Is my Thermapen ruined?

Good suggestion Randy. No battery until it's totally dry.

On your dashboard with the defroster fan on high is a good way to dry it.

Cheers yall!
Chris

Your battery should be fine just keep it out of the pen until its dried out. I'm 5 years on my battery and Mollyshark said she has never replaced one. -RP

Boatman wrote:

Thanks everybody for the great suggestions. I will put in the rice and post the results next week.

If you think it is still wet inside you could rinse it with distilled water and then do the rice trick. The distilled water should help clean it out and remove any conductive water from the circuit board. Of course I've never tested it with my pen...

I had to replace my battery this year. Radio Shack didn't have them, but after poking around a bit, my local Lowes had them in the checkout endcap and they were cheap too.

-John

Fidel wrote:

I took my thermapen apart and used rubbing alcohol (and a little ethyl alcohol for me) with cotton swabs to remove the corrosion. Left it to dry, reassembled it, and it has worked for a couple years since "the incident".

That's how a pro would clean an electronic board.

 
No don't do that, see my post below. Especially don't get it wet again in distilled/pure water.

There are some interesting ideas above but none should be used on electronics of any type.

There are some specific instructions provided by Thermoworks.

GG

 
Ross, do you recall what the charge was?

Kent

 
They are good stuff over at Thermoworks.

Did Amber email you the re-calibration instructions. If not send me your email address and I will forward the PDF to you.

I would also get a new battery I am not sure if the moisture exposed to the battery will cause battery corrosion.

GG

Just curious - would the new "splash-proof" Thermapen survive an incident like this or does splash-proof refer to quick splash rather than a longer soaking? I'm getting ready to purchase one and am trying to choose between the old version and the new version.

 
I would probably go with the newer version, unless money is an issue.

GG

Ditto.

MIne has never worked since getting exposed - i even went through the cleaning instructions that somebody posted once.

I'm tempted to get the new water "resistant" one, but "holy schlamoly", it's kinda pricey.

Here are some ways to maybe save it, The last one works for sure.


Cell phone in the toilet bowl? Here’s how to fix it
Posted by Karen Datko Rating: tips, electronics, save money, frugal
Your cell phone, pager or iPod has fallen into the toilet bowl, swimming pool or kitchen sink full of water. You fish it out. After you've washed your hands -- depending on the circumstance -- what can you do?

FiscalGeek offers five techniques for restoring the gadget to life in a post called "Frugal fix: Revive your cell phone or electronic devices from water damage." He starts with his "go-to" method, which involves rubbing alcohol.

Here's a short description (don't try this without reading his entire post):

Remove the battery -- immediately. Then take off the battery cover and other compartments, he says.
Submerge the device in a container filled with the alcohol for five minutes.
Let the device dry for an hour or so. "The alcohol will evaporate very quickly but be sure it's really dry," "FiscalGeek" says.
If that doesn't work after several tries, move on to the other options:

Store the phone overnight in a sealed bag of dry rice. The rice acts as a desiccant. (We'll save you the trouble of looking that up. It means "a drying agent.")
Use a Dri-Z-Air dehumidifier. He explains how.
Finally, maybe a hair blower will work.
It's worth a try to salvage the phone or other gadget. Otherwise, you're left with his final suggestion:

Smash it with a hammer and buy a new device. This one works every time.