Water intrusion?

Water intrusion?

Water intrusion?
Water intrusion?
2024-10-01 02:46:58
Tags: #Hardware
Model: Tapo C402 KIT  
Hardware Version: V1
Firmware Version: 1.0.18

I have a C402, an outdoor camera, and while it's been working pretty well, I noticed the image is sometimes a little foggy. Today I got on a ladder to have a look and the floodlight lenses look like they have condensation on the inside.

 

I saw a guide to drying out and checking the seal on older models, but I don't see anything like that on this version.

 

I double-checked the cable entrance and the little rubber gasket is still in place.

 

It's kind of a poor design - with the camera tilted down 15 degrees or so as indicated in the manual both the sd slot and the power plug are taking the brunt of any moisture falling on the camera. Having these on the bottom or front of the camera would have been a better choice it seems.

 

What should I do here?

 

example here showing the haze on the left side of the image:

 

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#1
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2 Reply
Re:Water intrusion?
2024-10-04 16:31:28

  @css123,

When condensation builds up in the camera, the best thing to do is bring it inside to dry out slowly, or turn it off and place it in a bag with silica packets. Then slowly acclimate the temperature.

 

You can help prevent condensation by slowly acclimating the camera to the outside environment. You could try placing the sealed bag outdoors for a day to adjust the temperature and then opening the bag outdoors to adjust the humidity slowly. This will help prevent any condensation that may occur from the dramatic change.

 

Did you see any moisture around the gasket or seal?

Did the moisture appear to accompany any significant or severe weather changes?

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Re:Water intrusion?
Yesterday
Hmmm... maybe it's not that waterproof then? I don't have any silica gel packs laying around unfortunately. If this is part of routine maintenance for this thing, maybe include those with the unit. Also it's not exactly easy to get it unmounted, and the mounts are extremely cheap, brittle plastic. When I had to move the other camera, simply tightening the ring to the point the camera wouldn't droop caused the mount to crack and I had to buy new (generic - but metal) ones from amazon.
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#3
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