[600MRG] Lithium Chloride?

[david vanhorn]

That's what I get for typing from a cell phone.

A prev poster was talking about removing water from a cap after cleaning by
heat, but heat can cause problems.
My suggestion was to use granular lithium chloride as a dessicant. Like the
silica packs, but WAY more effective.
Put the cleaned capacitor with the lithium chloride into a sealed plastic
container like tupperware and wait a day.
Don't put the lithium chloride on anything other than a small glass or
plastic dish or bottle cap. It will go from a white powder to a liquid
quickly as it pulls water out of the air.
This stuff makes silica packs look pathetic in its ability to rip water
vapor out of the air.

When done, you can heat the puddle of lithium chloride solution, drive off
the water, and re-use.




On Mon, Nov 21, 2016 at 4:08 PM, Frank Lotito <k3dz at live.com> wrote:

> Guys - I'm missing something - Its somewhat related to the message board's
> threads having to do with cleaning an newly found air variable cap where
> the 600 mrg threads getting mixed with private e-mails between the
> interested parties.  I have a gut feeling the chemical cleaning agent
> discussed may be far to aggressive, maybe not.
>
>
> What exactly does "Lithium Cloride" dissolved in water, yet heated water
> do for a dirty variable capacitor?  This almost sounds like a Gilbert
> Chemistry set experiment going wild on the kitchen table!  I have long
> forgotten many of the things I probably knew from the 2 semesters of
> college chemistry I took many-many decades ago.  I think we all should be
> very careful on how we might recommend the use of chemicals to clean
> whatever.  An aggressive cleaning either mechanically or chemically may
> ruin the aluminum structure's surface finish and the steel hardware to draw
> the assembly together.  It may also de-beautify you, or cause serious eye
> injury!
>
>
> My two cents - Forget the surface discoloration and oxide.  Grease and
> oily / fuzzy lint can be washed off using a relatively benign soap /
> degreaser.  What is important are the mechanical meeting junctions between
> plates and spacers must be corrosion free, the threaded rod used to pull
> all the plates and spacers tightly together must be corrosion free, the
> faces of the spacers parallel to each other so when the rotor or stator
> assembly is pulled up tight there is minimum tendency to "bow" the
> assembly's axis,  and not easy to do, the rotor shaft bearings on the two
> end plates have to be tight and meticulously clean.
>
>
> While the unit is dissembled for a thorough cleaning, a Brillo Pad
> wipe-down of each rotor and stator plate should be done to "smooth down"
> any sharp dings and slivers of metal.  Those mechanical defects may lead to
> the development of corona or flash over if the applied voltage (RF plus any
> DC) is high enough.  The Brillo Pad in my experience is pretty safe for
> polishing-up tempered and untampered aluminum alloy structures.  Mechanical
> buffing using an electric or air driven hand-held grinder motor, or
> pedestal buffing machine by the unexperienced is an almost 100% guarantee
> of ruining the aluminum surface!  Most definitely, wire wheels and aluminum
> do not like each other!
>
>
> Be safe, have fun - 73 Frank K3DZ / WH2XHA
>
>
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-- 
K1FZY (WA4TPW) SK  9/29/37-4/13/15