Solar 1200 "wet" charge

[mulla]

Hi All,

Might be a silly question. I was wondering if I can charge the Sola 1200 when the connectors are still wet? I've always waited till it's completely dry before charging the unit, but I'm going on a liveaboard soon and may not have time to wait for it to dry completely to top up.

I've googled and various website mention a "wet charge" does it imply it can be charged when wet? But nothing on the official L&M site.


Thanks in advance.

 

[tursiops]

No problem. Just blow them dry if you are worried about it.

 

[mulla]

Cheers, thanks for the quick response. Just don't want the boat to catch on fire

 

[fbk]

Light and motion refer to them as "wet contacts" however one thing to be aware of is that salt water inside the contact + electric current is going to drastically increase corrosion. There are several threads on Sola charging problems many of which are as a result of this and I know personally of a number of cases where corrosion on the contacts has caused issues or resulted in lights being replaced. As said you can blow them dry but make sure you rinse them out with fresh water. There may even be a compressed air gun on the liveaboard for drying cameras. I am anal about keeping the contacts clean on both my Solas and so far no problems.

 

[mulla]

Thanks fbk for the advice. I'm planning on rinsing with fresh water first before attempting to wet charge it.

 

[lightandmotion]

Mulla - this is a great question and it looks like Australia beat us to the answer!
If you ever do get some built up corrosion on your contacts, check out these steps to get them shining gold again

Have a great trip!!

Sincerely,

The Light and Motion Team

 

[mulla]

Thanks for the cleaning tip. Will have to make sure they have vinegar onboard. Maybe I can use a bit of rolled up tissue like the steel wool for drying!