Cigarette Smoke Harm Solid State Unit ?

I once bought a used pre amp that also heavily reaked as if the original owner was a chain smoker. I now always ask the
environment that a unit was kept in to try to reduce the
chance of buying something used like that again. I did manage to sell that pre amp a while later and it never lost
that smell especially when it heated up from use. I think
this is also very improtant when buying any loudspeakers due
to that they usualy have fabric grills that hold the smell.

I work on electronics for a living and see this all the time. In severe cases, cleaning all of the "gunk" off the circuit board and controls will alter the tuning of the circuitry so drastically that it will no longer function even though it was working fine before cleaning. The tar / nicotene / dust particles have become conductive and are altering the tuning of the circuitry. Once this is removed, a complete realignment is in order to bring it back into normal operation. Keep this in mind if your thinking about grabbing a can of contact cleaner and going to town with a toothbrush. The scary thing is that all of this "sticky gunk" collects in places that are not exposed to high airflow, like the insides of components. Can you imagine what the lungs of these people look like when being directly exposed to inhaling this stuff instead of what has "strayed" off into the air and the surrounding contents (such as the audio gear in question) ???? It boggles the mind sometimes..... Sean

Let me tell you a short story. I have an Uncle who is slightly crazy(been in and out of an institution several times) and he got the great idea of heating his house with candles. We both live in the north east US it tends to get cold here in winter, well the summer before the test he began buying candles by the gross. Half way through the winter he had to replace his computer, his audio reciever and his wireless doorbell among other little electornic devices. He discovered it is cheaper to buy heating oil. Bottom line soot=short elctronic life.

Darn, so much for using the smoke house, out back, for my dedicated listening room.

Well Dekay, you might not have your electronics for long, but at least you wouldn't have to go far for some good "eats" while you're listening : ) Sean
>