Drying out pigtail connectors...

[aplant92]

I stupidly left my pigtails out over night in the wet, exposed, and now I’m worried moisture has gotten into the connectors.

Is there any easy way to dry these out (and make sure they’re dry) before reconnecting everything?

 

[bbayjohn]

It should be fine. Shake any loose moisture off & dry with a towel. Moisture is a conductor so you will have good pin conecction. At the end of the season spray with inox to prevent corrosion.

 

[David_AVD]

You could use a hair dryer (or a heat gun on low) to dry them out once you shake most of the water off.

 

[aplant92]

Ok will do.

Am I overthinking it? I’m just conscious of shorting something if there’s a bit of moisture between the positive and ground!

 

[David_AVD]

Corrosion is the biggest issue for low voltage DC connectors. I always make sure they're dry before connecting.

 

[aplant92]

Thanks! Does Bunnings have the anti corrosion stuff John mentioned?

 

[bbayjohn]

did it rain or just due? If they had been sitting a puddle I would just shake off the moisture and let them dry for a couple of days or use a hair dryer like David mentioned. Yep sold at bunnings

 

[scamper]

Low voltage isn't a problem shorting between terminals, giving them a squirt of wd40, crc or inox etc. They are all "water dispersents" so will be fine

 

[bbayjohn]

wd40 is great but its also made with water so i prefer inox

 

[aplant92]

They sat out in the rain, but weren’t sitting in puddles or anything. Wet around the plug and probably a little bit of moisture near the connectors.

What do you think?

 

[David_AVD]

Just dry them out and you should be good. Mating connectors like that while they are wet (inside) can lead to corrosion.

 

[aplant92]

Ok no worries! How long should I wait to dry if I can’t get a hair dryer?

 

[David_AVD]

Just leave them in the sun for a bit (60 mins?) until they look dry.

 

[aplant92]

Great, will do. Thanks again all for the help!

 

[Kitman]

You can also use an air compressor if you have one to get the majority of the water out then dry with a hair dryer, otherwise a can of compressed air if you don't have an air compressor will also work, but the compressed air cans are expensive so use sparingly.