Salt Air and Electronics

NHLFAN Active member

Member since 30 July 2018

NHLFANActive member05 February 2019 15:07:02

I recently returned to Colombia after spending around 3 months on the Ecuador and Peruvian coast. Locals I spoke to commented on the short lived electronics life. TVs and computers seemed to be the most frequently mentioned items, but I also heard mention of a refrigerator and air conditioners.

So this morning I gingerly opened my HP laptop. Its about 2 years old and about 6 months ago I opened it just to blow it out with compressed air. It looked to be in good shape and really didn't have much to see other than slight dust.

Well this morning it was a different story. Three months really made the inside a mess. I spend about 2 hours with Q-Tips and Isopropyl Alcohol cleaning things out. I would have liked to take it apart more in depth but wasn't comfortable taking more apart. Surprisingly there was little coronation yet. The only rust I saw was the hinge mounts made from steel. Anyone that has spent much time on the coast knows there seems to be a damp film in the mornings on anything outside. While I never used my laptop outside, I think the fan drew in humidity and then dirt and dust stuck to it. Anyway I am happy I took it apart and looked. From what I saw after 3 months, I would be checking laptops more frequently living on the coast. I was thinking of rubbing a light coating of oil on the hinge mounts but figured dust would really stick worse then.

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lebowski888 Serial expat

Member since 09 April 2018

lebowski888Serial expat05 February 2019 15:23:14

318

Although it doesn't help you now, laptops built with a solid state drive (SSD), rather than the older technology hard disks, don't have fans and run much faster. This could reduce the dust plus salt air corrosion issue

I bought a new Lenovo Flex 5 with Intel core i5 last year (for about $575 in the USA). I am very happy with it.

NHLFAN Active member

Member since 30 July 2018

NHLFANActive member05 February 2019 17:11:07

lebowski888 wrote:
Although it doesn't help you now, laptops built with a solid state drive (SSD), rather than the older technology hard disks, don't have fans and run much faster. This could reduce the dust plus salt air corrosion issue

I bought a new Lenovo Flex 5 with Intel core i5 last year (for about $575 in the USA). I am very happy with it.

I do have a SSD and Intel core i5 however still have a fan. Not sure if its for the battery or cool the main chip. The bottom of the laptop does get quite warm if you have it on your lap for a while. I hope to get a couple more years out of this one but will sure look for a fanless one next time. I plan to spend a lot more time on the coast later this year and will try to clean it out or at least inspect monthly. I will look into the Lenovo Flex 5. I dont want to wait for this one to completely die before I change over.

lebowski888 Serial expat

Member since 09 April 2018

lebowski888Serial expat05 February 2019 17:28:11

318

Rereading what I wrote, I probably should have qualified "often don't have fans". In any case, corrosive coastal air has been vexing engineers for centuries