Storing PCBs - temperature and humidity
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The Circus Charlie pcb I got from the tip out a Table machine, that was in my loft before it was don't out, worked 1st time after plugging in and been perfect since
Mine wasn't damp at all but obviously was very cold In winter and boiling in summer, so they are quite resilient. Since using up spare insulation in one side now it's a room, the difference this winter was amazing
Depends on the house, if an old terrace with poor roof then maybe not good idea but something from 60's onwards loft probably ok
Mine wasn't damp at all but obviously was very cold In winter and boiling in summer, so they are quite resilient. Since using up spare insulation in one side now it's a room, the difference this winter was amazing
Depends on the house, if an old terrace with poor roof then maybe not good idea but something from 60's onwards loft probably ok
When I used to have lots of PCBs, they were packed carefully, anti static bags, bubble wrap, nice house normal temperatures. Still didn't stop the feckers going faulty, normally on the day I'd pull some out to sell. I think you can do as much as you can to protect them, but you just never know. I once bought a joblot of pcbs that had been kept on a shelf in a shed for years, covered in cobwebs and dust, most of them all worked fine and had probably being exposed to hot summers, cold winters.
Moisture/damp is your real problem, causing rust and corrosion.
As previously mentioned the temperature for storage isn't really an issue. The working temperatures on the components on the boards will be in excess of 65deg C but they won't be working.
If your loft gets to 65deg C then your house is on fire
but to answer the question a quick google gives
Storage Temp - 40° ~ 85° C ( - 40° ~ 185° F )
Storage humidity 20 ~ 95%Muppz2015-04-02 13:44:02
As previously mentioned the temperature for storage isn't really an issue. The working temperatures on the components on the boards will be in excess of 65deg C but they won't be working.
If your loft gets to 65deg C then your house is on fire
but to answer the question a quick google gives
Storage Temp - 40° ~ 85° C ( - 40° ~ 185° F )
Storage humidity 20 ~ 95%Muppz2015-04-02 13:44:02
Realistically, putting them in the loft is going to be a gamble as this thread will show you. When we moved in to our house in 2008 I put all my PCBs in anti-static bubble wrap (that red stuff) in plastic crates in the loft. Since this month I just acquired a small generic cab I now have something to play them in so I pulled a few out. So far 1 out of 3 work. Although I can't be sure as my memory isn't that good I'm pretty sure all three of the ones I pulled out were working when stored.
Having said that, putting them anywhere is no guarantee they will still work. They could be in a static safe environment sat on a shelf for years and still fail. That's electronics that in my case are pushing 30+ years for you (I don't really do modern stuff).
guddler2015-04-02 13:45:17
Having said that, putting them anywhere is no guarantee they will still work. They could be in a static safe environment sat on a shelf for years and still fail. That's electronics that in my case are pushing 30+ years for you (I don't really do modern stuff).
guddler2015-04-02 13:45:17
I've got mine in a Russian Doll style; anti-static bag, bubble wrap, cardboard box, then into a Really Useful box with some silica. Probably a complete waste of time as, like Ben says, these feckers will pack up because...reasons.
When they come back down, let them climatise for a couple of days too before powering them up.
When they come back down, let them climatise for a couple of days too before powering them up.
If you store them for a longer time, make sure you remove the memory backup battery. Those tend to go totally flat and start to leak. The stuff that leaks out is very corrosive for the pcb's. Cpu's with suicide batteries can have such problems as well. I connect some wires to the battery connections and connect a wireless phone battery to those when I need battery backup. Those wireless phone batteries come in 2.4V and 3.6V variants and are a cheap replacement alternative.
My experience from storing PCBs in the loft is, and I do this on every PCB, is to clean the board, chips and sockets before storing them. They are then stored in laptop boxes in antistatic bags and bubble wrapped. Yes, the temperatures go up and down in my loft but this simple rule has meant, touch wood, that I haven't had one failure on re-test and I have upwards of 100 PCBs now.
I'll stick my neck out here and say, if you put a dusty board up there it might not come out the way it went in. If the board is prepared before storage then it has every chance of being well coming out of storage - you get back what you put in is my motto.
Hope this helps.
I'll stick my neck out here and say, if you put a dusty board up there it might not come out the way it went in. If the board is prepared before storage then it has every chance of being well coming out of storage - you get back what you put in is my motto.
Hope this helps.