Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

[Crystaleyes]

This is something which is seemingly quite common in Brazil..

Immersing entire PCB's in ethanol as a means of cleaning the board.

I won't lie in that I have absolutely no fuckin idea as why you should (or would) use ethanol to do this?

Does it not enter the electolytics?

Anyways.. thoughts ?

[petehall347]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

i use isopropyl alcohol . suppose ethanol might remove any moisture thats present .

[Crystaleyes]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

This is what I thought and have always been familiar with. Isopropyl alcohol.

I suppose because ethanol is just over 3 Brazilian Reis a litre, and IPA is 60, then people just adjust to the situation

[petehall347]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

i actually use what is called contact or electrical cleaner from the auto store supplies .. 97 percent Isopropyl alcohol. in a spray can ..works out lots cheaper than buying from other suppliers . ethanol is what the powers that be are adding to our road fuel at the demise of older engines and machines . easy to remove the ethanol from the fuel but its like expensive water at the end of the day ..

Ethanol is harmful by ingestion, inhalation or by skin absorption. Repeated contact can dry the skin resulting in the skin cracking, peeling and itching. Ethanol can depress the central nervous system, the eyes and upper respiratory tract (nose and throat).

[diif]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

Ethanol is kinder to the skin than IPA, it's natural rather than synthetic and at around 50p a litre I'm not surprised they are using it. I wish I could get it or any decent solvent at that price. Is it pure or tainted with something like Bitrex ?
I've paid £20 for 500ml of food grade 100% ethanol due to it being taxed as drinking alcohol.

[CapLeaker]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

You can use any kind of pure alcohol. I also use for localized situations acetone with a brush only, as it is more aggressive. Any alcohol under 90% will leave water on the board after evaporating. Keep that in mind. Don’t use 70% alcohol, you need heat to get rid of all the water.
I bathe whole boards in my ultrasonic cleaner filed with water, dish soap and some other cleaner and heated to 60C. Nice thing is that the board is so hot it will be dry fast, specifically if you help a little with the compressor. There are some things that do not like to be dunked in water / alcohol like motors, some sensors etc.

[stj]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

if ethanol is that cheap, people in brazil should be driving big v8's with some power!

[eccerr0r]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

Ethanol is cheaper to make, even without subsidies, than Isopropanol (I hate "IPA" as an abbreviation for isopropanol because it has another, ethanol-based liquid that it's an abbreviation for. The acronym is probably better suited for it instead.)

Try burning your V8s on isopropanol (or any other higher order alcohol) and see your wallet shrink rapidly.

[harp]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

Immersing entire PCB's in ethanol as a means of cleaning the board.

I won't lie in that I have absolutely no fuckin idea as why you should (or would) use ethanol to do this?

Does it not enter the electolytics?

Alcohols are great for cleaning rossin, and rossin is sticky and can hold conductive particles on it. When alcohol dissolve rossin, particle are free to wash...
Most alcohols contain naturaly watter, and have to dehidrate before using it in elecronic purpose. Common, ethil alcohol is 96%, and isopropil are 99%.
Methil alcohol is very toxic, can cause blind or death if consume.

On electrolitic capacitor, he can not enter if somewhat else do not escape before from it

[Crystaleyes]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

if ethanol is that cheap, people in brazil should be driving big v8's with some power!

Some V8 owners do.

The petrol stations here offer petrol, diesel and ethanol at the pumps. 'Some' also have gas..

From what I understand though, ethanol damages parts which petrol and diesel don't.

[stj]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

some types of plastic and rubber break down over time.
some fuel pumps seem to get hit badly.
and some racing fuel tanks used to have foam in them to stop the fuel sloshing around.
ethanol can turn it into slime and block the filter

[tester272001]

Re: Bathing PCB's in Ethanol

Ethanol is a great solvent. As long as you let it dry out proper. Ethanol chemically LOVES water and will suck water out of the air and into every nook and cranny of the PCB. just keep that in mind.

[VoicesFYC]

my 2 cents worth.... i've been repairing circuit boards for over 41 yrs... mostly PC motherboards & Arcade machine motherboards... most of what i use is a large kitchen sink... a soft bristle paint brush.. a bottle of Dawn Dish soap , a portable mini vac with hose. and a 1500 watt hairdryer with hi/low . ..
first... i remove ANY batteries on any board. then i inspect for any components that could be damaged by hot water.. 99.9% of the time your components are hermetically sealed... after pre-wash board inspection... i lay the "Motherboard " in the empty sink and start hot water rinsing the board to break up any dirt.. and then i pour Dawn dish soap on the board and and on my soft bristle paint brush and proceed to softly scrub the board lightly to loosen any additional dirt, i usually avoid CPU sockets so not to bend any chip pins directly, tho i can put the soap into the socket area and allow the water to wash away anything in the socket area. then after cleaner all area's of the board as best i can get clean i wash the backside of the board as well then drain off the soapy water and then fill the sink again with clean clear hot water and dunk the board twice then drain the sink. after that i shake off all the water i can from the board holding it as tightly as i can without flexing the board or breaking anything. then once i get most of the water shook off, i take my mini vac with the hose one blower side and proceed to blow off all the excess water still on the board as much as i can... once i feel i've gotten all the water i can get off the board with blown air i then lay the board on a counter top or marble countertop and plug in the hair dryer and proceed to heat that board for at least 15 minutes until BOTH side of the board are hot enough that you don't want to hold it for more than a few minutes BUT NOT hot Enough to MELT anything...once you feel the board is hot and toasty... the Heat Convection will remove ANY moisture from any sockets or plug jacks or anything as such.. but if your worried.. allow the board to naturally cool down to room temp unless your need to rush it...if so just hold the board and slow fan the board till the4 temp drops... once it's cool enough if your worried then spray it with you favorite Contact Cleaner in the connectors and ports and you should be good to go with reinstallation or further board repairs. that's how i've been doing it for over 40yrs and i've NEVER had a Single Board Return to me Because of my Board Cleaning it's actually very simple and easy to do .. just MAKE sure you have everything YOU need before you start because stopping in the middle of everything will drive you nuts trying to remember what's next good luck Daniel.