So, on a whim i checked a local millwright business in town. And they thought there waa some old pc's but wasnt sure. Went around what basically was an abandoned factory but was now their over flow and found a lot. Short on time but snagged an Aopen baby at pc with keyboard but this thing is covered in grease, oil and metal filling..even from the psu fan. Definitely the nastiest pc ive found to date. Havent opened it yet to check insides but dang. Anyone elae ever risk death and disease to aquire old pc's like this that ran industrial machines?
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Grimy finds
- Thread starter New2vtgpc
- Start date
RadRacer203
Veteran Member
Sometimes you just have to draw the line. My line is when something is so full of mouse nest or corrosion it likely won't work again. The one exception has been my Zenith z-200 that was nearly rusted through with battery leakage. Took a chance and one backplane later it's good as new. I did have a chance to get an original IBM Academic System but it was so full of mouse nests I only grabbed the RISC card, floppy drives, and hard drives (which likely won't ever work again).
True. Theres no mouse nest it this (thank god) but everything coated it oily grime..but doesnt look like it was powered up recently and I don't see any burnt or blown parts (at the moment) the psu might be an issue. It'll be a long time restore and if it is dead oh well I got a AT case and few parts for free
NeXT
Veteran Member
I have done "salvage operations" in places so nasty, the carpet was excessively damp and the walls were splotchy where the black mold was starting to come through.
I'm sure that one place alone bumped 20 years off my life but hey, beats the place where you could actively hear and see rats running around over/under/through piles of old unsold department store stock.
I'm sure that one place alone bumped 20 years off my life but hey, beats the place where you could actively hear and see rats running around over/under/through piles of old unsold department store stock.
Anything that an animal peed or pooped in/on is not something I will touch.
The worst machines tend to be from heavy smokers, pretty much everything needs taken apart and washed with dish soap and then dried.
I snagged an IBM PS/2 model 90 desktop from a recycler that was wall to wall white inside. I think it might have been lint. Machine cleaned up good as new. Also snagged a nice 486 from a thrift store that was full of wood chips and dust so a woodworkers machine I guess.
Speaking of nasty when I was in college I worked at a pizza shop in a large building split in two where the other side was a grocery store. The Pizza shop owner owned the whole building and rented the other side. I guess the grocery store owner was behind in rent and paying his employees so one day he left town and locked the place up with all the food inside and the power off during the summer. Well it took weeks for the building owner to get a court order to evict and toss the stuff inside which by that time were infested with roaches. Luckily none of them came to the other side of the building and exterminators came and nuked the place twice. The Pizza shop owner had all the food and equipment moved, but when he took over the whole building and I got stuck helping remove the floor and take the drop ceiling down and there were dead roaches everywhere.
The worst machines tend to be from heavy smokers, pretty much everything needs taken apart and washed with dish soap and then dried.
I snagged an IBM PS/2 model 90 desktop from a recycler that was wall to wall white inside. I think it might have been lint. Machine cleaned up good as new. Also snagged a nice 486 from a thrift store that was full of wood chips and dust so a woodworkers machine I guess.
Speaking of nasty when I was in college I worked at a pizza shop in a large building split in two where the other side was a grocery store. The Pizza shop owner owned the whole building and rented the other side. I guess the grocery store owner was behind in rent and paying his employees so one day he left town and locked the place up with all the food inside and the power off during the summer. Well it took weeks for the building owner to get a court order to evict and toss the stuff inside which by that time were infested with roaches. Luckily none of them came to the other side of the building and exterminators came and nuked the place twice. The Pizza shop owner had all the food and equipment moved, but when he took over the whole building and I got stuck helping remove the floor and take the drop ceiling down and there were dead roaches everywhere.
rittwage
Veteran Member
I no longer take anything I don't trust behind me in the car on the way home, or will just be too much work to clean. Life is too short.
Well open up the machines looking for roaches before you stick it in your car or house. Just because it looks clean doesn't mean it is.
As far as cleaning goes I tend to strip pretty much any really old machine looking for things broken or loose screws and wash the boards anyway. 30+ years of dust, lint, hair, etc needs to be cleaned out. Keyboards in general get filthy very quickly so they need cleaned.
VERAULT
Veteran Member
I dont mind rust.. Mouse nests.. Some mold.. Or dead bugs.. I do mind live bugs(i.e. roaches) ... But you know what skeeves me out the most? One thing grossed me out the most when i did field service work.. College boys laptop keyboards...
bladamson
Veteran Member
Eh, I raise cattle for my day job, so I am used to being covered in animal feces. :3
Before that I did some programmable controls for an industrial electrical contractor. One job was at a rendering plant (where they process dead animals down into... stuff). Now *that* was nassstay. Both the sights *and* smells.
Anyway, I've had pretty good luck hosing nasty greasy grunge parts down with (non-chlorinated) brake cleaner. Brush and/or air compressor to get all the chunks out once it's loose. More brake cleaner. Good as new. :3
Before that I did some programmable controls for an industrial electrical contractor. One job was at a rendering plant (where they process dead animals down into... stuff). Now *that* was nassstay. Both the sights *and* smells.
Anyway, I've had pretty good luck hosing nasty greasy grunge parts down with (non-chlorinated) brake cleaner. Brush and/or air compressor to get all the chunks out once it's loose. More brake cleaner. Good as new. :3
VERAULT
Veteran Member
Because it was cold? Ill put up with some frigid temps if it led to some good finds or deals..... And long island is cold and windy,..... Thats it in a nutshell in the winter.
Worst pc I ran into was in a factory that made industrial air compressors, and this pc was in a room they used to perform a 24 hour "burn-in" test on diesel powered portable units. A hose on the hydraulic pump went out and everything in the room had a layer of hydraulic fluid inside and out. I figured I'd never be able to clean it all out, and let it go. They had a store room full of old pc's that getting too old to redeploy in the offices and factory areas.