[Coco] Sort of OT: Recapping

Gene Heskett gheskett at shentel.net
Wed Dec 2 13:50:04 EST 2020


On Wednesday 02 December 2020 12:36:19 Andrew wrote:

> My main concern (and perhaps it isn't as warranted as I think), when
> it comes with using a metal lidded container, is not so much with the
> acetone or any other solvent's evaporation properties, but what is
> left behind (the flux on cotton):
>
> There is (admittedly extremely low) a possibility of spontaneous
> combustion occurring - not from the acetone, but the combo of rosin
> and cotton.
>
> Granted, this isn't an "oil soaked rags" type situation, and maybe I
> am a bit overly paranoid, but I'd rather take a bit of cheap and easy
> precaution, vs a house fire. But that's just me.
>
> If anyone has an objective source or two I could reference that says
> otherwise (on the spontaneous combustion possibilities of pine resin
> impregnated cotton), I'm more than willing to listen, though.
>
First, the heating is a chemical reaction.  2nd it has to be well 
insulated in order for the core to get hot enough to actually burn.

Due to the lack of surrounding insulation on one, or even a dozen wet 
q-tips tossed in the waste basket, you would need the direct application 
of a Bic BBQ lighter to burn the q-tip, its evaporative cooling as it 
dries negates all possibility's of spontaneous combustion of such a 
small thing as a q-tip. In 72 years of using it for electronics work, 
its never happened.

However, and this is unrelated, I did find that in cleaning video heads 
in VCR's, Freon TF was the worst at needing to be frequently done, 
several times a day for busy machines at the tv station, acetone ran the 
possibility of damaging the glue holding an expensive head assembly 
together, and plain old paint store alcohol reduced the cleaning needed 
to once a week.  Blew me away that the cheapest stuff was that much 
better in actual use.

> Andrew L. Ayers
> Glendale, Arizona
> phoenixgarage.org
> github.com/andrew-ayers


Cheers, Gene Heskett
-- 
"There are four boxes to be used in defense of liberty:
 soap, ballot, jury, and ammo. Please use in that order."
-Ed Howdershelt (Author)
If we desire respect for the law, we must first make the law respectable.
 - Louis D. Brandeis
Genes Web page <http://geneslinuxbox.net:6309/gene>


More information about the Coco mailing list