Waterproof : do not expose to water.
I'm looking at a wind-up radio / flashlight at the moment because - you know - it's a geeky emergency tool. Reading the spec of the one I'm interested in, I saw this:
IPX-4 splash proof from all angles: Protected against spraying water from all angles at 10 liters/minute at a pressure of 80-100kN/m2 for 5 minutes.
Nice spec, I thought. Given that this is a tool for emergency preparedness, seems like the ideal thing to have in the event of a hurricane (unlikely in a land-locked state) or capsizing at sea (again, unlikely in a land-locked state).
It was even more interesting then to read the various warnings, where they tell you not once, but four times to never get the device wet:
# Do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
# Do not submerge or expose to water for extended period.
# Protect from high humidity and rain.
# Unplug immediately if liquid has been spilled or any object has fallen into the apparatus.
So I did a little sleuthing. Thanks to random-facts-and-conjecture.com - (or wikipedia as you might know it), I found out that IPX-4 is NEMA's equivalent to a protection rating of IP65. Apparently the '6' means dust tight and the '5' means "Water projected by a nozzle against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects." The '5' also means dripping water, vertically dripping water, water falling as a stream or spray and splashing. ie. rain.
So they go to great lengths to specifically tell you about the IPX-4 rating, then tell you to never get it wet.
Confused.
In case you're curious, this is the radio: Eton Scorpion radio
IPX-4 splash proof from all angles: Protected against spraying water from all angles at 10 liters/minute at a pressure of 80-100kN/m2 for 5 minutes.
Nice spec, I thought. Given that this is a tool for emergency preparedness, seems like the ideal thing to have in the event of a hurricane (unlikely in a land-locked state) or capsizing at sea (again, unlikely in a land-locked state).
It was even more interesting then to read the various warnings, where they tell you not once, but four times to never get the device wet:
# Do not expose this appliance to rain or moisture.
# Do not submerge or expose to water for extended period.
# Protect from high humidity and rain.
# Unplug immediately if liquid has been spilled or any object has fallen into the apparatus.
So I did a little sleuthing. Thanks to random-facts-and-conjecture.com - (or wikipedia as you might know it), I found out that IPX-4 is NEMA's equivalent to a protection rating of IP65. Apparently the '6' means dust tight and the '5' means "Water projected by a nozzle against enclosure from any direction shall have no harmful effects." The '5' also means dripping water, vertically dripping water, water falling as a stream or spray and splashing. ie. rain.
So they go to great lengths to specifically tell you about the IPX-4 rating, then tell you to never get it wet.
Confused.
In case you're curious, this is the radio: Eton Scorpion radio
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