In one office I worked in the air was so corrosive from the manufacturing area, which everyone had to wear respirators and ?bunny suits?. This office was murder on computers, when I got there; they were failing on a monthly basis. The boards inside of the computers were just being eaten up. So my fix for this problem was to first get a large plastic container for the computers, and then to fill it up with mineral oil. (Note that mineral oil is not electro conductive.) And put an external radiator on the outside with a water pump, moving the mineral oil through the radiator for cooling. This was one extreme situation but it worked. After I put in the new cpu boxes, we never had to replace them because of them falling apart. All of these pc?s were networked so we just mapped a cd-rom from the office part of the building to do updates from.
This worked for us, it might work for others.
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One of my clients is a printing company. The paper dust was near impossable to deal with.
Solution Part 1:
We placed 2 negitive ION generators in the printing room with sheet metal plates (earth grounded)on the outer walls. This caused the dust in the air to be attracted to the wall plates and could simply be wiped clean once a week. In 3 week the dust was down 70%.
Solution Part 2:
I used stripping pads(a plastic replcement for steel wool) from 3M, found in the painting area of most hardware stores. One package filters 4 PCs. Placed in front of the fans these are an easily cleaned and re-usable filter.
Total Result: Less dust every were and PC tempurature dropped ending a constant heat problem.
Solution Part 1:
We placed 2 negitive ION generators in the printing room with sheet metal plates (earth grounded)on the outer walls. This caused the dust in the air to be attracted to the wall plates and could simply be wiped clean once a week. In 3 week the dust was down 70%.
Solution Part 2:
I used stripping pads(a plastic replcement for steel wool) from 3M, found in the painting area of most hardware stores. One package filters 4 PCs. Placed in front of the fans these are an easily cleaned and re-usable filter.
Total Result: Less dust every were and PC tempurature dropped ending a constant heat problem.
I worked in a metal fabrication facility. The smoke was thick and the dust was electrically conductive. My electronics systems were failing on a regular basis. What I did was turn over the cooling fans so that they blew into the unit. I then used an automotive air filter to cover the fan. This way we had clean filtered air continuously blowing in to the back and flowing out through all of the other openings (diskette drives). In general all I had to do was change the filters every 6 months. This increased my MTBF from 2 months to about 2 years.
I work for a heavy construction company and the field offices and quarry sites are just murder on pc's. I've thought of filters, but turning the fan around was a stroke of genius. You only need to put the filter over the fan. With negative pressure inside the case dust gets in through every opening. With positive pressure, dust should only enter from the fan source, and you've got that covered.
I did the same thing in a rubber factory. Carbon black is used as a filler in rubber and its everywhere. Turned the fan around, made a raised fan covering out of aluminum window screen (molded over a coffee cup), glued the window screen over the fan with silicone and rubber-banded a coffee filter over it. The air flow wasn't a problem. Replaced the coffee filter every few weeks. Cheap, simple, effective and gave me an excuse to visit the coffee area more often.
I remember doing all sorts of fixes like that when I was in the Navy. Rubber bands, duct tape, paperclips, thumbtacks...they were all tools in our arsenal. Your solution is a nice easy, inexpensive fix and you get more coffee to boot. How can you beat that?
I have found using "Bounce" dryer sheets as a cheap and reliable filter. Not only is it a filter but an electro-static one. Put it in front of the fans or case openings and change every 2-3 weeks, depending on how much contamination si collected. Works for me......
I had a problem where the workstation was in a high heat area. The air temperatures were never under 140 degrees. Case temps were rediculous. I purchased a peltier Air conditioner from http://www.leufkentechnologies.com/ and modified the case so no air leaves it, and to hold the a/c unit. I can maintain 80 degree internal case temps now and that is much better than what was in there. Also I wraped the exteral case area with a foam insulation to help some. Cost around $1000 but thats better thana new cpu on a common basis or loosing a system board too. E-mail me for specs and a list of modifications if this fits your situation.
I like it! It is a lot of work and money but, as you say, it is better than replacing components so often. I am sure it would eventually pay for itself. Any chance that you could post the specs for all to see? Thanks a lot.
Why don't case and power supply manufacturers design their systems for positive pressure in the first place? Why does every stock case and supply blow air *out* instead of in? Positive pressure makes installing a filter very easy. Negative pressure systems force one to seal every tiny crevice to make a filter effective.
Are you saying that you're disassembling the power supply and reversing its fan?
Are you saying that you're disassembling the power supply and reversing its fan?
I remember when I was working for a local computer company and one of our client was a metal fabricating machine shop. We had to provide maintenance service to the PCs that were hooked up to the metal lathes and presses. There was a fine mist of oil in the shop area. They had air scrubbers that would do their best to scrub the oil out of the air. I had to do preventative maintenance to the 5 pcs in the shop areal. All the PCs had a few ounces of oil in the bottom of the cases. None of thefloppy drives worked. When I was done for the day, I felt like I had just jumped into a vat of machine oil. My hair was coated, my clothes and skin. Took an hour just to wash it off in the shower. Was an amazing site. I suggested to the comany that they buy enclosures for their PCs to make them last longer. They said they would think about it. When I left the company I was working for a year later, they still haven't placed the PCs in protective enclosures. Even after all the machines had to have all their internal replaced.
Some of my PC's are located in a steel manufacturing plant. The best solution we've found is a special enclosure made by this company.
http://www.kueblerandcompany.com/Products/Kangaroo_Products/kangaroo_products.html
Works quit well. Although I've found that its cheaper to replace monitors than to buy thier monitor inclosure.
http://www.kueblerandcompany.com/Products/Kangaroo_Products/kangaroo_products.html
Works quit well. Although I've found that its cheaper to replace monitors than to buy thier monitor inclosure.
I am planning on supporting pcs in Africa. I hears it is very humid over there.Any ideas?
While my extreme environment fix is extreme, note that the system is completely sealed, there is no way for anything to get in to the computer system. On the top of the box, we put in a small Tupperware container, and put holes in the bottom and run up port extensions to this box, so that you did not have to replace a keyboard or a monitor. All you have to do is drain out the little box, replace the keyboard, and fill the little box back up with the same mineral oil, and you are back in business. However, I noticed in a humid area if the computers are inside all you need to do, is put a good de-humidifiers right next to the computer. This will dry out the air around it. In addition, if the commuters are above the windows ledges, you can run a hose from the dehumidifier catch basins out the window and never have to worry about forgetting to dump the basis out. Just a few ideas.
I have had several laptops die in Papua New Guinea - if it wasn't the helicopter ride damaging the hard drive it was the humidity gumming up the keyboards & touchpad mice. I have started using Panasonic Toughbook CF-M34 laptops as they are moisture & shock resistant. You have to purchase floppy & cd drives seperately which is a drawback & they are very expensive > twice the cost of a normal laptop.
First of all I would like to say is that some of the solutions I've read are ingenius but my question is, "Why does the CPU have to be located in the environment in the first place?". I have two solutions that might help. Both products can be purchased at www.cyberguys.com. The first can have your CPU up to 65 feet away and the second can be up to 500 feet away. The first uses a special cable for the unit to attach a mouse, keyboard and monitor. The second can be accomplished over a CAT 5 cable run for up to a 500 foot distance. The CAT 5 unit can also have a local keyboard, mouse and monitor close to the CPU so that the tech's can work on the computer without having to walk the 500 feet.
The first solution:
Console Extenders - CE-110 or CE-120
Console extenders allow you to keep your computer system box in a safe place - away from dust, dirt, harsh environment influences, and the possibility of theft, by allowing you to access the remote system from a conveniently placed console (keyboard, monitor and mouse). ATEN's CE-110 (for AT style connectors) and CE-120 (for PS/2 style connectors) console extenders provide the ideal means to this end.
Cable Length To System 3 m To Console 80 m
Power Consumption DC 9V160mA (Max)
The second solution:
The CE-220 is similar to the CE-120, except that it uses inexpensive Category 5 UTP cable instead of standard cables. Category 5 UTP is the same cable commonly found in Ethernet networks. Setup is as easy as can be - simply plug the console cables into the local CE-220 Module; run the UTP cable to the Remot CE-220 Module (up to 150 m away); and connect the Remote Module to the PC system box.
Features
System can be up to 150m from the console
Uses inexpensive category 5 UTP cable
Suitable for PS/2 Computers
Local and Remote Consoles
I've used both with much success although I liked the second solution the best.
The first solution:
Console Extenders - CE-110 or CE-120
Console extenders allow you to keep your computer system box in a safe place - away from dust, dirt, harsh environment influences, and the possibility of theft, by allowing you to access the remote system from a conveniently placed console (keyboard, monitor and mouse). ATEN's CE-110 (for AT style connectors) and CE-120 (for PS/2 style connectors) console extenders provide the ideal means to this end.
Cable Length To System 3 m To Console 80 m
Power Consumption DC 9V160mA (Max)
The second solution:
The CE-220 is similar to the CE-120, except that it uses inexpensive Category 5 UTP cable instead of standard cables. Category 5 UTP is the same cable commonly found in Ethernet networks. Setup is as easy as can be - simply plug the console cables into the local CE-220 Module; run the UTP cable to the Remot CE-220 Module (up to 150 m away); and connect the Remote Module to the PC system box.
Features
System can be up to 150m from the console
Uses inexpensive category 5 UTP cable
Suitable for PS/2 Computers
Local and Remote Consoles
I've used both with much success although I liked the second solution the best.
In our manfacturing plant, we have used the method of moving the processing unit into a less demanding environment and provide the extended connections, as have been discussed.
This allowed us to place the processing unit in an air conditioned office environment. An air filtering system could also be installed in order to reduce the air pollutants.
The added benefit is that it provided security for the processing unit.
A sealed keyboard reduced the need to replace it so often.
The cable extenders have worked well and have saved many times their expense when compared to having to replace a pc periodically.
This allowed us to place the processing unit in an air conditioned office environment. An air filtering system could also be installed in order to reduce the air pollutants.
The added benefit is that it provided security for the processing unit.
A sealed keyboard reduced the need to replace it so often.
The cable extenders have worked well and have saved many times their expense when compared to having to replace a pc periodically.
I have to maintain PC's in enviroments, where the cases are subject to high frequency vibrations, and to sudden jarring due to the fact that they are in cabinets that allow them to be rolled around ( there are for monitoring lab and calibaration equipment in a plant enviroment) so remote keyboards and monitors are not applicable.
Thamks
Thamks
I have worked in an air conditioned office in a coal mine for 5 years now.
We have computers that once opened you would not believe the amount of coal dust contained within.
From the workshop or the crushing plant I have taken computers outside for a regular blasting with air.
I can't believe they still work - most of them are on all the time.
We do have a major problem with our server DAT backups though - the dust and tapes do not go together - even the slightest amount of dust that isattracted to the tapes ends up not giving us a full backup - sometimes none.
The tape drives have been exchanged numerous times with reconditioned and even new tape drives - then the latest has been an external drive with an external flap to try tostop the intake of dust.
Still some dirt has entered and the tapes have not backed up this week - we have tried almost everything - I think the server will eventually have to be moved to a cleaner environment - or some sort of storage container will have to surround the server - making it hard to access - just so we can get some regular backups.
I have - you may not believe - brought up a computer from the workshop office and removed 2 inches of thick dust from the insides - you can imagine the exterior of the computer case!
All I can say is keep on cleaning and the world of computers keeps on working.
(Whenever you have the chance to clean these beasts - pull out all cards and ram and clean connections to everything - saves having to do it again later)
BYE!
We have computers that once opened you would not believe the amount of coal dust contained within.
From the workshop or the crushing plant I have taken computers outside for a regular blasting with air.
I can't believe they still work - most of them are on all the time.
We do have a major problem with our server DAT backups though - the dust and tapes do not go together - even the slightest amount of dust that isattracted to the tapes ends up not giving us a full backup - sometimes none.
The tape drives have been exchanged numerous times with reconditioned and even new tape drives - then the latest has been an external drive with an external flap to try tostop the intake of dust.
Still some dirt has entered and the tapes have not backed up this week - we have tried almost everything - I think the server will eventually have to be moved to a cleaner environment - or some sort of storage container will have to surround the server - making it hard to access - just so we can get some regular backups.
I have - you may not believe - brought up a computer from the workshop office and removed 2 inches of thick dust from the insides - you can imagine the exterior of the computer case!
All I can say is keep on cleaning and the world of computers keeps on working.
(Whenever you have the chance to clean these beasts - pull out all cards and ram and clean connections to everything - saves having to do it again later)
BYE!
One of my favorite?s ways to clean a computer is with alcohol-wet naps, not only do they do a great job but they are cheap. In addition, you can clean the edges of memory and pc cards with an eraser, works like a charm.
How about reversing the fans like many other other techs have posted? Reverse the fan to blow into the unitl and have a filter on the outside of the fan. Air would blow out of the unit, and not suck junk into it.
My workplace produces TiO2 pigment which is a powder with particles approx 0.5 to 1 micron in size. When we first installed PCs into the workplace over 10 years ago we anticipated problems and so researched if filters and dust-proof enclosures were necessary. We found that filters would not effective in keeping this dust out of the PC and that effective enclosures would be too expensive so we installed the PCs without any extra protection.
In practise we found that the pigment is generally non-conductive so we haven't had the reliability problems with our PCs reported by some of the other contributors.
The main problems occurs where humdity is high and the risk of electrical shorts increase in monitors and power supplies. Our PCs can also overheat and fail when the dust on circuit boards becomes thick and the room temperature is high. Diskette drives also become unreliable as the dust coats the P/E cell which causes the PC to report a read-only diskette. Lasers heads in CD drives also can be affected in this way. Some areas (control rooms and laboratories) require replacement mouse and keyboards every 12 months or so.
In general I would say that we have found that PCs which include all components (video, disk, network adaptors, etc) on the mother board have much fewer problems than those with discrete components installed on the expansion bus.
In practise we found that the pigment is generally non-conductive so we haven't had the reliability problems with our PCs reported by some of the other contributors.
The main problems occurs where humdity is high and the risk of electrical shorts increase in monitors and power supplies. Our PCs can also overheat and fail when the dust on circuit boards becomes thick and the room temperature is high. Diskette drives also become unreliable as the dust coats the P/E cell which causes the PC to report a read-only diskette. Lasers heads in CD drives also can be affected in this way. Some areas (control rooms and laboratories) require replacement mouse and keyboards every 12 months or so.
In general I would say that we have found that PCs which include all components (video, disk, network adaptors, etc) on the mother board have much fewer problems than those with discrete components installed on the expansion bus.
This guy should immidiatly notify his immidiate superiors, and get it all documented, with all the facts, so when the proverbial stuff hits the fan he will have his ducks in a row.
Depending on the situation, you could move to a terminal server and use thin clients to access the terminal server that don't have moving parts. This limits the ability to use things like disk drives, but if that isnt an issue the solution works great for harsh environments. We use this solution is a corrugated manufacturing plant.
I'm in a different situation as I rebuild computers for the handicapped and families that cannot afford one for there children.
My donations come from a variety of of sources,
(Sally Ann, factories, Goodwill etc...).
I've been doing this for years and I remember one especially that had a mouse skeleton in it. This one sticks in my mind because it came from a medical enviroment. How it got in there, only the mouse knows, I mean knew. I have a compressor and every computer gets stripped and rebuilt. It's amazing what you find on the inside, money, reminder notes, I even got a picture someone had drawn about there boss. Nasty person they must have been. I feel for you as I do it once to the computer and not on a regular basis.
My donations come from a variety of of sources,
(Sally Ann, factories, Goodwill etc...).
I've been doing this for years and I remember one especially that had a mouse skeleton in it. This one sticks in my mind because it came from a medical enviroment. How it got in there, only the mouse knows, I mean knew. I have a compressor and every computer gets stripped and rebuilt. It's amazing what you find on the inside, money, reminder notes, I even got a picture someone had drawn about there boss. Nasty person they must have been. I feel for you as I do it once to the computer and not on a regular basis.
Another possible solution to the dirty environment problem might be using KVM extenders. These are devices that connect keyboard, video and mice to computers that are located some distance away (in this case, in a separate, clean environment). Theconnection is shielded Cat-5e so it is a little more difficult to set up than plain old Cat-5e, but really a little less complex than some of the solutions posted. Check out http://www.aten.com.tw/KVM/extenders.html for more info.
Design News magazine recently (April) had a description of a filter sack that encases the computer housing. The manufacturer: .
I've not needed or tried one so I cannot vouch for how well they function.
I've not needed or tried one so I cannot vouch for how well they function.
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