2. misc-audio
  3. 167579-10249

Fire and smoke damage

Hello guys, I had a major fire that wiped out my house. My audio gear was saved but with major smoke damage and possibly some minor water damage. The gear consist of ARC LS25 pre,  ARC PH3 phono amp, ARC D200 amp and a Teac VRDS 25x cd player. The speakers were Maggie MMG's but one got stepped on and the frame is cracked. My question to you guys is how do I go about cleaning the inside of my gear to get off any smoke or possible water that might be left on the boards. I turned all the gear on its side and just a bight of water came out of the ARC PH3. I will pull out all the tubes and clean the pins and sockets but what else do I need to do.
Thanks much,Mark
128x128mktracy
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cleeds
5,690 posts
 
If you have insurance, I'd suggest you seek replacement.
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smaarch1
95 posts
 
I'd be on the phone with insurance to have it all replaced. Sorry for your misfortune and hope it all comes together for you. Reminds me I have to call my insurance to make sure my gear is covered
mahler123
3,081 posts
 
@smaarch1 good idea, I will do the same.

OP. Sorry for the misfortune.  Hopefully you and your family are ok.
we can love our possessions but they are replaceable 
erik_squires
15,870 posts
 
Man, superficial water damage is relatively easy to deal with. Electronic cleaners and a toothbrush, or similar. That is important to do quickly with ARC gear in large part because they avoided solder masks for the longest time. That means the PCB traces themselves would be exposed to corroding elements.

Then there’s internal controls and switches, and transformers, which are not hermetically sealed, which is most of them. 

It’s not unsalvageable, but this is a long road ahead. Assuming you can clean and dry them to get them working again, the long term effects of corrosion are really going to challenge keeping them going. 
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