vamo clean/repair

[mattrix]

Night before last, my tank emptied its guts all over my vamo (V5 and still going). The Vamo was malfunctioning yesterday, so last night I dismantled it and wiped down the pcb with an iisopropyl wipe and let it dry overnight. Its working now, but its still not happy.

The board looks like this, Vamo PCB module. I couldn't clean between the boards very well.
The boards look like they could be pushed together, but they could be permanently soldered together.

Does anyone know how to get the boards apart so I can clean them properly?
Alternatively, would it be safe to just dump the boards in isopropyl and let them soak for a while?

PS the tank gets its air from the 510 conector

 

[yzer]

I use one of two types of solvent to clean electronics. Both may be used liberally and allowed to air dry. Neither will leave any residue.

1. The general spray can type electronics cleaner (non-residue type).

2. 91% isopropyl alcohol. Found in drugstores.

I would opt for the spray for the Vamo boards.

If liquid gets into the tactile switches they may be difficult to clean out. These switches may be replaced with new switches from outfits like Mouser or Digikey. I have purchased and replaced tactile switches for the sigelei Zmax V3 or V5 for 76 cents apiece. Lucky for me, the Sigeleis used only one switch. As a plus, some of the new switches have better durability figures than the originals.

 

[mattrix]

Thanks yzer.
It is not too unhappy today, doesn't seem as bad as I thought yesterday. Hopefully an isopropyl bath will make it happy.

If not, I'm still going to need to separate the boards to replace the switches.
Does anyone know how to get the boards apart?

 

[yzer]

If the photo of the Vamo boards shown on Fasttech is correct the switches are mounted on the outside of the larger circuit board. For removal and replacement of the switches you need access to the soldering pads that are also on the outside of the board, right underneath the switches. No need to separate the boards.

 

[yzer]

Here is a link to a post I made back in 2014. This begins a tutorial on tactile switch replacement with photos. These posts go on for several pages and another member shares links to a video on this subject.

Sigelei Zmax V3 and V5 Telescopic: User's Group

 

[mattrix]

Thanks, thats a monster thread, and the permalinks inside the thread aren't working for me so its difficult to navigate.

I see what you mean about the switches, though I had no misfires yesterday, so I think the switches have sorted themselves out ... panic subsiding.
The problem I still have is that it is reporting more power than its developing, I've had to set it a couple of watts higher than usual.

 

[yzer]

Sorry the permalink didn't work for you. It works fine, here.

The post is currently on page 161 of the thread. The date is August 24, 2014.