Electronic components are typically stored in nitrogen for long term 
storage and lead finish preservation.

Terry

On Tuesday, July 12, 2016 at 10:00:14 PM UTC-5, Jeff Walton wrote:
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> Dalibor,
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> As an expert on the materials used in the manufacture of nixie tubes, 
> would you recommend any method of cleaning or neutralizing the corrosion of 
> the pins and seals?  Is there any chemical that could neutralize the 
> chemical reaction of the pins which would slow down the process?  
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> Sometimes parts are shipped in bags with materials that protect the 
> finish.  In my early days with Texas instruments, IC’s were all shipped 
> with a silver plating on pins which would tarnish badly if the shipping 
> bags were unsealed and they often shipped them in containers with a 
> chemical that was more chemically active in air to remove sulfides and etc 
> to prevent tarnishing.  They also used coated shipping rails that were 
> static resistant with corrosion inhibitors.   Might there be something that 
> could be placed inside a clock housing which would sacrifice itself to 
> prevent oxidation/corrosion of the tube pins?
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> *From:* [email protected] <javascript:> [mailto:
> [email protected] <javascript:>] *On Behalf Of *Dalibor
> *Sent:* Tuesday, July 12, 2016 3:32 AM
> *To:* neonixie-l
> *Subject:* [neonixie-l] Re: IN-18 Typical Failure Mechanism
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> I guess it is a leak along one of the pins, dumet seals can corrode (it is 
> a copper plated nickel-iron wire). I would be interested to do a leak test 
> on a helium leak detector. Of course if you can miss the tube.
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> Just a very small (tiny tiny!) amount of air is enough to ruin the balance 
> of the gas inside a nixie tube. Less than one would actually think.
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> Dalibor
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> Dne pátek 8. července 2016 20:48:04 UTC+2 Jeff Walton napsal(a):
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> I recently had a IN-18 failure in a clock after about 2.5 year operation.  
> Over a (4) day period, the digits in one of the tubes stopped working in 
> PWM dimmed mode.  At full brightness, the digits in the affected tube 
> slowly lost percentages of digit coverage to where only portions of each 
> digit would illuminate.  At the end of the observed period, the digits in 
> the failing tube went completely dark and even higher voltage on the bench 
> would not illuminate any of the cathodes.  The tube date code was 8505.
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> I am guessing that absent of any other signs of damage, a seal around one 
> of the pins has failed and allowed the tube to leak.  It was surprising how 
> quickly it failed and none of the other tubes in the same clock have 
> exhibited any signs of trouble and look as good as the first day of 
> operation.  Has anyone experienced similar failures with the IN-18?  Is 
> this a typical failure mechanism?  Have there been any particular date 
> codes that others have found to be problematic?
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> The tube has been since been replaced and the clock is happy again but 
> curiosity leads me to ask about this experience to the rest of the members 
> of the group.  FYI - these tubes have not been rotated since the clock was 
> initially put into operation (no handling).  There was never any evidence 
> of cathode poisoning during the operation of the clock.
>
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