Moisture/rain in camera ir and lens

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spixel

Getting the hang of it
Sep 4, 2015
241
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The main thing I want to get rid of is the slight clouding on the lens as its affecting the image quality. If I put a hairdryer on it for a few seconds, it disappears and image quality improves alot but comes back after it cools down. I tried opening the front of the camera but it was dry so must have come in through the glass coverings on the front and is now trapped in there. Any suggestions?




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I haven't opened up a turret before, but just a week or two ago I had this problem with a Dahua varifocal bullet.

When I opened the SD card door, water poured out onto my table. About as much water as you could hold in the palm of your hand, which is quite a bit for the inside of a camera!

I dried it as well as I could and left a fan blowing into it for a good long while to make sure any remaining moisture was out before closing it back up. As far as I can tell, the water got in around the edges of the glass on the front. So I'm guessing the same happened with your turret there. It probably pooled up along the edges of those three rings and seeped in over time. Dahua clearly needs to work on their waterproofing.
 
bp2008 said:
I haven't opened up a turret before, but just a week or two ago I had this problem with a Dahua varifocal bullet.

When I opened the SD card door, water poured out onto my table. About as much water as you could hold in the palm of your hand, which is quite a bit for the inside of a camera!

I dried it as well as I could and left a fan blowing into it for a good long while to make sure any remaining moisture was out before closing it back up. As far as I can tell, the water got in around the edges of the glass on the front. So I'm guessing the same happened with your turret there. It probably pooled up along the edges of those three rings and seeped in over time. Dahua clearly needs to work on their waterproofing.
Click to expand...
Its actually a bullet not a turret. I took off the 4 screws on the front and pulled it out a bit, not too much as its still mounted and theres cables attached. There was no water I could see so I'd assume its trapped between the circular glass which makes it difficult to get out

ds-2ce16d5t-it5-tvi-hd-and-cvbs-80mir-bullet-camera-hikvision_1.jpg
 
Well the hair dryer resulted in some smelly fumes, everything still working though...
 
Take the camera apart as much as possible and bake it in an oven ~160F - 180F for at least a few days. Try some type of rain shield when remounting.
 
spixel said:
Well the hair dryer resulted in some smelly fumes,
Click to expand...
That's a bit worrying - a hairdryer depending on settings can create an airflow plenty hot enough to damage electronic and plastic components, connectors, wires etc.
Use with caution.

As for the moisture - it does not need to be visible inside the body for condensation to appear on a cold surface.
All you need is humid air inside the camera, and either a dessicant pack that's no longer working, or an imperfectly sealed joint allowing humid air from outside to be replenished.
Those EXIR LEDs are not sealed with their own compartment, nor is the glass lens cover.

Check the gasket between the camera body parts - maybe it's not properly fitted in its grooves.
 
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alastairstevenson said:
That's a bit worrying - a hairdryer depending on settings can create an airflow plenty hot enough to damage electronic and plastic components, connectors, wires etc.
Use with caution.

As for the moisture - it does not need to be visible inside the body for condensation to appear on a cold surface.
All you need is humid air inside the camera, and either a dessicant pack that's no longer working, or an imperfectly sealed joint allowing humid air from outside to be replenished.
Those EXIR LEDs are not sealed with their own compartment, nor is the glass lens cover.

Check the gasket between the camera body parts - maybe it's not properly fitted in its grooves.
Click to expand...

Yeah I didn't realise how hot the hair dryer was, something definitely melted but all functions are working so not too worried, camera is 4 years old anyway
I think it was rain coming in the front as there was unusually heavy rainfall recently.

I left the camera open today in the sunny weather and most of the moisture is gone now and image quality is back to normal, will see how long it lasts
 
i had a similar problem, my hikvision turret cameras were down for 4 months before i could power them back up, and within a few days of powering them up, they developed moisture in the lens and ir led after the first foggy morning. I disconnected power, took them down, pulled off the micro sd slot cover, let them sit for a couple of days, all the while reading about swapping out desiccant bags or taking them out to cook them so as to remove moisture, but i didnt want to tear my cameras apart, so i powered them back up with the sd card cover still removed, and left them in a closet with the nvr running for a couple of weeks (probably longer than needed, but i had the time). when i got to the point of mounting the cameras again, i took some automotive silicone grease to the rubber gasket on the sd card slot caps, reassembled, and re mounted them. been running great for over a month now, through heavy FL rains and drastic temperature changes with no lens condensation.
 
either get some new dessicant packs or dry out the old one in the oven at 170-180F for an hour or so...

that is, AFTER thoroughly drying out the rest of the cam and before reassembling with improved sealing...
 
Had some more rain and a very small bit of water is in the bottom of the left IR, I'd say thats definitely where its getting in. Any suggestion how to seal that up better?
 
Well unless you can fix the moisture ingress problem, you will always have the issue.
The camera may be working but the housing is the issue.
 
@spixel , you may find this both interesting and helpful: my post #14 in "Dahua Z5 water condensation inside lens".

Many cameras of various manufacturers and models do this from time to time and IMO, it's worth addressing yourself for this camera, maybe for the last time.
 
I've only had to seal up one camera due to moisture ingression.
This was dealt with by heating up the shell to soften up the the existing sealant, removing the glass and cleaning up the mount to remove any residue, then resealing with clear varnish around the mount.
It might also be possible to simply apply some clear varnish around the outside where the glass meets the case so that it wicks in to any gap.
 
I have used this stuff on a troubled cam as well as pool connections...works great.

Annotation 2019-05-03 082729.jpg
 
Just remember before ANY sealant/gasket work......get the moisture OUT before re-assembly, re-install DRY desiccant bags if bags were in place before, re-assemble in a moderate temp and low humidity environment.

If you trap moisture-laden air inside with those great new gaskets and/or external sealant measures, you'll likely see condensation again at some point. If you want anything to remain inside and not get out, it would be DRY air.
 
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