Does water damage tripods and dollys?

[TruEsTaR]

My mom's basement was flooded and I had some stuff down there.

it was about 9-10 feet of water for around 11-12 hours.

A Davis & Sanford ProVista Tripod and Head Davis & Sanford Tripod

& A Tiffen W3 Universal Folding Dolly with Handle Tiffen W3 Universal Folding Handle

Is what I had down there.

What type of damage do you think I should expect and what should I look out for?

Should I clean off the Tripod and Dolly right away, or wait two days for the insurance adjuster to come check them out, incase she decides to replace them (if she accepts the claim).

Any advice is much appreciated.

Thanks a lot guys!

Truestar

 

[Alcove Audio]

Take pictures of the equipment in place.

Take pictures of the equipment on a neutral background.

(The above is for the insurance company.)

Rinse everything thoroughly with fresh, clean water.

Disassemble (make diagrams for reassembly if you need to) and clean further. Make lots of notes on obvious damage, and take more pix for the insurance company.

Dry with cloths and paper towels; for electronics devices use a hair dryer if there isn't a strong, bright sun.

Next "detail" clean things - Use Q-tips & toothpicks and whatever cleaner is appropriate.

Reassemble; lubricate things that need it. Make notes about things that don't work properly after cleaning.


My brother-in-law was a sonar operator on nuclear submarines and had lots of training cleaning up wet, damaged electronics and other equipment; he walked me through procedures when my studio was flooded in '07. I managed to save quite a bit of gear using the above procedures.

 

[licenseless]

this happened to me... but was dropped in the ocean ... stupid sea wall...

if it is a fiberglass (not plastic) tripod... its very possible you will loose it because of swelling in the fiberglass...

if its metal and plastic and rubber... just spray the whole assembly down with wd40 as soon as possible to make sure you get all the water and dirt and grime off... adding more water can do damage to any rubber or non stainless steal parts on the rig... and wd40 does wonders on the springs and everything else...

if you can take it all apart... anything that is metal spray it with carb cleaner then put some gear lube on it if it is a spring or bearing head... just make sure you get grease back onto any bearings ... that is a must...

mine was fine after a good hose down with wd40... and a re-lube... good ole manfroto... i love you manfroto hahahahahaha

 

[zim9000]

This is just my thought, but if he touches those things and cleans them up, they might not give him anything for it. Their is also the possibility that if they approve the damages, they could pay you for the cost of those items/replace them. Leaving you with equipment you may be able to still clean and could get money to buy more stuff, or a second set of everything. That's just what popped in my head. Can't say there is any solidity behind the idea though.

 

[licenseless]

This is just my thought, but if he touches those things and cleans them up, they might not give him anything for it. Their is also the possibility that if they approve the damages, they could pay you for the cost of those items/replace them. Leaving you with equipment you may be able to still clean and could get money to buy more stuff, or a second set of everything. That's just what popped in my head. Can't say there is any solidity behind the idea though.

well first off... insurance scams are dangerous hhahahahahahahahahahah but i do think its definitely not a bad idea to wait until the insuraunce adjuster looks at the damage...

the tripod is a good reason to wait for insurance adjuster to see if they are going to replace it

but the modified 40 dollar dolly might not warrant waiting on the adjuster... considering those wheels will ruin fast... and 40 bucks gets ya another one... and waiting a few days to see if an adjuster is going to notice that its been modified already so its value is down from stock... (and if some guy on amazon is able to make money off modifying dollys and still sells them for dirt cheap) i wouldnt be surprised if they dont give ya crap for it

but... go ahead and take pictures first... before cleaning... shit... take video hahahahaht thats always better

 

[zim9000]

well first off... insurance scams are dangerous hhahahahahahahahahahah but i do think its definitely not a bad idea to wait until the insuraunce adjuster looks at the damage...

Actually, there would be no scam involved since it would have been legitimately down there. Now if he saw the basement was flooded and said, heck I have an idea, I'm going to throw all that stuff that I have that doesn't work in the water so I can get easy money for it. That would be a scam.

 

[licenseless]

Actually, there would be no scam involved since it would have been legitimately down there. Now if he saw the basement was flooded and said, heck I have an idea, I'm going to throw all that stuff that I have that doesn't work in the water so I can get easy money for it. That would be a scam.

yeah i miss read what you wrote... i was thinking you were saying just leave it as it is in hopes that it gets worse so that when they show up you can get money for it and possible salvage it... in other words help the damage along... but i reread it ... my bad... hahahahahahhaah

either way... doesnt sound like a bad way to get more equipment... COME ON TYPHOON SEASON!!! hahahahahahahhahahaha