[GreenKeys] Cleaners, lubricants, pipe-dream "The way things work" animation

[Craig Sawyers]

> Thanks to George for his advice on cleaners and lubricants, and others who
> wrote to me privately to tell me that folks did indeed clean
> typing units by
> running them through the dishwasher.


Tektronix used to use the same procedure with their tubed oscilloscopes
during servicing.  With upwards of 75 tubes and forced air cooling they
could hoover up a lot of dirt.  So Tek used to wash them with a low power
jet washer and detergent, followed by drying in an oven.  Only then would
they try and fix them.  Stan Griffiths, who worked for Tek for decades and
now owns upwards of 2000 Tek instruments (he has the collecting bug in the
worst possible way!) uses this technique with dish washing liquid "simple
green".  He's adapted an old chest freezer with a muffin fan and simple heat
source to dry the instrument afterwards, although some folks have used the
sun (in hot climes like Australia).  Here's a quote:

"Stan's book contains a detailed procedure on washing an old scope. The
procedure is essentially what you have outlined : protecting certain parts,
removing others, then drenching/blasting/scrubbing the entire thing with
D.I. water and detergent. Lots of scrubbing and suds, everything soaked
inside and out, final rinse with D.I. water followed by blowing out as much
"free water" as possible with compressed air. The final ingredient is a
thorough dry-out in an oven for 24 to 48 hours at 110 or 120 degrees
F, with the hot air circulating inside the oven. It's all covered in the
first chapter of his book. For home use I think Stan used an old
refrigerator as an oven, with a muffin fan for circulating air, some sort
of simple heat source and a thermostat. I recall also that a small vent
was cut into the fridge so that mositure laden air could escape, and
another hole allowed fresh air in to replace the escaping air. Stan has
the first hand experience not me, but the procedure has been done many
times (hundreds ?) with complete success."

Now of course a typing unit is a different beast altogether, because of the
lubrication issues - but nevertheless it is worth thinking about as a viable
cleaning technique.

Craig