Vaping next to computer
- Thread starter moijamie
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At a guess, yes.
People have reported a 'film' appearing on glass surfaces - I think the consensus is it's from PG, but I'm not sure.
There's no way that's going to be good for laser mice / trackballs, fans, drive heads or connectors. [edit - might cause passively cooled components to overheat more as well]
However, many people have been vaping next to computers for quite a few years, and there has been no reported epidemic of premature failure. I doubt it's *that* bad for them, or we should have noticed by now.
(Interestingly, it's thought to be surprisingly easy to destroy optical drives, including household DVD players, with cigarettes - you could of course clean them, but most people are just going to throw them out if they start generating a lot of errors. Since optical discs are going extinct anyway, probably doesn't matter too much...)
People have reported a 'film' appearing on glass surfaces - I think the consensus is it's from PG, but I'm not sure.
There's no way that's going to be good for laser mice / trackballs, fans, drive heads or connectors. [edit - might cause passively cooled components to overheat more as well]
However, many people have been vaping next to computers for quite a few years, and there has been no reported epidemic of premature failure. I doubt it's *that* bad for them, or we should have noticed by now.
(Interestingly, it's thought to be surprisingly easy to destroy optical drives, including household DVD players, with cigarettes - you could of course clean them, but most people are just going to throw them out if they start generating a lot of errors. Since optical discs are going extinct anyway, probably doesn't matter too much...)
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I vape in front of my computer all the time and have yet to notice a film on anything. I also vape in my car quite a bit. In the winter, with the windows rolled up, there's a haze that builds up on the windows that needs to be cleaned off periodically. It didn't happen before I started vaping in there, so my guess is that's what causes it. In the summer with the windows down it's not a problem.
So here's my guess. Yes vaping produces stuff that could potentially be harmful to your computer gear. But, with adequate ventilation it doesn't seem to be an issue.
So here's my guess. Yes vaping produces stuff that could potentially be harmful to your computer gear. But, with adequate ventilation it doesn't seem to be an issue.
Speaking from more than a decade of experience working with industrial technology, I can say with certainty that you will not cause any negative effect to your computer. If you're worried about your monitor, you really shouldn't be. Monitors produce heat and nothing really condenses onto them. They could bake some residue over time, but I'm assuming you clean your monitor more than once a year. The computer's tower unit itself should be sitting below you, far from any vaping residue. Since PG dissipates into the room quickly and contains no heavy elements, it will not affect anything below you. Smoking has a tendency to do this, though, because of the heavier elements within smoke that seep into all sorts of surfaces doing nasty things in the long term. But even smoking doesn't have much of a negative effect on computers. 
Well that's a tough act to follow! I might just add this thought: my understanding is that nicotine is staining...it's the yellow/brown stuff that accumulates on everything in a smokers vicinity. Proper care and cleaning of your equipment should prevent any damage!
I might just add this thought: my understanding is that nicotine is staining...it's the yellow/brown stuff that accumulates on everything in a smokers vicinity. Proper care and cleaning of your equipment should prevent any damage!
It's got to be better for the computer than my ashtray was in its perennial position under the air intake of my iMac...
Higher VG liquids will eventually leave a bit of residue, based on my car windshield with 40-45% VG in my mixes. That's in close quarters in the winter; I don't think it's much of an issue in a normal room.
I haven't looked inside my Computer for a Couple of weeks. So after reading this thread I thought I'd take a Look.
Looks about the same as it did Before I started Vaping.
Looks about the same as it did Before I started Vaping.
As a computer repair tech, I believe it would take many years of blowing vapor directly in your computer's air intake to cause even a minimal buildup that may affect performance. I have seen a computer that died from smoking... the CPU cooling fan was so caked with smoking residue that it seized. This was after about 5 years of a person using it heavily and chainsmoking the entire time. Vaping does not even come close to building up to that level.
While I wouldn't recommend blowing vapor directly at the hard drive inside of your computer case, vaping in the vicinity of your computer really shouldn't harm it at all. There is a remote chance that massive amount of water vapor around a hard drive can cause a failure. Every hard drive that I have opened up (400+) has some form of a desiccant and filters to remove water vapor and other contaminants from the inside of a drive. It is possible to overwhelm it, but it would take massive amounts of water vapor (Think a steam room, and yes I have seen this in a steam line failure at an industrial plant next to the controlling computer). You may get a film that builds up on parts inside of your case causing it to collect dust a little bit faster than normal. Dust out your computer every six months to a year as your normally would, and you should be fine.
Dust out a Computer. When did this Start.
I thought we were just supposed to throw them Away and get something Faster every Year?
I'm pretty sure that's tar, not nicotine.Well that's a tough act to follow!
Dust out a Computer. When did this Start.
I thought we were just supposed to throw them Away and get something Faster every Year?
That's only what we tell people when we are trying to meet a sales quota for the quarter.
(Actually, just joking there. I make much money more keeping older computers running than I do selling new computers. If I suggest replacing your computer, it seriously needs it lol)
I'm a systems adminitrator. So, I have an army of family and friends that come to me with their broken computers (and cell phones, and DVD players, and iPods, and, well, anything that runs on electricity, ugh 
). As lladnar550 points out, heat failure due to dust in the case is a more likely problem than any build up you're going to have from vaping. Not to mention. my guess is that your computer will be completely obsolete and you'll be shopping around for a new one long before vape buildup causes problems.
). As lladnar550 points out, heat failure due to dust in the case is a more likely problem than any build up you're going to have from vaping. Not to mention. my guess is that your computer will be completely obsolete and you'll be shopping around for a new one long before vape buildup causes problems.
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