3 Ways To Check If Your Electronics Enclosure Is FULLY Waterproof

Stopping water ingress is a top priority for anyone designing, repairing, or using outdoor electronics enclosures in extreme and wet environments. Water is electricity’s nemesis due to two properties – electrolytes and oxidisation. 

Electrolytes are tiny particles which allow electrons to jump from their position in the circuit, frying components. Oxidisation happens when the oxygen in the water steals sub-atomic molecules from metal, causing corrosion. 

Water can easily short circuit, damage precious metals, rust ferrous components, and cause cladding materials to weaken and decay. It’s not just rain and snow you need to insulate against, either – condensation can cause many of the same issues by building up over time.

It may be tempting to try to use older or cheaper equipment as a ‘one-size-fits-all’ answer to getting outdoor boxes up and running quickly but this is a mistake – botched and rushed installations are leading causes of water damage to electronics. 

Here’s a short guide to three core practices to ensure your enclosures always remain sealed, watertight, and durable.

1. Check The IP Rating…

Every industrial-grade enclosure solution carries an IP rating that tells you how resistant is it to water entering it (Ingress Protection, or IP). Ingress Protection measures both particulate contamination and water ingress.

These are scaled from 0 (no protection) to 10 (optimum)

For water resistance, you want to look at the second digit of the IP number for the outdoor solution (ie enclosure AND all the sealed interfaces). IP 1-5 offer passive protection against rain, light jets and splashes, and sprays (such as roadside mist). IP6-9X offer resistance to industrial-strength jets, dense steam, and high-pressure, deep water installations. Anything rated above 7 is safe for limited use underwater.

You should also consider your anticipated material lifespan carefully. The manufacturer should be able to provide you with data that shows the meantime until product failure (i.e. ten years). 

2. Run Full Immersion Testing

If you can, test your complete enclosure solution  (including all integrated interfaces) before putting it to use. An early prototype can have faults that might go unseen until years later without proper trials.

If you’ve developed a custom design, commercial product testing labs can repeatedly simulate both prolonged and temporary water exposure and give you a full report on ingress and projected field performance. You can streamline seals, materials, and ventilation, all based on their advice.

They’ll also apply physical checks to your design – such as the ‘paperclip’ test, which searches for any hairline crack water might get in through. They might also advise adding outlets – valved spaces where trapped micro particles of water can get out from the device, keeping it dry.

3. Runtime Monitoring And Routine Checks

The best indicator of performance is empirical evidence. Once you have your enclosures up and running, make sure you schedule routine maintenance and logs to check for signs of ingress. When it’s time to replace or repair your electrical enclosures, you’ll have the data and experience you need to optimise your designs.

Waterproof Electrical Enclosures From GTT Wireless

Do you need custom-built, water-resistant electrical enclosures (with multiple real-world interfaces) for outdoor and extreme environment use? Talk to GTT Wireless. We offer specialised, adaptable enclosures (with all the correctly-sealed real-world interfaces your application needs) suitable for standard electronics and telecoms equipment alike. A high IP rating comes as standard.

Contact us to discuss your project