Protecting outdoor electronics from corrosion

[tim.s]

Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for protecting electronics (i.e., circuit board and ribbon cable) from corrosion?

The components are part of the power supply for my pool equipment. Now you would think this hardware was designed for outdoor use, but I've gone through 4 boards in about 2 years. Fortunately, the parts are still being replaced under warranty.

I've talked to the manufacturer and they sent an "improved" version that they claim will fix the problem, but comparing the parts side-by-side, they look identical. I was expecting to see better shielding or protection on the electronics. The board itself is not the problem, but there is a metal foil ribbon cable connecting the board to the power supply and it keeps corroding right where it comes through the housing.

I've got about one more free repair before I have to start paying for labor. I may try to do a complete return and switch to a different product, but in case I can't I'd like to have a back up plan for long term protection.

I'm hoping that I find something that will protect the "weak link" in the ribbon cable. People have suggested clear Krylon and I've found some spray on coatings that claim to be for electronics. However, I haven't seen anything completely convincing (websites seem to be flaky or I find complaints on other message boards about the products).

I'll post a picture as soon as I locate the ones I took. The problem part is not anything I can heat shrink or enclose, so I was hoping there is a spary material that is know to work for this application.

Please let me know if you have any product names or websites you can point to. Thanks!

[N_Jay]

Originally posted by tim.s
Does anyone have any experience or suggestions for protecting electronics (i.e., circuit board and ribbon cable) from corrosion?

The components are part of the power supply for my pool equipment. Now you would think this hardware was designed for outdoor use, but I've gone through 4 boards in about 2 years. Fortunately, the parts are still being replaced under warranty.

I've talked to the manufacturer and they sent an "improved" version that they claim will fix the problem, but comparing the parts side-by-side, they look identical. I was expecting to see better shielding or protection on the electronics. The board itself is not the problem, but there is a metal foil ribbon cable connecting the board to the power supply and it keeps corroding right where it comes through the housing.

I've got about one more free repair before I have to start paying for labor. I may try to do a complete return and switch to a different product, but in case I can't I'd like to have a back up plan for long term protection.

I'm hoping that I find something that will protect the "weak link" in the ribbon cable. People have suggested clear Krylon and I've found some spray on coatings that claim to be for electronics. However, I haven't seen anything completely convincing (websites seem to be flaky or I find complaints on other message boards about the products).

I'll post a picture as soon as I locate the ones I took. The problem part is not anything I can heat shrink or enclose, so I was hoping there is a spary material that is know to work for this application.

Please let me know if you have any product names or websites you can point to. Thanks!

Power supply for what?

Where does the ribbon cable go?

[macphanatic]

Can these be mounted in a weather-tight electrical cabinet? If so, that should solve most of your problem.

Is the ribbon cable exposed to sunlight? Is it rated for UV exposure? If not, that may be your problem and coating it with a material that is should work. I wouldn't use anything clear though.

[jdeanski]

You may want to investigate a product called "Boeshield"

www.boeshield.com

[tim.s]

Originally posted by N_Jay
Power supply for what?

Where does the ribbon cable go?

The unit is a Polaris Autoclear Plus salt chlorinator. The power supply (top half) connects to the electrolytic cell. The bottom half (control panel) is where the problem is.

The control panel is a membrane keypad. The ribbon cable connects the membrane keypad to the electronics inside the control panel. (I mis-stated before.)

[tim.s]

Originally posted by macphanatic
Can these be mounted in a weather-tight electrical cabinet? If so, that should solve most of your problem.

Is the ribbon cable exposed to sunlight? Is it rated for UV exposure? If not, that may be your problem and coating it with a material that is should work. I wouldn't use anything clear though.

The box housing the control panel and electronics is not watertight. I would like to put the unit it marine type enclosure, but I'm not sure the heat sink on the top of the power supply would like that.

I could possibly seperate the control panel cabinet from the top half (power supply) and only put the electronics into a watertight enclosure. But this would require more extensive modifications. There is also a heat sink on the back of the box for the control panel.

[hondacuraplanet]

There is something that would work in this case

There was a process called "tropicalizing", that started back in the early '40s (or perhaps before) for use on electronic equipment in the tropics, making it impervious to heat and moisture that would damage the primitive circuitry. It's still used in many electronic applications on oceangoing vessels, and as I recall is a very light spray-on coating.

Might be worth some Googling

[tim.s]

Originally posted by hondacuraworld
...Might be worth some Googling

Thanks. I need to do some more research, but it looks like they typically use some type of "varnish" to coat everything - components, leads, boards, etc... I haven't found any product refernces yet - mostly just people working on older electronics.