Olive Oil in Inverter... What do I do?

izzy1094 · 10-30-2009, 07:28 AM

Ok, strange circumstances, but here is the story.
I had a Vector 1000 watt inverter in my floorboard, waiting to be installed (i.e. NO POWER to the unit at the time of incident). I am responsible today for cooking a couple of hundred pounds of chicken, and I had a quart of olive oil in my passenger seat. Unfortunately I had to run lights and siren to a call (I'm a cop) and the bottle of oil joined the inverter in the floorboard. Apparantly, the cap of this bottle was not very well sealed, and came off, spilling the entire quart of oil in my floorboard and into the internal workings of the inverter. SO... short of letting the inverter drain on paper towels and trying it out (or tossing it on the grill with the chicken) does anyone have any suggestions? Thanks

Sonicxtacy02 · 10-30-2009, 09:04 AM

My first response would be eat it. Second would be get some distilled water and carefully clean off each component with signs of oil... let it completely dry then give it a go

guino · 10-30-2009, 09:18 AM

yeah, cleaning up and let it try for awhile (probably a day at the least) should be ok.. Oil is generally a good isolation material -- just can't vow for the specific olive oil contents in your case, but there's a good chance it will still work and when it heats up, you can tell your passengers you bought this wonderful olive oil air freshener for your car

DarquePervert · 10-30-2009, 09:39 AM

Mmmmmm. Deep-fried inverter!!!

I don't know if olive oil is conductive or not. But cleaning & drying thoroughly is the only option other than purchasing a new inverter.
Of course, if you clean it out and it doesn't work, you'll need to purchase a new inverter, but I think you've figured that out.

Tidder · 10-30-2009, 09:41 AM

I'd get some contact cleaner and give it a good run down. You should be able to get that at most any electronic supply store. It's basically rubbing alcohol in an aerosol can. I've used it in the past to clean up fire/smoke-damaged computer equipment, but would think it'd do a good job for an inverter.

Enforcer · 10-30-2009, 10:09 AM

Just a FYI, there have been PC's built that are cooled (completely submersed) by oil.

Oil is generally non conductive (as said earlier), in fact pure water is also non-conductive (It's the impurities in the water that cause it to conduct eletrickery), so this also applies to the oil, it depends on whether there were impurities in the oil and what type.

trader007 · 10-30-2009, 10:36 AM

olive oil also burns, so if you dont take the inverter apart and thoroughly clean off all the oil i think youre asking for trouble. its a fire risk, not something you want to take lightly.

SoloconDeus · 10-30-2009, 11:18 AM

OK a thought from experience, get a can of Denatured Alcohol, there is no water in it, even the 90% stuff at Wal-Mart has a small percentage of water. Submerse the electronics that you need to clean in a pan (whatever)and the Denatured Alcohol. (This works for Coke, Bawls, Oil, even water spills)
Make sure that all plugs are unplugged from the IC board.(on a mother board separate all processors and memory). Shake vigorously at first, then every so often about for about 6 hrs(no longer). Pull the parts out shake off excess alcohol, pat dry with a towel then let it air out for about 2 hrs. Put it back together and it should be good, if not time to get a new one.

NOTE: How I know this works is I spilled Bawls on a laptop still running, immediately unplugged it after it shut off. An OLD computer geek shared these steps with me, that lap top is now 4 yrs past the spill and is still working.

izzy1094 · 10-30-2009, 03:51 PM

Thanks guys, good suggestions... maybe it's salvageable yet.

IssaquahWA1979 · 11-01-2009, 01:55 AM

as stated above you should be fine with cleaning it up and a good spray down with cleaner. Heck I run my keyboards and motherboard through the dishwasher with no soap all the time with no problems (not suggesting you do this)

DarquePervert · 11-01-2009, 06:45 AM

A cheap membrane-style keyboard in the dishwasher is probably safe. I've heard of others doing this with good results.

A motherboard on the other hand is not such a good idea. The spraying water could dislodge components, rendering the board useless.

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