Don't use your oven as a dryer!!!

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

I bought a beautiful, white Cherry keyboard with a working navigation pad today.  I then proceeded to disassemble it and sped 1.5 hours removing, washing and drying each individual key.  No, I'm not obsessive-compulsive. I just like my new keyboard to be clean... The keys were so pretty.. I was so impatient that I put them in the oven to dry for *just a second* and then got distracted.  5 minutes later I was horrified to smell my melting keys.  I now have a spotlessly clean white keyboard with Cherry black switches, a working touch-pad, and*Sob* a melted mass of white plastic.

[ch_123]

I am really curious - why didn't you just use a towel?

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

The holes in Cherry key-caps are impossible to dry out with a towel.

[TexasFlood]

I bought a beautiful, white Cherry keyboard with a working navigation pad today.  I then proceeded to disassemble it and sped 1.5 hours removing, washing and drying each individual key.  No, I'm not obsessive-compulsive. I just like my new keyboard to be clean... The keys were so pretty.. I was so impatient that I put them in the oven to dry for *just a second* and then got distracted.  5 minutes later I was horrified to smell my melting keys.  I now have a spotlessly clean white keyboard with Cherry black switches, a working touch-pad, and*Sob* a melted mass of white plastic.

Oh man!  That's a shame.  I know how it can happen though.  I burned up two oven top tea kettles that way so finally bought a Hamilton-Beach that has an integrated automagic heating element that shuts off by itself.  And once I tried to blow some crap out of a laptop keyboard with a hair dryer, got too close and slightly melted the front of some function keys.  Some lessons, such as patience and caution, apparently need to be relearned periodically, :sad:

[ch_123]

Sorry, I thought you were talking about the case. Well, that sucks...

[Brodie337]

My preferred approach is to do it with a hair dryer,  or just leave them in the sun a while.

[patrickgeekhack]

Isn't there a way to get keycaps? Can't you buy them, or buy a broken Cherry keyboard?

[ThirdLap]

Next time:

- Preheat oven to ~180°F
- Turn oven off
- Place item to be dried on a cookie sheet
- Place in oven

Never had a problem with this method.

[washuai]

:evil: This is absolutely a move to encourage spending $175 on your own custom colored double shots from signature plastics.  Getting a cheap board, for replacement caps just isn't the same.
:angel: At least in times like these there are replacement key cap options, even if they aren't as nice as just ordering up a set and receiving them within a week.  I definitely prefer things that can be repaired, to those that need recycling.

[vils]

And don´t use your fridge as an oven:

[Findecanor]

I was so impatient that I put them in the oven to dry for *just a second* and then got distracted.  5 minutes later I was horrified to smell my melting keys.

I have done the same. Not with a keyboard, but with another item made of plastic. It can happen quite fast.

[British]

Hmmm, I cleaned 3 keyboards worth of keys this week-end.
To have they dry, I put them on a towel, bottoms up, near an open-window.
You just have to not be in a hurry and be careful if the sun is hitting the keys for a long period.

[whininggit]

Sorry you damaged your keys, but it reminds me of this:

[TexasFlood]

Sorry you damaged your keys, but it reminds me of this:

Is that the one where Kramer ends up with Cubans sleeping in his dresser drawers?

[keyb_gr]

PBT already has a higher melting point than, say, ABS, so that oven must've been rather hot indeed. The 50°C setting would have been a good idea...

[instantkamera]

Is that the one where Kramer ends up with Cubans sleeping in his dresser drawers?

That was Japanese businessmen...

[instantkamera]

Is that the one where Kramer ends up with Cubans sleeping in his dresser drawers?

And the "Cubans" were really Dominicans

[keyboardlover]

From what I've heard, baking an electronic device in the oven can be a good way to fix soldering issues inside (as the solder will re-set). Haven't tried it myself though and I'm sure that mileage varies...

[TexasFlood]

That was Japanese businessmen...

And the "Cubans" were really Dominicans

Oh man, I know just enough Seinfeld to be dangerous, should have consulted my son who has it all committed to memory before posting, :biggrin:

[Voixdelion]

This thread needs to be retitled: "Why boys need parents..."


More examples:
boys001
boys002
boys003
boys004
boys005
boys006
boys007

[itlnstln]

This thread needs to be retitled: "Why boys need parents..."

There was something painfully obvious about the thread title...

[Voixdelion]

There was something painfully obvious about the thread title...

 

VERY painful...

[Voixdelion]

Tasteless Literary Joke time

Show Image

I don't get it.

[Voixdelion]

Hey, that's me as a child!

Well, that explains quite a bit!  :tongue:

[vils]

I don't get it.

Just recall how she died...

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

There was something painfully obvious about the thread title...

I've been drying things in my oven for years.  This is the first time I've destroyed something, and the cause of that was me getting distracted, hitting the wrong button, and leaving the room.  Based on my experience, the risk that something will go wrong outweighs the faster drying times of drying things in the oven.  As you can see from the comments, there may still be a few people who think that using the oven as a dryer is a good idea.

Anyway, do any of you have an extra set of keys?  I can't afford to spend an exorbitant amount of money on new ones, and I don't care what color they are.

[itlnstln]

No biggie; I was just being an ass. Hell, there's people that wash certain parts of their keyboards in the dish washer, and some of them had similar results.

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

I've always considered the dishwasher a horrible idea, for a number of reasons.  At least with the oven, you have control over the temperature... Unless you make a mistake that is.

[TheSoulhunter]

When we got bored in the dorm....

Reminds me of this awesome microwave video...

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[Ekaros]

Hmm, so what is realy melting point of plastic? So if I need to dry my comp parts in future just throw it at bit under 100C and use the air-circulation mode?

[Ekaros]

Depends.

Definitely keep it under 100 deg celcius and 2 minutes though.

Hmm, ok that does look kinda "over-cooked"... Hmm, now I know it would be bad idea, have to think about something which keep it well under 100...

Next to wonder how much it would cost to make keys which could stand almost anything, maybe metal onces...

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

So, even with all of the nutcases on this forum who have 20 keyboards and are willing to spend +$150 on a custom set of keys, none of you have an extra set of Cherry keys sitting around?  Your just going to let a poor, innocent, clean Cherry keyboard sit around unused and unfulfilled.:frown:

[EverythingIBM]

I've always considered the dishwasher a horrible idea, for a number of reasons.  At least with the oven, you have control over the temperature... Unless you make a mistake that is.

Dishwasher is OK for cheap crappy rubber domes (against the common opinion that good qualtiy keyboards can be put in it). Old IBM Model F keyboards would rust.

So, even with all of the nutcases on this forum who have 20 keyboards and are willing to spend +$150 on a custom set of keys, none of you have an extra set of Cherry keys sitting around?  Your just going to let a poor, innocent, clean Cherry keyboard sit around unused and unfulfilled.:frown:

You could always make your own keys out of plasticine?

[microsoft windows]

You can salvage some Cherry-compatible keys off some rubber domes. I know that most Gateway2000 keyboards use Cherry-compatible keys.

[8_INCH_FLOPPY]

I noticed my programmable Gateway2000 Anykey board has the same keys.  I'd never be willing to take them of of that though.  It's such a fantastic keyboard.

[EverythingIBM]

I noticed my programmable Gateway2000 Anykey board has the same keys.  I'd never be willing to take them of of that though.  It's such a fantastic keyboard.

You could always go buy some cheap cherry keys or pull them off a cherry board that isn't a rubber dome. They'd probably be beige though -- but that's okay, beige is cool.

[Ekaros]

You can salvage some Cherry-compatible keys off some rubber domes. I know that most Gateway2000 keyboards use Cherry-compatible keys.

Hmm, intreting... Anyone have any list of which boards have combatible keys for MX switches?

[British]

G81.

You can do some research, though I am not sure which layout you finnish people use.

[Voixdelion]

Hmm, intreting... Anyone have any list of which boards have compatible keys for MX switches?

Well, no list per se, but after peeking at the latest arrival, I do know that the keycaps on the NIB chicony 5191 (white cherry clones)  I got for about $22 shipped from here do fit (almost better than the originals actually - tighter, anyway) on the Adesso  (real cherry blues).  Is that helpful?

[Ekaros]

Well, no list per se, but after peeking at the latest arrival, I do know that the keycaps on the NIB chicony 5191 (white cherry clones)  I got for about $22 shipped from here do fit (almost better than the originals actually - tighter, anyway) on the Adesso  (real cherry blues).  Is that helpful?

Originaly thinking of other Cherry non-g80 models as they do make POS-stuff with finnish/swedish layout, but not mechanical onces... Keycaps like Steerseries 6gv2 pan-nordic model would be good too, acctualy I would buy that board, but I want some tactility...

*Goes to curse them for only making us/uk/de mx-caps*