Heaters in the Lens to Prevent Condensation?

[Mike]

I cleaned up that one out front as well. There's definitely a lens flare there from the front light, but it was also in need of a little cleaning, there were some spots.

Point it down and to the right. You don't need all that wall on there and the light is defining causing issues.

Also for anyone else reading this thread, the IR lights give out a certain degree of heat which help but as pointed out earlier, if you are getting condensation inside your cameras then you have a hardware issue. Try what @Cleck said if you feel like tinkering.

 

[Cleck]

Should have had this conversation Friday, I was up on a ladder cleaning the damn thing on Saturday, ha. I would have definitely re-aimed it. You're right. Now that I can actually define my MD zones a bit better, I can move the cam a bit. This will be beneficial so I can see more of that front apron area, but I'll probably have to do night profiles because of the increased amount of spots for headlights to light up and trigger my shit.

As for the condensation, I really am wondering if this is an issue w/ the metal body and the IR heating up the lens, which is probably plastic in most cases. Even this cheap camera used metal, so that probably doesn't help the temp change all that much. Cold case and warm innards and cap/lens with questionable sealing from the factory makes for a bunch of problems, methinks. That being said, was really happy w/ them through the winter this year, they held up well.

 

[bigredfish]

I have two Z12's, a plain old 5231 and an 8231 here in Florida on poles over two years, (3 going on 4 for the 8231) in muggy Central Florida, hurricanes and all, Ive had no trouble with condensation... 'spose its more of a big temperature swing?

Hurricane Irma 2017 (HFW8231E-Z)
Transformers blowing at about 1:16

(switch YT player to 1080p)

 

[1fxman]

I purchased some Dahua cameras from Andy about 4 months ago. A 5231 and 4231. We had rain the last few day now 2 have water on the inside lens. What’s the fix? Thanks.

 

[fenderman]

I purchased some Dahua cameras from Andy about 4 months ago. A 5231 and 4231. We had rain the last few day now 2 have water on the inside lens. What’s the fix? Thanks.

Did you open them to insert SD cards? Did you properly seal them?

 

[1fxman]

No, I never opened them until after they got the condensation. I wiped the water of the lens added some silicone around the glass, and put them back together. I put a little roof over the 5231 and so far it’s still clear. But as soon as I hooked the 4231 up it slowly started to fog up again. I think the spongy part that goes around the lens and then presses up against glass had socked up some of the water. That just my theory. Thanks Fenderman.

 

[Cleck]

No, I never opened them until after they got the condensation. I wiped the water of the lens added some silicone around the glass, and put them back together. I put a little roof over the 5231 and so far it’s still clear. But as soon as I hooked the 4231 up it slowly started to fog up again. I think the spongy part that goes around the lens and then presses up against glass had socked up some of the water. That just my theory. Thanks Fenderman.

Once mine started fogging up, I opened them, hit both sides w/ Rain-x treatment, and they've been great ever since, even through winter and all sorts of other weather. I know this isn't a great fix, but hey, it worked and will do so until I upgrade them w/ better units.

 

[J Sigmo]

The cameras need to be well-sealed so they stay dry inside. While fogging of the inside of the lens cover is annoying, I see it as a symptom, but not the disease.

What I'd be worried about would be damage to the electronics if condensation was also occurring on the circuit boards. To me, condensation on the inside of the lens cover means condensation could also be happening everywhere else inside of the camera.

If water is getting into the camera, you need to find out where the camera's seal is bad and correct that. Also, if you do get visible condensation inside, you know that the desiccant is saturated and must be replaced or regenerated, and the interior of the whole camera needs to be thoroughly dried so no moisture is trapped inside once you do get the camera sealed up.

Moisture can damage the electronics, and can also allow fungus to grow, even between lens elements. The fungus will actually eat some lens coatings. That damage is unrepairable.

External condensation is a different problem. As mentioned above, you won't likely ever see condensation or mist forming on the outside surfaces of these ethernet-connected cameras because they're sort of power hungry, and they always feel a bit warm to the touch just from their normal power consumption. Condensation forms when the dew point of the air is higher than the temperature of an object to which it is exposed.

A battery-operated camera may occasionally have condensation form on its exterior if the air temperature warms up faster than the camera warms up and the humidity is high. But this is because of the very low power that a battery-operated camera must have in order to have long battery life. Low power consumption means little heating.

Our wired IP cameras are usually immune to external condensation by virtue of their rather high power consumption.

Internal condensation is reason for worry! It means water is inside of the camera, and this needs to be corrected ASAP.

 

[Cleck]

What's a good way to seal cameras? Mine have an outer ring that clamps/tightens down on the lens that goes over the camera itself. That lens has a rubber gasket around it that is supposed to create the seal once the ring clamps down. Anything I can add to that?

Also, I can't get those packets in my camera. There's no way (it seems to access the rear of the camera body to add them. It doesn't look like the night vision sensors can be moved to allow something behind them either

 

[J Sigmo]

What's a good way to seal cameras? Mine have an outer ring that clamps/tightens down on the lens that goes over the camera itself. That lens has a rubber gasket around it that is supposed to create the seal once the ring clamps down. Anything I can add to that?

Also, I can't get those packets in my camera. There's no way (it seems to access the rear of the camera body to add them. It doesn't look like the night vision sensors can be moved to allow something behind them either

I see you haven't gotten any responses yet to this question.

I suspect that what you're calling a "lens" is actually a dome that covers the camera and protects it.

There are a lot of different cameras out there, and each model would have its own issues and ways that might help seal it.

Sometimes you have to disassemble the camera a bit to get into where the desiccant packs are, so that can be a bit of work.

I can imagine the seals used on cameras deteriorating and no longer being compliant so that they don't squeeze into the small openings they're supposed to seal anymore. And I can imagine things just not being tight enough.

I think once you get a camera well dried inside, and its desiccant replaced, you could seal up any openings with something like Silicone RTV sealant. That will stop water, but may not stop water vapor. One thing we see with some electrical enclosures is that they heat and cool. And as they do, the air inside expands and contracts. And that can cause the enclosure to "breathe" even if it's fairly well sealed. The things need to be extremely well sealed to resist breathing. And if there is moisture in the air, as the enclosure breathes, moisture can enter. And once the desiccant is exhausted, you can end up with enough moisture inside to cause problems, including condensation on the inside surfaces when the outside temperature is below the inside temperature.

Every enclosure presents its own weaknesses and challenges.

 

[Cleck]

I see you haven't gotten any responses yet to this question.

I suspect that what you're calling a "lens" is actually a dome that covers the camera and protects it.

*snip*

Yeah, it's a bullet camera, so I guess in this case we'd call it a dome. Yeah, the gasket goes around the dome and sits against the housing while the ring screws down and presses/clamps it against the housing to "seal" it.

If they weren't all up now, I'd take pics of it to show you, but it seems to be a sealed unit otherwise. I removed the rear of the housing to try and open it up, hoping I'd get to the back and hopefully the desiccant packs or so I could add some, but it appears it wasn't designed to be opened.

That being said, I just found a video on a similar camera that shows how to access the sd card slot on that model, and you do so by removing the front of the camera. Maybe I can try that on this one too.

 

[J Sigmo]

I guess on a bullet camera, I'd just call that a "window" over the lens. From your previous post, I was envisioning a dome style camera.

Either way, every camera will have its own design and its own potential points of failure in the sealing of the enclosure.

Good luck. Getting and maintaining a good seal is important no matter what cameras you're using. They need to be water tight and even air tight in my opinion.