ethanol

[aBattleBorn]

is ethanol alcohol is safe for electronic use?

if i can't get iso alcohol is ethanol is a good replacement?

thanks in advance

[circeseye]

28 minutes ago, aBattleBorn said:

is ethanol alcohol is safe for electronic use?

if i can't get iso alcohol is ethanol is a good replacement?

thanks in advance

no
Ethyl Alcohol, or ethanol (C₂H₅OH), is the type used in the production of alcoholic beverages. . Alcohol, or ethanol, is the intoxicating agent found in beer, wine and liquor.

just get rubbing alcohol in the pharmacy section

[FlappyBoobs]

As long as you unplug everything and let it dry you can even use sterile water to clean electronics. So yes, you can use "ethanol alcohol" to clean electronics. However, it doesn't evaporate as quickly, and you still need to find it in super high concentrations (70%+) for it to be really effective. Lower concentrations will work, but not in the same way as you would expect. Basically if you are thinking of using vodka, then don't, but if you can get actual 70% cleaning grade ethanol then it will work very similarly to iso. 

 

Ethanol IS used as a cleaner, but iso is used more commonly because it doesn't dry out your skin as much. What country are you in? maybe you could pick up the better stuff from a medical supply store.

[circeseye]

4 minutes ago, FlappyBoobs said:

As long as you unplug everything and let it dry you can even use sterile water to clean electronics. So yes, you can use "ethanol alcohol" to clean electronics. However, it doesn't evaporate as quickly, and you still need to find it in super high concentrations (70%+) for it to be really effective. Lower concentrations will work, but not in the same way as you would expect. Basically if you are thinking of using vodka, then don't, but if you can get actual 70% cleaning grade ethanol then it will work very similarly to iso. 

 

Ethanol IS used as a cleaner, but iso is used more commonly because it doesn't dry out your skin as much. What country are you in? maybe you could pick up the better stuff from a medical supply store.

problem with 70% cleaning grade ethanol is is WAY more expensive...

[FlappyBoobs]

1 minute ago, circeseye said:

problem with 70% cleaning grade ethanol is is WAY more expensive...

But if you can't get iso then that is your next best option.

[TheKDub]

40 minutes ago, aBattleBorn said:

is ethanol alcohol is safe for electronic use?

if i can't get iso alcohol is ethanol is a good replacement?

thanks in advance

I wouldn't personally use ethanol. Get Isopropyl if you can.

 

Depending on what the ethanol is denatured with, it could leave behind residue. (Bitrex or Denatonium Benzoate may leave residue. I'm sure there are plenty of others that can as well). It also doesn't work the same as isopropyl alcohol as a solvent and may not do as good of a job at cleaning (don't forget the possible residue).

[circeseye]

3 minutes ago, FlappyBoobs said:

But if you can't get iso then that is your next best option.

i forgot about the cleaning grade ...just because of how pricey and can be harder to get

[Guest]

if you can't get isopropyl, then maybe ethanol isn't the best, but just use methylated spirits

[aBattleBorn]

1 hour ago, circeseye said:

problem with 70% cleaning grade ethanol is is WAY more expensive...

in my country it is actually easier to find and cheaper, i don't know if what i got is cleaning grade,it is 95% ethanol supposedly for lab use.

1 hour ago, FlappyBoobs said:

As long as you unplug everything and let it dry you can even use sterile water to clean electronics. So yes, you can use "ethanol alcohol" to clean electronics. However, it doesn't evaporate as quickly, and you still need to find it in super high concentrations (70%+) for it to be really effective. Lower concentrations will work, but not in the same way as you would expect. Basically if you are thinking of using vodka, then don't, but if you can get actual 70% cleaning grade ethanol then it will work very similarly to iso. 

 

Ethanol IS used as a cleaner, but iso is used more commonly because it doesn't dry out your skin as much. What country are you in? maybe you could pick up the better stuff from a medical supply store.

i don't think about using vodka lol, my dumb ass found 95% alcohol so i ordered one liter and got it today turned out it is ethanol.

1 hour ago, circeseye said:

no
Ethyl Alcohol, or ethanol (C₂H₅OH), is the type used in the production of alcoholic beverages. . Alcohol, or ethanol, is the intoxicating agent found in beer, wine and liquor.

just get rubbing alcohol in the pharmacy section

rubbing alcohol is better than 95% ethanol?

 

1 hour ago, TheKDub said:

I wouldn't personally use ethanol. Get Isopropyl if you can.

 

Depending on what the ethanol is denatured with, it could leave behind residue. (Bitrex or Denatonium Benzoate may leave residue. I'm sure there are plenty of others that can as well). It also doesn't work the same as isopropyl alcohol as a solvent and may not do as good of a job at cleaning (don't forget the possible residue).

the thing is i can only get 70% rubbing alcohol,i found 95% alcohol for cheap so i ordered one liter and got it today turned out it is ethanol.

1 hour ago, circeseye said:

i forgot about the cleaning grade ...just because of how pricey and can be harder to get

what special about the cleaning grade ethanol?

57 minutes ago, floofer said:

if you can't get isopropyl, then maybe ethanol isn't the best, but just use methylated spirits

never heard of it,where can i get it?

[Guest]

2 minutes ago, aBattleBorn said:

 

never heard of it,where can i get it?

hardware store or supermarket, should be by the turpentine. Don't mistake and use turps on your PC. You want the purple fluid.

[Stormseeker9]

3 hours ago, floofer said:

hardware store or supermarket, should be by the turpentine. Don't mistake and use turps on your PC. You want the purple fluid.

Purple fluid? My iso was clear 

[Mira Yurizaki]

The problem with using ethanol is how clean the solution is. If you try to use something like 140 proof vodka, I'm pretty sure the remaining 30% of stuff isn't exactly all that clean (I mean, safe to consume, but it might leave streaks or contaminates). But if you can guarantee it's more like 70% alcohol and 30% pure water (or something else equally clean), I don't really see any difference between using Ethanol vs. Isopropyl.

[Guest]

5 hours ago, Stormseeker9 said:

Purple fluid? My iso was clear 

Meths

[Tristerin]

10 hours ago, FlappyBoobs said:

-snip-

I like your name, and what it represents.

[Kroon]

10 hours ago, circeseye said:

problem with 70% cleaning grade ethanol is is WAY more expensive...

 

That depends on where you live.  Here in Sweden +90% Denatred Ethanol is easy to find and really cheap.  I use that to cleaning electrical components without a problem.  Also good to remove bacterial from all kind of surfaces.

[circeseye]

52 minutes ago, Kroon said:

 

That depends on where you live.  Here in Sweden +90% Denatred Ethanol is easy to find and really cheap.  I use that to cleaning electrical components without a problem.  Also good to remove bacterial from all kind of surfaces.

ahhh interesting here Isopropyl or rubbing alcohol is cheap and easy to find...50 to 99 cents a bottle depending on store

[TheKDub]

10 hours ago, aBattleBorn said:

the thing is i can only get 70% rubbing alcohol,i found 95% alcohol for cheap so i ordered one liter and got it today turned out it is ethanol.

I'd return it then.

 

Try finding Isopropyl. Not sure what your country has, but in the US it's pretty easy to find in supermarkets and pharmacies.

[circeseye]

11 hours ago, aBattleBorn said:

the thing is i can only get 70% rubbing alcohol,i found 95% alcohol for cheap so i ordered one liter and got it today turned out it is ethanol.

 

rubbing alcohol is Isopropyl  just a different name for it and 70% is normal

[manikyath]

if you're having trouble finding isopropyl alcohol, here's two hints:

- most pharmacies (at least around here) sell something close enough as disinfecting alcohol

- i found this spray can called "electronics cleaning solvent" that turned out to be 99.7% isopropyl alcohol (and 0.3% of a gas mix that's so juicy that butane isnt the flammable gas they're worried about)

[mariushm]

You can also find it in veterinary stores because it's used for horses and other animals. It may be only 70% purity (rest being distilled water), but you may also find 90% or higher purity.

LCD screening liquids are usually isopropyl alcohol 50%..70% or more , distilled water , a few drops of perfume and super tiny amount of anti mold chemicals.

 

To be effective for cleaning circuit boards, fluxes and so on, it would be best to have 90% or better purity. To desinfect hands and whatever, it's best to be around 90%, maybe even a bit less than 90% - a bit lower purity will actually kill bacteria a bit more effectively...some microbes can survive a bath in too pure alcohol. 

 

If you're still out of luck, look for regular sanitary alcohol, often light blue in my country... it's basically 70% or more ethanol, distilled water, some tiny amount of a chemical that kills bacteria and a few drops of a methilene blue that makes the liquid blue and makes you puke if you drink it.

It's safe to use it as solvent, to clean flux etc but isopropyl alcohol would work a bit better.

Here's an example (you can zoom on picture to see ingredients if are that interested) : https://www.mertecom.ro/dezinfectanti/4565-alcool-sanitar-spirt-saniblue-500ml

 

[akio123008]

May I suggest using petrol? The stuff you can get at hardware stores sold in plastic bottles. It's quite cheap and I use it to clean basically anything.

[xBLUEDOGx]

its good as long as it doesn't leave tiny particles of ethanol like it does in carburetors with ethanol gas....