On Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:06:53 -0700, Tony Hwang wrote:



Robert Green wrote:
Last night, I discovered that a wall wart for a wireless security cam had
fallen into a tub of water.

It drowned because it was plugged into an outlet strip attached to the
bottom of a basement joist and it became loose from the vibration of the
washing machine nearby. It did an amazing Tarzan swing into the sink three
feet away when it fell so I knew it was only wet, not "hot wet." I figured
with a simple power supply caught quickly, there shouldn't be much damage.
I tried using compressed air to blow out the water via the little space
around the plug blades. A little H20 came out of the strain relief in a
spray. But there was plenty of water still inside. It felt like about 1/4"
of the unit was now filled with it.

The case looked like it was "welded" - there were no screws and the seam was
very tight. So I drilled an 3/16" hole in the top of the case to blow air
into, thinking that would force it out the tiny space around the plug blades
and the cord strain relief.

I pressed the conical rubber tip of my air compressor to the hole and fired
away. The next thing I felt was like a hammer blow to my thumb which was
holding the small power supply. The blast of air had literally blown the
bottom of the supply "clean off." Well, it wasn't clean - every plastic tab
that held the lid on cracked. Beware the power of compressed air. It
probably could have been much worse and I wasn't even wearing my face
shield. (-: At least now I know how to take the other identical power
supplies apart because I know where the secret tabs are.

I suppose I should have realized a device that can operate hammers, saws,
nailers, etc. could develop explosive compression under the right
circumstances. Now I'll be more careful and respectful of my air
compressor.

--
Bobby G.

Hi,
I hope you are not trying for a Darwin award? I have compressor in my
garage and when I use it I always wear goggles. And the wall wart may be
worth couple dollars. Time is money. It is not water tight. That's why
it says "indoor use only"

Let it dry for a few days, plug it in, and it should work fine. Put the
bottom back on with silicone. Done!!!!