Mike Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 Here are some pics of an Inverter that was in a garage in Dynefontein.....Warning graphic content!!!! Don't install within 8km's of water...this is what condensation does to Imeon...or just a pretty poor build product, Sadly the client threw it out......so i have spares... Imeon chose not to honour their 5 year warranty and opted to charge the client for a new one....Needless to say he told them what to do with the product and would pursue the legal route with the SA Distributors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I think what bothers me most is the amount of rust specifically on the little screws that attach the various components to heatsinks. Those look like normal galvanised screws, probably not very good ones. From the bit of research I did over the years, galvanised steel is suitable as a fastener where aluminium is involved BUT... they do have differing galvanic indexes and the zinc will suffer corrosion faster because of this combination, which means you have to use a good quality screw. On the other hand though, such galvanic corrosion is only a problem when there is an electrolyte present, aka moisture, so it might also be accurate to say these were simply not made to handle any of that. I've seen 5-year old computer power supplies with similar screws with less rust than that... superdiy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pilotfish Posted June 16, 2017 Share Posted June 16, 2017 I know that Centurion Systems spray their coastal gate motor pcb's with a product that coats the board excluding moisture/oxygen thereby preventing rust. Considering that most of the worlds population lives near an ocean somewhere you would think that companies like Imeon would do the same. ___ and superdiy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriël Posted June 18, 2017 Share Posted June 18, 2017 lemon Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superdiy Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 On 6/16/2017 at 9:21 PM, plonkster said: what bothers me most is the amount of rust My initial thought as well. Looks almost if the inverter got some (salt) water into it and onto the pc board... On 6/16/2017 at 1:27 PM, Mike said: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Hobson Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 On 2017-6-18 at 3:10 PM, gabriel said: lemon I(e)meon ? ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriël Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 look at Imeon as a picture, see all small caps, rearrange, and out pops a lemon - mike warned us about the graphic content Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNodashi Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 ouch. ouch. ouch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 19, 2017 Author Share Posted June 19, 2017 this client has gone thru 2 Imeons and finally is changing to an IP65 Goodwe. these IP20 type inverters have zero chance close to the sea.... all that moisture in the air is SEA water... they were warned.. but still Imeons service sucks told them directly just wish i could have said it in French.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted June 19, 2017 Share Posted June 19, 2017 12 minutes ago, Mike said: these IP20 type inverters have zero chance close to the sea I'm not sure if it is solely down to the rating of the case. As @pilotfish said, there are ways to protect the electronics themselves so the case itself is less of an issue. The Vickies are IP21 (so one tiny step up, it can handle dripping water from above) and those things live on boats! It doesn't get any closer to the sea than that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mike Posted June 20, 2017 Author Share Posted June 20, 2017 This is true Plonkster, so then it has to fall back on component quality? ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 Buy an Axpert and put some conformal coating over the electronics. Pay less than the Imeon and will probably last years. ___ 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gabriël Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 hi @Gnome , can this coating be done on a diy basis and if so how and where do we get it? must the axpert still be 'in the box' or can it be a operational unit? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted June 27, 2017 Share Posted June 27, 2017 3 hours ago, gabriel said: hi @Gnome , can this coating be done on a diy basis and if so how and where do we get it? must the axpert still be 'in the box' or can it be a operational unit? When I read that, I actually googled to find out. You can buy conformal coating in an aerosol can for DIY use. You'd have to disassemble and evenly coat everything, then re-assemble. Gnome and Gabriël 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gnome Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 5 hours ago, gabriel said: hi @Gnome , can this coating be done on a diy basis and if so how and where do we get it? must the axpert still be 'in the box' or can it be a operational unit? Yep. There are a few videos showing the process. 2 hours ago, plonkster said: When I read that, I actually googled to find out. You can buy conformal coating in an aerosol can for DIY use. You'd have to disassemble and evenly coat everything, then re-assemble. Would actually recommend this type instead: http://za.rs-online.com/web/p/conformal-coatings/0494714/ The silicon type is rated at higher temperature Gabriël 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNodashi Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 8 hours ago, plonkster said: When I read that, I actually googled to find out. You can buy conformal coating in an aerosol can for DIY use. You'd have to disassemble and evenly coat everything, then re-assemble. That stuff works very well! And on a smaller scale, you could use potting resin. Easiest way is to use clay (kids playing clay) and build a "dam wall" around the PB to be potted and then pour the resin in. This is typically used on LED lights' PCB and other PCB which need to be exposed to the elements. Commonly used in vehicles as well. Gabriël and ___ 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 6 hours ago, Gnome said: The silicon type is rated at higher temperature Yeah, after I wrote my post I decided to click the other link and also noticed the temperature difference. Then I figured that 1) 125 is probably good, and 2) you can always click around on the RS site and look at the others too... then I went to bed. This morning I was thinking, hang on... 125 on a hot FET... of course they shouldn't run at 125, but why spare a few bucks if you can cater for it? :-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SilverNodashi Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 3 minutes ago, plonkster said: Yeah, after I wrote my post I decided to click the other link and also noticed the temperature difference. Then I figured that 1) 125 is probably good, and 2) you can always click around on the RS site and look at the others too... then I went to bed. This morning I was thinking, hang on... 125 on a hot FET... of course they shouldn't run at 125, but why spare a few bucks if you can cater for it? :-) ^tonge in cheek^: At 125 degrees centigrade, you'll have other problems. Most components on the PCB would probably have popped / melted / etc. I think most components are standard, i.e. rated at 80 degrees. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
___ Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 19 minutes ago, SilverNodashi said: At 125 degrees centigrade, you'll have other problems. I think semiconductors can get that hot and survive, but I also remember there is a rule of thumb that says for every 10 degrees centigrade above 100 you're halving the life of the component. I also recall a triac I worked with in the last year that had a maximum temperature rating of 125 (at the junction). That sort-of makes 125 the minimum spec for your coating :-) I think the more important bit is the material itself, the cheaper one is acrylic, the other one is silicon. If you ever need repair work done on the board, go with acrylic: Easier to strip. If you are concerned with salt water or heat, use the silicon one. (And since the inverter in question is half-likely to need new FETs somewhere in the next ten years... *evil grin*). (Another question: Perhaps the inverter already has some kind of coating?) Google produced this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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