Our hearts go out to the victims of Harvey in Texas, and Irma in the state of Florida. Once the people are safe and electricity is restored, we’re sure that the recovery will put our boards to work during the reconstruction.

It also got us wondering how our equipment would hold up in a river flooding or tidal surge. We interviewed Gary Laudenslager, senior service tech, about his experience in repairing flooded boards.

The situations – not as tragic as the hurricanes – ranged from a board parked beneath an underpass during street flooding to a customer who accidently left the battery box open during a heavy downpour.

First question Gary asks is “How long was the unit in water?” The shorter the time, the better the chance that the batteries will recover and the electronics may be salvageable.

Next question: “Was it salt or fresh water?” Salt water is both conductive and corrosive, and will do the most damage to the electronics. Fresh water still contains dissolved solids like minerals that can cause problems – less so if the board was powered off when the water damage occurred.

Gary’s most urgent advice: DON’T TURN ON THE BOARD! Instead, remove the electronic components – the controller, the EMS and the display modules – and ship them to us as soon as possible. The SolarTech repair crew will take apart every component and check everything, replacing and testing to restore the unit. The frame will fare better – it’s the electronics that need to be checked.

A reminder: insure your equipment. The cost of repair may be recovered by your claim. And keep the battery compartment lid closed.

Any questions? Call our Tech Support department. The call is free, and we’ll be happy to answer any water damage questions. Stay safe… and dry.