Hello Grace,
I would recommend replacing line voltage supplies that have been flooded. The water can carry conductive contaminants. You can also get water penetrating into components causing potential problems. There is less risk for SELV circuits, but that doesn’t mean that there is no risk. There may be enough energy available in circuits such that a low impedance fault could cause problems. In general, I would recommend replacing flooded electronics. A larger concern can be the building wiring. Nonmetallic sheathed cable, such as Romex®, does not handle water well. Water can enter the cable and rot it >from the inside out. Water and contaminants can also get stuck in electrical receptacles. If the receptacles and wiring are below the water line from the flood, they will need to be checked carefully. It is likely that the wiring will need to be replaced. UL has guidance on handling flooded electronics on this page. http://www.ul.com/global/eng/pages/offe ings/perspectives/regulator/electrical/additionalresources/flooding/ Regards, Ted Eckert Compliance Engineer Microsoft Corporation [email protected] The opinions expressed are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of my employer. From: Grace Lin [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: Wednesday, October 12, 2011 5:17 AM To: [email protected] Subject: Beyond Power Supply Safety Dear Members, How much damage would be after shorting the input of power supplies? An HP all-in-one machine (purchased in 2001) and a color laser printer (HP CP2025dn) were damaged by about 1.5 feet of flood water brought into the house by Hurricane Irene. They were safe (no fire and damage to the property and human beings). Both power cords were connected to the receptacles (no surge protectors) which were about 1 foot above the ground. The all-in-one machine, powered by an AC adapter, was on a table and didn't touch water. Some components of the laser printer burned when it had about 1" of flood water on the bottom. My question is: is it worth for me, not a hardware troubleshooting expert, to try to fix them? Or, just say good bye to them and move on? Thank you very much and look forward to your comments. Best regards, Grace Lin - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/> Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <[email protected]> David Heald <[email protected]> - ---------------------------------------------------------------- This message is from the IEEE Product Safety Engineering Society emc-pstc discussion list. To post a message to the list, send your e-mail to <[email protected]> All emc-pstc postings are archived and searchable on the web at http://product-compliance.oc.ieee.org/ Graphics (in well-used formats), large files, etc. can be posted to that URL. Website: http://www.ieee-pses.org/ Instructions: http://listserv.ieee.org/request/user-guide.html List rules: http://www.ieee-pses.org/listrules.html For help, send mail to the list administrators: Scott Douglas <[email protected]> Mike Cantwell <[email protected]> For policy questions, send mail to: Jim Bacher <[email protected]> David Heald <[email protected]>
