AeroPod, PowerPod and Newton

First let me preface by saying I am well-aware the iAero is not expected to perform in heavy rain...

Is there an accepted method of making a recovery of the unit after a rain event gets water in the port? For instance today I got caught out in a heavy rain and the power readings started getting squirrelly due to water being ingested in the wind port and screwing up the wind speed. Once the rain went back to a slow drizzle, I removed the unit from the mount and tried to shake water from the wind port and then tried to blow water out of the wind port. Neither try did any good. It is a common occurrence in Louisiana to run through an isolated shower but then have clear weather on the other side, and it would be nice to have a method to get the unit sobered back up later on the same ride after it has had too much to drink.

I have had two occurrences where water apparently got inside the case because the glass fogged up on the inside, and once I could see liquid water around the periphery of the glass. Both times I got it dried out at home by taking out the battery, leaving the compartment open, and warming the unit with a low wattage desk lamp. I am concerned about the long term effects of water inside the case, and what kind of residue is left behind after I manage to evaporate the water back out. Should I be trying to protect the unit during heavy rain (ie pop it into a plastic bag in a pocket) or is it expected that it can handle this exposure?

PJBoyle

pjboyle,
My one hard rain experience (really really heavy downpour) left me unable, at first to clear the port.
John says blow into the port to clear it and I tried that more than once. I let it sit for two days inside and it still seemed to be nuts. I then, sort of like a reverse attempt to whistle, sucked air from the port leaving room for it to enter from the sides of the port, as hard as I could and that worked. I think the combination of turbulence and vacuum may have did the job, wondered if it would have worked on the road.

In my case, I had no fogging or visible evidence of rain actually getting into the unit. The rain I was in was only for 5-10 minutes before I reached a shelter and waited for it to stop but I could only see for 5-10 feet in front of me and had to really slow down.

Russ

I had a similar issue in France recently. Got caught out at around 750m altitude when heavy rain struck (also a bit of sleet as the temperature plunged to 35F). I was stuck in these conditions for around 90 minutes, the power reading was the least of my concerns as was in shorts with a lightweight top and thin spring gloves. Doh. Never been so cold.

Anyhow, the power did close down, I had fogging under the glass the next day and when I tried to wind offset it fluctuated to silly numbers -80mph to +80mph. So i rode for around 1 hour with it turned off, the temperature was back into the late 60's.

After the hour things returned to normal and I re-calibrated the wind offset. The last 3 hours of this ride were fine, though it took another 24 hours for the fogging to totally evaporate

Rain has always bothered me, but I am made of sugar.
To dry electrical stuff I put it in a sealed bag of uncooked rice.
My wife dropped her blackberry in the sink once and we dried it out without worries.

Yesterday I was a poor weather man and got caught in very windy/rainy 39 deg weather. I noticed that my watts seemed much lower than normal so I started poking around a bit through the display screens. What I found was my wind speed was very low and frequently dropped to zero. When I got home I was able to see the defining moment when things went crazy. 100 mph wind gust! The unit did recover as I tried it outside today before doing an indoor trainer ride.

I know these conditions are harsh and nobody plans to ride in them but most of us who enjoy this sport to enough care enough about "Watts" will find ourselves in such a "weather surprise"

Is there a standard protocol regarding unit recovery after rain, I am hoping someone from ibike will pop in There are some good suggestions here but would like to hear what the manufacturers says.