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enclosure for an arduino

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For most types of outdoor use, I would probably recommend an enclosure with an IP67 rating (similar to NEMA 6, although I'm not as familiar with that rating system). This is rated against most types of dust and water ingress. It should have sealing gaskets which should give modest protection against the weather. Some recommend adding a layer of oil or grease to the gaskets for increased sealing.
 
That is very good news, as the control box I previously selected does have a gasket on the door, also in the holes in the bottom I also have a grommet type thing where there is an x cut out for my wires, but with the wires cut through there are some air gaps, would it be a good idea to seal these holes with silicon as well?
Just cause I am worried about humidity too, will that cause corrosion on me , I am hoping that my setup will last several years.... it will be outside in the non-winter months.

also I am thinking of another control box to house a powerbar, some extension cord junctions and a small air pump.. should i get a similar Nema type device for this as well?
 
My eldest son now runs a commercial laundry business that my wife and I started years ago. We have many large single and three phase machines with control boxes permanently sited in very humid conditions.

We found a couple of sachets of silica gel in each control box, changed every couple of months or so helps a great deal.

Easily obtainable from RS and I presume many others.

S
 
Another option, make all external connections to the Arduino as soldered wires instead of using the typical headers. Then with no connectors and only soldered wire connections you could conformal coat the PCB and the soldered wire connections. This would essentially make the PCB water resistant, so even if moisture enters the box it won't be a problem. I recently saw some good examples of water proofing PCB for outdoor use at the Del Mar Electronics show.
You can purchase the coating in spray can form. Maybe something similar to this: https://www.techspray.com/conformal-coating

If you do need to connectorize the box to bring the wires to the outside world, you can get water proof connectors something like cannon plugs:)
 
We found a couple of sachets of silica gel in each control box, changed every couple of months or so helps a great deal.
This combined with a good quality gasket type enclosure should work fine. Small desiccant packs are inexpensive and should keep the inside dry against condensate. Just make sure when you seal a box it is in a dry air envirinment.

Ron
 
They say for outdoor a minimum is Ip55, in industry however if I was to fit something outside I'd be going for Ip65, which is uitable for ships deck use.
 
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