Last updated 06 March 2008
25/10/2006 - After using the system for 19 months without opening it up, (prompted by Mike Chin of SilentPCReview,) I took the SilentPC back into the workshop to take some more pictures. While it was open, I decided to check the HDD Box for leaks.
Just as well…
On opening the HDD box I was presented by a sad sight: There were obvious signs of corrosion on the lid and a large amount of powder sitting on top of the small gel-pack. The stuff sitting on the gel bag is powdered 'corrosion' (aluminum and zinc oxides presumably, with some remains from the wall-paper paste). I suspect that the moisture/paste reacted chemically with the die-cast aluminum, quickly forming the oxide powder and never forming droplets.
Removing the drive, it's clear that only the smaller single-bagged gel-pack has lost some water, the cause of the corrosion, although it hasn't dried completely. The large double-bagged pack has survived quite well, no obvious sign of leaks.
The HDD itself seems fine. I suspect that, by corroding, the metal of box has absorbed the moisture lost by the gel pack. I'll have to pack some silica gel moisture absorbing crystals into the box and double bag the smaller gel-pack before sealing it up this time.
13/03/2007 - I opened the enclosure to replace the Seagate drive with the 120GB Western Digital drive from the PVR. Although there were no leaks this time, the small home-made gel-pack had evolved a new life form (non intelligent - kept calling me ‘The creator’), so I decided to abandon the home-brew packs and use a small medical gel-pack.
I had to puncture the pack and drain about half of the contents to make the pack fit with the new HDD. I sealed the hole with some duct sealing tape. It seems pretty secure, I’ve added a couple of silica gel moisture absorbing packs to ensure things stay dry this time.
25/02/2008 - The HDD case was opened again to replace the WD drive with the Seagate drive from the P4 machine. The gel pack showed no sign of leaks, although the colour indicator in the silica gel packs had turned pick, indicating they had absorbed some moisture.
The case was reassembled with fresh silica absorbers and this time sealed with aluminium foil tape.
