Smart String Nodes that failed...

[taybrynn]

Well thats true, I built an enclosure to mount them into and caulked it up.  Those are my star toppers.  I knew the nodes might not be water resistant, so this was the solution.  I had a structure for the star anyways, so this was just a skirt around it to protect the nodes.  I honestly didn't trust them in the elements, but hopefully they wouldn't have any issues.  Sorry, I didn't mean to hijack this post in any way.

[chrisatpsu]

i'm not really trying to get a feel for what happens to these nodes all encompassing, just focusing on those nodes that had failures once in the weather.

i really just want to see what happens when the leaky ones get in the rain, do they fry themselves, or recover once dryed.

thread hijacking is ok in this thread as long as it's related to waterproofing nodes  : )

[keitha43]

I did have 2 that caught fire until the ribbon cable melted in half. The first 1 didn't blow any fuses on the hub. The 2nd did. As to drying I always waited 24 hrs after rain before testing. I never had one recover myself even using a hair dryer. But I didn't wait more than 2 days before replacing.

[rdebolt]

As per my post in the other failure thread. I have a 1920 node Megatree. We have not had any bad weather until this week, but it has been very cold with frost and thaw every day. This week it has rained every day and I have had no failures yet. I do have 2 nodes that stay on green until the show runs, but they have been that way since day 1. Mine are the newer IP68 nodes with no treatment at all except CorrosionX in the Cat5 plugins.

[chrisatpsu]

I've placed my SSC's in thick wall clear plastic bags, and zip tied where the cables come out, i know it's not IP68, but maybe IP67 and enough coverage to keep them from sitting in water.

[Steve Gase]

i'm considering getting plastic bag tubing that you could trim to any length -- and using zip ties as you suggest.
the other option is the press and seal (which will no doubt be more expensive). 

any thoughts about which might be more water-tight?  (i have 'dry-river beds' that aren't so dry on christmas day. )

any problems with removing the press and seal?  annoying residue?

thx

[taybrynn]

my SSC's just have silicone caulk on all the entry points and they have been out in all the elements like that ... have about 20" of snow like that and they are working fine.  I do keep them off the ground, so it would take 2+ feet of snow to bury them.

My SS HUB in the battery box has been completely buried ... but I found it must have a little heat ... cause it melted the snow around the battery box in just a couple of days and basically unburied itself nicely.