Several months following a minor incident in a data center (power supply smoldered) unexplained short circuits were plaguing electronic equipment. After confirming that the failures were not associated with any residual contaminates introduced by the recent incident, we conducted a comprehensive “Data Center Health Check” survey of the installation. Inspecting the affected equipment, it became apparent that we found the smoking gun – The short circuits were caused by Zinc Whiskers.
As we investigated further, we determined that the Zinc Whiskers originated from the facility’s raised floor panels. The Zinc Whiskers were less than a few millimeters long and only a few thousandths of a millimeter wide. Because of their minuscule dimensions, zinc whiskers can be extremely difficult to see without magnification and proper illumination. Unfortunately, the restoration contractor that was hired to clean beneath the raised floor didn’t realize that the cleaning process they utilized released the Zinc Whiskers into the air stream that kept the IT Equipment cooled.
In retrospect, we determined that cleaning beneath the raised floor wasn’t necessary AND actually caused damages. Unfortunately, the decision to clean was based simply on an emotional approach. The contractor presented the idea that they might as well clean everything “just to be sure”, which seamed reasonable – especially since the cost would be covered by the Insurance Company. In the end, the $2,000 committed to cleaning the underfloor snowballed into a $25,000 restoration project (plus an additional $18,000 in equipment replacements).