Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

Mac mini m1 leaking liquid, won’t turn on

Status
Not open for further replies.
chrfr said:
Heat inside won't cause condensation.
Click to expand...
It could.

Rising heat could pull in moist air, which then comes into contact with some sort of great heat conductor; and by the time that same air leaves the computer there's less moisture in it. It could happen because of bad design, or it could be by how an unfortunate draft is happening in that area.

The pics in this case makes it seem more of a case of OP messing up when watering his plants, though; or a case of an upset whatever companion beast uses that pet bed on the floor.
 
svanstrom said:
It could.

Rising heat could pull in moist air, which then comes into contact with some sort of great heat conductor; and by the time that same air leaves the computer there's less moisture in it. It could happen because of bad design, or it could be by how an unfortunate draft is happening in that area.

The pics in this case makes it seem more of a case of OP messing up when watering his plants, though; or a case of an upset whatever companion beast uses that pet bed on the floor.
Click to expand...
The only way condensation could occur inside the mini is if the inside of the mini is colder than the air going into it. Condensation happens on cold surfaces that cool air down so the air can hold less water. At a given humidity, the temperature at which condensation occurs is known as the dew point. When running, the mini will always be hotter than the ambient environment, since it is dissipating power. Because it's hotter, any air that goes into the mini will get heated up, and will become less humid than when it went into the mini (the same amount of water will be held in the air, but since the air is hotter it has more total water capacity so this relative humidity is lower).

Condensation on a hot surface is physically impossible. The only way there could be vapor-based condensation in the mini is if (as someone previously suggested) a hot beverage was steaming supersaturated air directly into the mini's air intake. In this case, the mini may be colder than the steam, so condensation could form inside.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Celerondon and chrfr
uller6 said:
The only way condensation could occur inside the mini is if the inside of the mini is colder than the air going into it. Condensation happens on cold surfaces that cool air down so the air can hold less water. At a given humidity, the temperature at which condensation occurs is known as the dew point. When running, the mini will always be hotter than the ambient environment, since it is dissipating power. Because it's hotter, any air that goes into the mini will get heated up, and will become less humid than when it went into the mini (the same amount of water will be held in the air, but since the air is hotter it has more total water capacity so this relative humidity is lower).

Condensation on a hot surface is physically impossible. The only way there could be vapor-based condensation in the mini is if (as someone previously suggested) a hot beverage was steaming supersaturated air directly into the mini's air intake. In this case, the mini may be colder than the steam, so condensation could form inside.
Click to expand...
Meh.

If you wrote that out as a guide it would probably work as a good intro the the problem; but it's too simple to cover all real life situations that actually might happen to a computer.

A slight draft in one direction, a fan creating a fancy vortex thingamajig against something somewhere, a piece of great heat conductor at the right place on the inside, with the right draft on it on the outside, and Bob's your grandma serving you your fancy book learned Mountain Dew point.

Not the most likely of things to happen with a proper design; but add a couple of decades of millions of computers and some real unlikely things do go do themselves. 🤷
 
uller6 said:
The only way condensation could occur inside the mini is if the inside of the mini is colder than the air going into it. Condensation happens on cold surfaces that cool air down so the air can hold less water. At a given humidity, the temperature at which condensation occurs is known as the dew point. When running, the mini will always be hotter than the ambient environment, since it is dissipating power. Because it's hotter, any air that goes into the mini will get heated up, and will become less humid than when it went into the mini (the same amount of water will be held in the air, but since the air is hotter it has more total water capacity so this relative humidity is lower).

Condensation on a hot surface is physically impossible. The only way there could be vapor-based condensation in the mini is if (as someone previously suggested) a hot beverage was steaming supersaturated air directly into the mini's air intake. In this case, the mini may be colder than the steam, so condensation could form inside.
Click to expand...
well the outside of the mini is pretty cool to the touch. that is where I was coming from.

The hot beverage theory is the best one tho.
 
Haven't read all the thread, but could it be a chemical process in the plastic? Plastic sometimes desintegrates. Topic starter said he was rubbing the back panel plastic and more moisture appeared everytime.
 
Are there any other astronomers around? Condensation is the bane of amateur telescope optics. Heat doesn’t cause or enable condensation! Instead heat banishes or delays the onset of condensation.
We have used “dew heaters” and low wattage bulbs to protect optics and other sensitive equipment for decades.

H2O vapor is like any other gas. Condensation occurs when a gas is cooled or when the gas encounters a cool surface.
 
Last edited:
Welcome to the forums.
Happy to have you here. Sorry to read about 'water' being added to your MacMini. They DO NOT like that.
 
circatee said:
You know, not getting to the end of a story, for me, can be rather frustrating...
Click to expand...

I’m trying to imagine a satisfying ending…
My roommate finally admitted they took the mini in the bathroom when they were taking a shower so they could listen to music.
Click to expand...

Maybe the OP is in the process of breaking up over this, and coming here to post isn’t a high priority for them, like the whole incident is painful for them and our entertainment isn’t even a consideration.

But much more likely, OP was taking apart their mini for some reason and then maybe sprayed some cleaner on it for some reason, and then got the idea to post pictures of it to taunt us and get a laugh out of it.
 
Moderator Note: The OP has not visited the forums since March 8. Unless they return, we may never know what happened. But it does no good to question their motives at this point, I have deleted several of those posts.

This thread has unfortunately run its course and has now been closed. If @philfournier would like to provide an update, he can send me a private message or use the contact form and the thread can be unlocked.
 
Last edited:
Status
Not open for further replies.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back