleanup. I want to comment
> on the battery.
>
> I have never heard of a lithium battery explode unless you try to charge
> one. There are two types of lithium batteries. The lithium ion battery
> is rechargeable while the standard lithium battery is NOT rechargeable.
> Is there a possibility your company got the two types of batteries mixed
> up and is trying to charge a non-chargable type lithium cell? If so
> this can be very dangerous. Lithium batteries burn like a flare and
> water execrates the fire rather than quenching the fire. Make sure you
> have removed all the lithium before you cleanup as Bob suggests.
>
> Fred Townsend
>
>
> Bob Smith wrote:
>
> >Try soaking in a warm solution of ordinary domestic baking soda and
> >distilled water. Brush gently with a soft brush from time to time to
remove
> >all loose residue. Continue until board is clean.
> >
> >Sodium Bicarbonate is a mild base and will neutralize any acidic
residues.
> >
> >Rinse very well in warm water to remove any residues.
> >
> >Allow board to soak in warm distilled water, agitate occasionally
Distilled
> >water will disperse and dilute any neutral ions.
> >
> >Gently shake board dry.
> >
> >Air dry in a warm oven (about 150 deg F) . Almost any electronic part
will
> >withstand 100 deg C storage temperature, but be careful of any little
> >plastic bits that might soften.
> >
> >Warning - most domestic ovens regulate very poorly on the 'Low' setting
and
> >will severely overheat, especially when heating up.
> >
> >You can make a very usable drying oven out of your wife's(proceed with
> >extreme caution) hair dryer and a clean cardboard box. Stick hair dryer
> >nozzle through side of box. Adjust heat setting for desired temperature.
> >The air circulation from the dryer also helps a lot.
> >
> >When board is _absolutely_ dry, power up and pray a lot!
> >
> > Good luck, Bob Smith
> >
> >
> >--- Avoid computer viruses, Practice safe hex ---
> >
> >-- Specializing in small, cost effective
> > embedded control systems --
> >
> >http://www.smithmachineworks.com/embedprod.html
> >
> >
> >Robert L. (Bob) Smith
> >Smith Machine Works, Inc.
> >9900 Lumlay Road
> >Richmond, VA 23236 804/745-1065
> >
> > [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >
> >----- Original Message -----
> >To: "Multiple recipients of list CHIPDIR-L" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> >Sent: Saturday, April 17, 2004 12:49 PM
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >>I have a board which had a lithium battery explode unseen and was not
> >>noticed until we attempted to power it on (quite some time later,
> >>possibly a year or more...). The PCB itself seems fine, oddly enough,
> >>but anywhere that the acid hit metal (RFI shields, switches) it
> >>blossomed with massive rust (ok, corrosion, oxidation, what have you).
> >>
> >>Does anyone have any advice for a special method to try and clean off
> >>the board? I know there are things that you can immerse/saturate
> >>circuit boards in to remove contaminants but I wasn't sure where
> >>exactly to start. Plus, I'm not even sure if it's worth the time if it
> >>turns out to not work after all my best efforts.
> >>
> >>It's the first time I've seen one of these type batteries explode, I
> >>believe it's an N-Type 3.6v, it must have been dead beyond dead. But
> >>all the damage was hidden underneath another part. It seems strange to
> >>me that the board, caps and resistors in the 'blast radius' look
> >>relatively unscathed other than bubbles and flakes of metal from the
> >>nearby shielding.
> >>
> >>
> >>--
> >>Author: vartan
> >> INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> >>
> >>Fat City Hosting, San Diego, California -- http://www.fatcity.com
> >>---------------------------------------------------------------------
> >>To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
> >>to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
> >>the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB CHIPDIR-L
> >>(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
> >>also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
> >>
> >>
> >>
> >
> >
> >
> >
>
>
>
> vartan wrote:
>
> > I have a board which had a lithium battery explode unseen and was not
> > noticed until we attempted to power it on (quite some time later,
> > possibly a year or more...). The PCB itself seems fine, oddly enough,
> > but anywhere that the acid hit metal (RFI shields, switches) it
> > blossomed with massive rust (ok, corrosion, oxidation, what have you).
> >
> > Does anyone have any advice for a special method to try and clean off
> > the board? I know there are things that you can immerse/saturate
> > circuit boards in to remove contaminants but I wasn't sure where
> > exactly to start. Plus, I'm not even sure if it's worth the time if it
> > turns out to not work after all my best efforts.
> >
> > It's the first time I've seen one of these type batteries explode, I
> > believe it's an N-Type 3.6v, it must have been dead beyond dead. But
> > all the damage was hidden underneath another part. It seems strange to
> > me that the board, caps and resistors in the 'blast radius' look
> > relatively unscathed other than bubbles and flakes of metal from the
> > nearby shielding.
> >
> >
>
>
>
--
Author: Bob Smith
INET: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Fat City Hosting, San Diego, California -- http://www.fatcity.com
---------------------------------------------------------------------
To REMOVE yourself from this mailing list, send an E-Mail message
to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] (note EXACT spelling of 'ListGuru') and in
the message BODY, include a line containing: UNSUB CHIPDIR-L
(or the name of mailing list you want to be removed from). You may
also send the HELP command for other information (like subscribing).
