Condensation in gauges

klw445

Member
Tired of me yet? Can I put my tach in an oven at 150 +/- to evaporate the condensation under the glass...or would that destroy the gauge? I would think the tractor would get the gauges up to that temp??? Tell me what you think.
 
I dont know for sure if it would damage it or not, but I think the condensation might be back. It might be best to dry it out naturally. I have gauges on tractors that get that way occasionally.
 
Probebly could but i wouldnt. Ive heard of taking a tiny drill bit and drilling a little hole in the bottom of the glass in the gauge. One thats not even big enough to see. And that will dry it out. Sure others do it different but its up to you.
 
I have a MF that gets condensation inside two gages when it gets hot. Sitting around the shed, no cndensation, get it out in the sun and waarmed up, condensation. I really canot figure that.
 
(quoted from post at 19:10:07 08/21/13) Tired of me yet? Can I put my tach in an oven at 150 +/- to evaporate the condensation under the glass...or would that destroy the gauge? I would think the tractor would get the gauges up to that temp??? Tell me what you think.

Interesting question. I don't see that heating it would do much. In the event there is free water, heating the air inside the gage would only act to increase the humidy. Once the gage cools, the water would simply condense out again. I would suggest placing the gage in a sealed container (Tupperwear) with a desicate such as the Silica Gel used in gun cabinets, etc. Set the container outside where the sun can hit it. As it heats and cools during day/night the humid air will be forced out and dry air pulled in. This breathing process will dry the gage.

To speed up the process you could drill a small hole in the gage case. The gage could then be purged using very low pressure and dry air (use a desicate drier) from your air compresser. This hole should be sealed after drying the gage.

The bad news is this is not a cure and the gage will probably form condensation again if exposed to excessive moisture in service.
 
(quoted from post at 02:09:44 08/22/13) I have a MF that gets condensation inside two gages when it gets hot. Sitting around the shed, no cndensation, get it out in the sun and waarmed up, condensation. I really canot figure that.

I have observed this on gages from from time to time. It is interesting someone else also noticed it. My theory is the gage is acting similar to a solar panel. The sun's energy passes through the glass and is absorbed by the black gage face. This causes heating the air and increases the humidity inside the gage. The glass remains cool enough to cause condensation of the now, very humid air.

I do not have any gages with white faces. I always wondered if the sun caused condensation to form on these gages. Perhaps someone could comment.
 
One effective way to dry out a wet book is to store it in the freezer for a couple of months and let is freeze dry. You may have noticed ice cubes in a tray get smaller with time due to sublimation. I think this will work for gauges if you are patient. I have never tried it with gauges but I know it works with books.
 

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