The epic search for a rust-proof case

M

marvel

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After moving next to the beach in Hawaii, everything started to rust! I've spent the last three years trying to find computer components that won't disintegrate in a matter of months. Here's a little timeline of my rust adventure:

The first thing I noticed was my CPU coolers. When I moved out here I had a nice Zalman with copper fins. Sea air + copper = statue of liberty green:

20100417-qh3kb9py327udncpwdkncfrbqh.png


I eventually figured out that if I got aluminum parts, they wouldn't rust as quickly. So I grabbed a beautiful Silverstone TJ09:

20100417-d5wjkbadguce2mt27md49kpcnt.jpg


That worked well for a month or two, but then in the middle of an epic WoW session I glanced down at my case, and...

20100417-4rdaq7ik56np35hhwkd6nm9hx.jpg

20100417-q9h3qf1ddkx8itr3fgqjq4fcpj.jpg

20100417-fuqnqsxim7ed37xuf2tihcs1as.jpg


Looks like there are still quite a few steel parts on the Silverstone.

So then I thought to myself, "How about one of those Antec P180s? They look like they are mostly made out of plastic." Unfortunately, the fan brackets on the back are made out of steel so eventually the whole back side of the case rusted. I recently went at it with some steel wool and wd-40 but the rust came back in a few days.

Also, I have a CoolerMaster ATCS 840:
20100417-k1pe13ic25dhjyqfy4fu38gy17.png


I figured out that the entire perforated top grille on the case is made of steel. Also the PCI card brackets and fan grilles.

So my question to the hardforum community is - Does anyone know of a case that won't rust?
 
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Id go acrylic I guess. Something like this:
yhst-39083765508394_2099_433316471

Go out of your way to get plastic fan grills and I think you can even get plastic PSU covers. Maybe even plastic screws!
Here's a list to look at.
 
Hmm interesting idea. I could probably find stainless steel screws at the local hardware store to replace whatever they are using. Then I only need to worry about the HSF, PSU, and whatever cards I'm using. I don't know how I feel about the transparent look however.
 
I don't like it either but they are way less obnoxious without like uv lights in them and stuff. I remember having rust issues with my car when I lived by the beach. Not near as bad as what you get being in Hawaii and all but i feel your pain.
 
Man, that has to suck with all that rust. Only thing I can think of is to get a case entirely anodized, using anodized screws and such.
 
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ATCS840 is not aluminum, it has aluminum external parts and that is it.

What you need is an all aluminum case. problem is most of them have steel inserts and/or steel screws.

Acylic cases will be held together with steel or brass screws.

There is no super good way to do it.
 
Perhaps you can paint and seal the steel components which would help prevent rusting. I have a mountain mods ufo and I think everything is made of aluminum and almost everything is powder coated. The only thing that is not powder coated are the pci slots.
 
Lian Li are your best bet, but even then things like rivets, power button etc. are steel.

If you still have your TJ-10 I would take the mesh out, clean all the rust off and paint it with some rust proof paint like Ronseal etc.

Replace any screws with stainless steel one and so on, remove the fan guards and replace the PCI covers (Lian Li do some chrome ones that shouldn't rust).
 
Stainless steel or brass will definitely resist salt spray. When was the house you're living in built? Are your sure this isnt a case of chinese dry wall?? just a thought
 
Got to love salt spray. Anything will corrode or rust in an air case. I think mineral oil pc might be the only option.
 
Get a Lian-Li Aluminum case (or your TJ09) and:
- drill out & replace all the rivets with aluminum ones.
- replace all the screws with aluminum ones
- replace any mesh, PCI covers, power buttons, etc. with non-steel (aluminum, plastic, etc.) ones.

It's probably quite annoying but definitely doable.

I don't recommend acrylic. The entire PCI slot/IO shield assembly is made from, probably, steel.
 
Two words:

Cathodic Protection

If you would have protection of your steel parts, aluminum will corrode in its place until there's no aluminum left to corrode. The parts that possess a lower potential than the anode will give themselves up to save the higher relative potential parts.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cathodic_protection

To keep your steel parts from corroding your aluminum case, you need to have them electrically isolated from the case. The aluminum will develop an aluminum oxide (sapphire, basically) coating and stay pretty much unchanged if you keep it from becoming a sacrificial anode via electrical connection to the steel.

Steel will protect bare copper. Aluminum will protect both copper and steel.

If you want the best of both worlds, logic dictates the following:

No aluminum anything-you-want-to-keep, for the love of God.
Copper heatsinks
Steel Case
Piece of wire
Aluminum plate you'll sacrifice to save the case that's saving your copper.

Attach the aluminum plate to your case via the wire and you'll see the plate corrodes while the case stays pretty much unchanged.

Clean the corrosion off of the plate once in a while to keep an active area on the aluminum or you'll find the case will start to corrode.
 
minishotglass said:
Stainless steel or brass will definitely resist salt spray. When was the house you're living in built? Are your sure this isnt a case of chinese dry wall?? just a thought
Click to expand...

If your house was built in the last few years you may want to have this checked out.

Obviously a worst-case scenario, but worth looking into.
 
Tsaar said:
If your house was built in the last few years you may want to have this checked out.

Obviously a worst-case scenario, but worth looking into.
Click to expand...

Yep i think it affects home built around 2006. If there are other items in your house tarnishing/rusting you might want to look more into it. Chinese drywall sucks
 
just a quick look at my v1000b w plus2 shows a ton of steel parts, ie thumscrews, the racks that lock in the panels, the springs that tension the panels, etc. several years ago i had a gigabyte aurora 3d (still sold, but under another name, sumo, i think) this was pretty much solid aluminum, iirc. i am sure stuff like rivets are still steel tho. and if you look around, almost any accessory part (fan guards, etc) can be found in plastic.
 
vanilla_guerilla said:
just a quick look at my v1000b w plus2 shows a ton of steel parts, ie thumscrews, the racks that lock in the panels, the springs that tension the panels, etc. several years ago i had a gigabyte aurora 3d (still sold, but under another name, sumo, i think) this was pretty much solid aluminum, iirc. i am sure stuff like rivets are still steel tho. and if you look around, almost any accessory part (fan guards, etc) can be found in plastic.
Click to expand...

You can buy aluminum rivets.
 
I would be more concerned about the fact that inside of your home is exposed to this much moisture.
 
ya, i'd also suggest you get an oil kit. if it does pick up water or moisture you will see it at the bottom.
 
CajunPower said:
I would be more concerned about the fact that inside of your home is exposed to this much moisture.
Click to expand...

One would think that parking your house in the middle of the Pacific ocean would expose it to moisture, no matter how much technology you throw at it.
 
while the oil kit is a bit more elaborate I Think I would do a water cooled system with an external radiator. & I Do mean you need to cool EVERYTHING via liquid because after its all liquid cooled drop a half pound of silica beads into the bottom of the case (to absorb moisture) & Seal that bitch tight. Special consideration to what components are still exposed such as gold connectors (since gold wont rust). & you should be pretty much there.. Industrial saran wrap (warehouse type) could be used to do the sealing & then if you need into the box cut it away & redo it afterwards..
 
bluejrag0n38 said:
the rust looks nasty, did it kill any components?
Click to expand...

Indeed it did / has. I have 3 graphics cards (the HSFs on the graphics cards go pretty quickly). Also a few sound cards, TV tuner cards, and 3 PSUs. To be fair, I can't be sure it's the rust killing all the components, but I think it's pretty likely. All this in a span of 3 years.
 
Spiko said:
Here's a thought
mineral oil setup
Click to expand...

I've seen those but haven't seriously considered them since I would imagine it creates quite a mess when you're digging around in there to swap out and try new components, which I do quite frequently.
 
are you a guy that enjoys guns? Because there are many...many products that keep that from happening, just put a very tiny layer of oil on the parts(that you can get to) and itll make it last sooo much longer. there are spray cans of the stuff also for the hard to get spots of m16's and stuff.
 
minishotglass said:
Yep i think it affects home built around 2006. If there are other items in your house tarnishing/rusting you might want to look more into it. Chinese drywall sucks
Click to expand...

Wow, first I've heard of that! The home is quite a bit older than that. Also I have spoken with other residents in the area who have the same problem. A guy down the street who edits video replaces his Mac Pro every year, largely because the rust will cause it to stop working if he keeps it much longer.

I would be more concerned about the fact that inside of your home is exposed to this much moisture.
Click to expand...

De-humidifier / Air Conditioner
Click to expand...

In Hawaii (or at least on the windward side of Oahu) nobody has a furnace or an air conditioner. We leave our windows open year-round and the sea breeze blows through and keeps things cool (and rusty). If we shut our windows then it gets pretty hot in the summer. I'm renting this place so it's not really an option to install an air conditioner, especially since the temperature isn't a problem. The place just isn't built tightly enough for a dehumidifer to take effect, and I'd have to leave the windows shut, which would make it get pretty hot in here.

drop a half pound of silica beads into the bottom of the case
Click to expand...

Believe it or not I have actually tried this. It works pretty well for a week or two and then the little beads get all saturated. You can microwave them to recharge them a bit but eventually they lose their effectiveness. Buying new ones constantly isn't really an option.

I hadn't heard of the cathodic protection before. Has anyone done this with computer cases before? I wonder if it causes some EM interference that would mess with your components? I've seen some advertisements for devices you can stick on your car frame and hook up to your battery that are supposed to prevent them from rusting, but I've heard a lot of people claim that they don't work at all.
 
I don't think cathodic protection by adding a piece of zinc or lead somewhere will work for you.
In order to work it really needs a closed loop to each exposed part, and you don't get that with the humidity in the air.

The closest I can think of that should help protecting bare metal surfaces is to apply a thin layer of zinc (available on spray can from for example CRC or PRF) to cover it. That shouldn't add much thermal or electrical insulation, but provide serious help against corrosion.

Cheers
Olle
 
You could possibly use a water cooling setup and put your case/components in a semi air tight container. Even a desk with a compartment that fits the computer + water cooling should help tremendously.

I have this desk and its compartment is big enough for my lian li PC-V1000 with the wheels on with over 3 inches to spare if i took the little extra drawer out.

It wouldnt stop the problem but it sould slow it down tremendously.

Otherwise no matter what you do if you use air cooling you are just accelerating the air right through it making things worse.
 
lol at this thread. I grew up in Hawaii as a boy during the 70s before we moved to the mainland, and it's almost impossible to get people living stateside to understand what living on an island in the middle of the Pacific does to EVERYTHING you own. Even your clothes deteriorate faster due to the conditions.

Regarding your computer, my guess is that someone at the University of Hawaii or one of the local school's IT dept would probably be able to give you pretty solid info. Likewise, a google for islander tech/social forums (be it Hawaii, Samoa or even Fiji) ought to yield some helpful tidbits.
 
This might sound ridiculous but seeing suggestions for a dehumidifier and you replying there wouldn't be any possibility that it would work, I came up with this "doo-hickey" out of the blue.

It basically is a make-shift dehumidifier that you sit your Coolermaster ATSC 840 case into it. And, you would have to seal with rubber tape any slits along the side panel openings to prevent air from getting in. Basically, create an air-tight case.

It looks like this: (Forgive me, it was a quick/hasty sketch in SmartDraw at 4 AM.)

enclosed_dehumidifier.jpg


I found the suggestion here: http://repurposeful.wordpress.com/2009/04/08/dont-buy-it-make-it-charcoal-briquette-dehumidifier/

... after looking through Google about dehumidifiers. I thought, at first: "Why not get a dehumidifier and duct the exhaust into the case?" It would seem unwieldy.

This might work better if you are a DIY-type-of-person. You would have to remove the front panel that covers the front 230mm front case fan and filter.

You can see here at around 2:30: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r8_1cQkYTO4

The case would basically sit on top of this "dehumidifier case" VERY SNUG, and the exhaust fan draws moist air from the front. The air passes through a perforated charcoal tray where the charcoal absorbs the moisture. The "dry air" in return gets sucked up by the case fans.

Now, optionally, you can make it even more air-tight by disregarding the exhaust fan for this case, and let all the dry air get drawn into the computer case. Or, move the 120mm fan to the front to draw the moist air in.

The charcoal, according to the website, wouldn't have to be changed for "a few months." And, any charcoal briquets will work and can still be used for BBQ afterwards. Another website suggested road salt, but it seems messy, possibly toxic, and a little bit more expensive (I assume). It probably won't be sold in Hawaii anyway, unless there is ice and snow forecasted sometime in the apocalyptic future.

Anyway, this whole diagram is a suggestion.

I found another website that showed how you can make a dehumidifier from peltier blocks like those you'd find on FrozenCPU's website. Instead, the cold end that condenses the air is attached to copper heatsinks. The hot end has either copper heatsinks and fans affixed to it or water block assemblies. If water cooling is used, you can sit the radiator on the top of the Coolermaster 840 case and route the tubing to the bottom. And, of course, you could feasibly modify that above diagram to change the debris area as a water tank of sorts, and the charcoal tray to hold the peltier blocks and heatsink assemblies.

I might make a diagram of that later, probably after I wake up or put some thought into it. :p
 
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