On 17 Aug 99, at 13:14, Donald Gaither wrote:

>   I just had a user ask me a question I've never had to deal with.  Will
> high humidity mess up a computer.  He just moved a computer to his basement
> which he said runs 100% humidity without his dehumidifier running and
> 80-85% with it running.  He made it sound to me that he does run the
> dehumidifier all the time.  What long term effects could this lead to?

  While many components in a PC produce heat while operating, some try to
produce cooling -- and the system probably won't be on all the time.  In high
humidity, that's going to lead to condensation, which could have several
adverse effects:

1.  Short circuit....

2.  Corrosion....

3.  Evaporative cooling -- which could lead to differential expansion
stresses and possibly cracking....

  Just as manufacturers of CPUs and other semiconductors rate them for
operating and storage temperature ranges, they also rate them for humidity
ranges -- and it seems to me that 80% is a pretty common maximum.


David G

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