Water damage

[eric220]

The is a rule of thumb for "water damaged" smartphones, is use Rice, stick the mech in a Bag of rice and the rice will take out any moisture that may be on the board, I have done this once with a phone and it worked fine for a while... so you can always try Rice.

The problem with this method, and the reason it's not recommended for electronics, is that as a desiccant, the rice only removes water. Anything that was in the water (minerals, mold, particulates, etc) gets deposited and left behind. With sensitive electronics or motors, that can be enough to cause shorts. It's kind of like the old joke about hurricanes. "It's not THAT the wind is blowing; it's WHAT the wind is blowing."

[Denver Road Doug]

The problem with this method, and the reason it's not recommended for electronics, is that as a desiccant, the rice only removes water. Anything that was in the water (minerals, mold, particulates, etc) gets deposited and left behind. With sensitive electronics or motors, that can be enough to cause shorts. It's kind of like the old joke about hurricanes. "It's not THAT the wind is blowing; it's WHAT the wind is blowing."

The problem with your problem is that it's the worst case scenario.  I have saved--literally--hundreds of phones, pagers, and now smartphones using that method.  (being in IT, I'm the guy everyone comes to for such things, especially after I've saved one and word gets around)  Not arguing your point, but the alternative in these scenarios is generally plunking down half a grand to get the device replaced.   Now, it's true that you can have more success if you take the phone apart, but that is beyond the scope of most phone users, and generally not necessary.   You just need it to last 1-2 years, not 15-20.

I expect that in the case of a locomotive, it will be properly cleaned and even at that....no power was applied at the time (unlike phones) so the matter is simplified further.   Rust is probably a bigger problem here.

[eric220]

In this particular case, I don't think it's a "worst case scenario" at all. The water damage was not caused by clean water. It's a pretty safe bet that there was a lot of solid matter coming along with the water. Obviously, the rice method can work. It wouldn't be so pervasive if it didn't. It just comes with its own dangers, and as I said, I don't think it's a good idea in this particular situation.

[peteski]

Smart phones are semi-sealed devices (which cannot be opened and dissembled easily).   Rice method is probably the best method one can do without ripping the phone apart.

Not so with N scale model locos. Those are not sealed at all, and are easily disassembled. They also have lots of plastic parts which aren't affected by water.

So you have a wet model.  Pop the shell off. That can be easily cleaned inside and out.  Next, there are 2 solid slabs of the open chassis.  Then mostly plastic running gear (all open, not sealed). Then the open frame motor which is easily rinsed and dried.  Last is the simple circuit board housing the directional headlight or DCC circuitry. Again, all in the open.  Nothing there which would trap water or residue. A simple rinse in tap water (yes, there are miniscule amounts of minerals in tap water, but that IMO is negligible).  Then shake out (or blow out with compressed air) as much water as possible and then put the chassis and shell in a food dehydrator for a day.  Voila - the model is clean and dry.

If there is some mildew, then instead of plain water dunk the model in a mild bleach solution. Then go through the above rinse and dry process.  This all should be easily doable (but time consuming). Rice?  We don't need no stinkin' rice. 

[John]

I had a water pipe burst in the basement last week .. about 10-20 gallons spilled on the layout .. fortunately it all dried ..

[Bsklarski]

I feel your pain. I lost count at the stuff I tossed because of water damage. Use those wrapping paper plastic totes. They are flat and long.

[up1950s]

How about N scale rice , is there rice flower ? More surface area , though cleanup might be harder . A vacuum in reverse or a hair drier might help blow the flower off .

" That's not a haboob , it's just another modeler that had to blow the rice flower off his dried off models ."

[nkalanaga]

The hardest part to clean will probably be the gears and bearings, where oil and grease can trap contaminants.  Cleaning everything thoroughly, then relubing, should fix 99% of the problems.

Be very careful using bleach on any painted surfaces, or on some metals.  Paint damage is obvious, but even a little chlorine bleach can corrode some metals.  Since I don't know which ones, all I can suggest is rinse it off quickly with lots of clean water.

[tom mann]

I had a water pipe burst in the basement last week .. about 10-20 gallons spilled on the layout .. fortunately it all dried ..

@John how did that happen?  I live in fear that something like this will happen to me someday!

[John]

@John how did that happen?  I live in fear that something like this will happen to me someday!

when the guys that spoke no english did the siding on the house, they failed to secure the outside faucet to the side of the house .. so I was getting ready to wash the side of the house, and pulled a little hard on the hose .. fortunately I new right away ..  pvc is usually pretty good, as long as you don't flex it or get it frozen ..

[davefoxx]

You ought to hear about my parents' intermittent water leaks.  When they built their house in 1974, they did not put a water softener/filter system in.  Mom always thought the rings in the bathroom sinks were from iron in the water.  About fifteen or twenty years ago, they started getting pinhole leaks in their copper supply pipes.  A water test determined that they had acidic water, and the rings in the sinks were actually copper.  The water was eating the pipes.  Of course, they put a water softener and filter system in then, but the damage was done.  Of course they couldn't replumb the entire house, so I'm waiting for the next leak.

DFF

[Iain]

I can tell you from experience(0) that flooded locos are just fine once you clean them.  Make sure you wash and rinse the motors real well, and let them dry a day or so.  Test the motor, lube, reassemble the loco.  Decoders just need to be washed real well and allowed to dry.  The biggest issue may be oxidized contacts, but polish and neolube should take care of that.


(0)  When Hurricane Floyd flooded the eastern half of NC fifteen years ago the Antique Barn, hobby shop in Wilson, was flooded to the second story.  The HO layout upstairs survived, but all the stock on the first floor was under water for weeks.  Much of my early (read, when I was in middle school) N scale was from the Antique Barn's post flood sale.

[Power Stroke]

Smart phones are semi-sealed devices (which cannot be opened and dissembled easily).   Rice method is probably the best method one can do without ripping the phone apart.

Not so with N scale model locos. Those are not sealed at all, and are easily disassembled. They also have lots of plastic parts which aren't affected by water.

So you have a wet model.  Pop the shell off. That can be easily cleaned inside and out.  Next, there are 2 solid slabs of the open chassis.  Then mostly plastic running gear (all open, not sealed). Then the open frame motor which is easily rinsed and dried.  Last is the simple circuit board housing the directional headlight or DCC circuitry. Again, all in the open.  Nothing there which would trap water or residue. A simple rinse in tap water (yes, there are miniscule amounts of minerals in tap water, but that IMO is negligible).  Then shake out (or blow out with compressed air) as much water as possible and then put the chassis and shell in a food dehydrator for a day.  Voila - the model is clean and dry.

If there is some mildew, then instead of plain water dunk the model in a mild bleach solution. Then go through the above rinse and dry process.  This all should be easily doable (but time consuming). Rice?  We don't need no stinkin' rice. 

I agree with Pete. You open the post bemoaning the loss of mechanics that were not operating. I don't see a loss here other than to painted surfaces at worse. While it will take time to clean and lube your motive power, it can be easily done. I would only add that use of a product like Deoxit would be recomended to help loosen and remove oxidation which is now building up inside the mecanicals. While Deoxit is not inexpensive, it will be cheaper than trying to replace said motoive power. It only takes time.