1. Welcome to Thailand Vapers, an English language forum for members in Thailand and the rest of Asia to talk about vaping.
    Commonly referred to as e-cigarettes, vaping is really about the use of personal vaporizers (mods) and atomizers (tanks, clearos, RBAs, RDAs, RTAs) filled with e-liquid.
    Are you looking to get started or an old hand at vaping? Everyone is welcome here so sign up today and talk vaping with us!

Vaping condensation in PC and air cond

Discussion in 'Vaping Technical Issues' started by Fastoche, Aug 21, 2017.

  1. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    Hi,
    Subject : ejuice on my motherboard and in my air-conditioning indoor unit coming from condensation/accumulation . Strange but real.
    I thought I would post it here because it is a technical issue related to vaping and I felt like sharing my (bad?) experience but I'm not asking for assistance. So maybe it is not the right place to create this thread (sorry admin if I made a mistake).
    I'm vaping a lot and for a very long time daily in a room with an air-conditioner and a desktop pc (both running for many hours).
    2 month ago my pc had some bsod. So I opened it and there was quite a lot of brown liquid on the motherboard near the pcu fan and the graphic card's fan). At first I didn't understand where it came from. I touched it, it seemed like ejuice. Smelled it, it smelled a bit like ejuice. I checked on Google quite a long time and found 1 or 2 people who had the same issue.
    My pc is far away from my ejuice bottles or any liquid (no water, no air-conditioner near or above it...) so it can only comes from vape becoming liquid again on the fans. I know it is strange but it is real. It took at least 6 months (maybe a year) to create a small puddle (2/3cm2) on the motherboard. My pc is on the floor close to the door where the airflow goes out from the room. I believe the vape is being sucked in by the intake fan and a part of it accumulate on its inside fan then leak on the component.
    Since then, I open my desktop regularly to clean the fans and they definitely have ejuice on them.
    I also have the same kind of issue with my air conditioner.
    - there is ejuice condensation in the air conditioner indoor unit and it makes it leak in the room (not often, not a lot but still a nice amount from time to time). It is a good new Samsung with a self cleaning option and of course I clean the filters every 2 weeks and a professional cleans completely both indoor and outdoor unit at least once a year. I'm absolutely sure vape creates more condensation and leaking in my air conditioner and my computer as it is being "inhaled" by the fans and with condensation/accumulation comes back to its original chemical forms : liquid.
    With my older air-conditioner it was a lot worse and it took me months to understand it came from vaping (actually I understood it after seeing ejuice on my PC's motherboard).
    I never had this kind of problem with air-conditioner in this room before I started vaping.
    This is just to let you know as some of you could have the same issue and it took me quite some time to find out (checked and cleaned the condensation pipes of the air conditioner, took the indoor unit apart...well I had a lot of fun).
    Minor issue, both devices just need to be cleaned/checked more often to avoid a real problem (actually my bsod came from faulty RAM but liquid on a motherboard is not a very good thing). Hope it can help some of you.
    Cheers.
     
    Last edited: Aug 21, 2017
    Konvict, stormvapers, jorakae and 3 others like this.
  2. Siam Diesel
    Lurking

    Siam Diesel Nauti Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2014
    Messages:
    14,576
    Likes Received:
    17,227
    Location:
    Vape Wastelands
    Do blow big clouds? Just curious as I've been using the same (laptop) computer since I started vaping & haven't observed this issue...but I vape for flavor and don't blow clouds.

    The recommendations I've seen suggest every 3-6 months. I get mine cleaned every 6 months...may start doing them at 3-month intervals as I've noticed a stale odor from the bigger ones when they start up. The technician says the newer units are prone to this...comes from water staying in the evaporator and not drying properly when they shut down.
     
    Konvict and Fastoche like this.
  3. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    Hi,
    I don't do big clouds but I vape for hours and the room is quite cloudy.
    About my computer I really believe it is related to where it stands in the room and of the configuration of the pc case's fans. So it would happen to me but probably not to someone else/everyone. It stands near the door where the air (the cloud) is being "sucked" out of the room (through the space under the door). Therefore/so the vape is being "inhaled" by the front intake fan (quite big) of the computer then travel inside the case, goes through the CPU fan, the graphic card's fan then is being thrown out by the exhaust fan. When "traveling" in the case some ejuice slowly accumulate on the intake fan, CPU and graphic card's fans (also had a bit of ejuice in the pcie express slot) and the exhaust fan ; I can see/feel (sticky)/smell it (tiny but there is a sweet flavour similar to vanilla-custard) each time I clean them ; before as I didn't clean the case for months/years the ejuice ended accumulating on the fans and leaked on the motherboard and on the graphic cards). Could I say that my pc is nearly alive as it is vaping ? Maybe.
    I think a laptop would not "inhale" as many air/vape because the intake fan is much smaller and maybe better protected against dust (I might put a mesh filter if I can find a good one).
    It really depends of the air circulation in the room (and where the pc stands in it), of the airflow in the case and of the quantity of vape.
    About air conditioner. With my old one, when I was not vaping It never leaked. When I started vaping it leaked a lot a few time per year and I nearly got crazy checking and taking it apart (especially the condensation pipe and the evaporator). I asked a professional to clean it twice a year and after 2/3 months it leaked again quite a lot. I changed it for a more powerful with an auto cleaning function (to avoid condensation when I close it). With this one, the leaking is minor but still there (and has the same specific brown colour I found on my motherboard, but not sticky because mixed with a lot more water). After what happened with my pc and as when I was smoking I never had this issue, I really believe vape is creating more condensation on the indoor unit which needs to be cleaned more often.
    Cheers.
     
    Last edited: Aug 22, 2017
    Konvict and Siam Diesel like this.
  4. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    Update. Solved.
    Leaking definitely came from vaping.
    Got bored of air-conditionner leaking so often.
    So I bought a second hand air-purifier.
    Since then my air conditioner leaks a lot less and after a much longer time.
    But I have to change the filters of the air-purifier (cheap from China) quite often because they get soaked with e-juice condensation (a bit sticky).
    Vape on People.
     
    SooKee and Siam Diesel like this.
  5. SooKee
    Lurking

    SooKee Contented Single Coiler

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2017
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    379
    Intersting. Might look at a purifier too, that said, when I vape indoors I sit near the balcony door which is open with a powerful tower fan on it's max setting, tends to catch the vape and blow it straight out of the door. I always wondered about it affecting AC and computers so have never really vaped full on with closed doors and AC. The purifier I was thinking about for both this and improving the air quality in the room. Might have to go have a look. Recently I was looking at the Xiaomi S2 on Lazada:

    Mi Air Purifier 2s : ซื้อขาย เครื่องฟอกอากาศ ออนไลน์ในราคาที่ถูกกว่า | Lazada.co.th
     
    Fastoche and Siam Diesel like this.
  6. Siam Diesel
    Lurking

    Siam Diesel Nauti Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2014
    Messages:
    14,576
    Likes Received:
    17,227
    Location:
    Vape Wastelands
    Or, vape MTL inside and forgo all this. :D
    :very good:
     
    Fastoche likes this.
  7. SooKee
    Lurking

    SooKee Contented Single Coiler

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2017
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    379
    5555. Cannot la! Every time I tried I ended up taking 25 rapid draws and nerfing the coil


    Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
     
    Fastoche likes this.
  8. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    I vape MTL but blow clouds big enough to fog the room (not big) and have condensation problem. Can't open the door for hours with the air conditioner on as my electric bills would be huge.
    **Updated**
    Hi,
    Don't know about this airpurifier.
    Mi Air Purifier 2s : ซื้อขาย เครื่องฟอกอากาศ ออนไลน์ในราคาที่ถูกกว่า | Lazada.co.th
    Before to buy it check the HEPA filters' availability and price in Thailand and on Ebay/Alibaba...
    They can be pretty expensive and depending on your room and how much you vape you might have to change them often. I change mine once a month or every two months. After that, they are soaked with ejuice which never dry and the air-purifier becomes useless. I get them on Ebay from China for a bit more than 200thb/piece. In Thailand the original are hard to find and bloody expensive (1500-2000thb/piece).
    Some HEPA filters can be cleaned (rarely) some can't.
    Pay attention to this issue.
    Advantage of air-purifier, well, obviously, it also cleans the air from pollution which is useful as the air in bkk is more and more often (very) dirty.
    To get a proper result with vape you need a powerful air-purifier. The one I bought is a bit too small.
    **Updated**
    Sookee FYI
    I bought mine second hand from Facebook : GoodShop - เครื่อง ฟอกอากาศ.
    Forgot how much I paid exactly but probably around 1500thb. I should have bought a more powerful one as it was only a bit more expensive whereas new I would have paid it a lot more than 10kthb.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2018
    Siam Diesel and SooKee like this.
  9. SooKee
    Lurking

    SooKee Contented Single Coiler

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2017
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    379
    Cheers. I ordered it anyway, but can always cancel. Have a couple of chums that use them in Phuket, they've been quite impressed, they also buy in generic filters that fit. I don't actually vape indoors at night much so it's mainly for the air purification.

    I also ordered the SNDWAY SW825 that I've heard glowing reports of, just to see how the air actually is both in and outside and to compare with the S2 readout:

    SNDWAY Digital LED Air Quality Monitor PM2.5 Detector Temperature Humidity Meter - intl | Lazada.co.th
     
    Siam Diesel and Fastoche like this.
  10. fillmcavity
    Angelic

    fillmcavity Serial Vapist

    Joined:
    Jul 25, 2014
    Messages:
    341
    Likes Received:
    517
    I haven't noticed anything in my AC filters (someone else cleans them for me) but I did notice a sticky film on an old TV screen I cleaned recently. It left a streaky mess after I tried to wipe it off but a bit of soap and water did the trick. And the TV picture cleared up remarkably.
     
    Fastoche, SooKee and Siam Diesel like this.
  11. Siam Diesel
    Lurking

    Siam Diesel Nauti Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2014
    Messages:
    14,576
    Likes Received:
    17,227
    Location:
    Vape Wastelands
    You might try increasing the nic strength of your juice... ;)
     
    SooKee likes this.
  12. SooKee
    Lurking

    SooKee Contented Single Coiler

    Joined:
    Aug 17, 2017
    Messages:
    277
    Likes Received:
    379
    Nothing to do with the Nic mate, just getting the flavour and volume. Not a cloud chaser by any means but I started to vape as an alternative to shisha so MTL don't hit the spot.
    **Updated**
    Photochromic tinting :D Could catch on, 70 VG / 25 PG / 5 Polariser.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
    Fastoche and fillmcavity like this.
  13. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    15367565042258945774196710717447.jpg Hi,
    Just to show you how e-juice actually impregnate the filters of my airpurifier.
    - New HEPA filter
    - 1 month in the air-purifier
    - 2 months
    Left at top of the air-purifier.
    Right on the bottom, completely soaked.
    They get soaked with e-juice, it is wet, sticky and never dries.
    Vape on.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2018
    SooKee and Siam Diesel like this.
  14. Siam Diesel
    Lurking

    Siam Diesel Nauti Moderator Staff Member

    Joined:
    Jan 26, 2014
    Messages:
    14,576
    Likes Received:
    17,227
    Location:
    Vape Wastelands
    Wow, that's ugly... ;)
     
    SooKee and Fastoche like this.
  15. Fastoche

    Fastoche Thread Starter Well-Known Member

    Joined:
    Mar 16, 2017
    Messages:
    107
    Likes Received:
    226
    Wet and sticky can be nice also but in another context. (Sorry).
     
    SooKee and Siam Diesel like this.

Share This Page