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Having seen this Post rest-in-pieces-where-is-the-pi-graveyard on Meta I am wondering what kinds of things are to be avoided.

I would like to learn what NOT to do in order to keep a Pi healthy and in running order.

Feel free to include specific details of real incidents involving overclocking, liquid nitrogen, high voltage wires, etc.

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    A [rip] tag? Really? ;)
    – Ghanima ♦
    Dec 17, 2015 at 16:53
  • The main things I have seen are physically breaking parts (e.g. dislodging a capacitor, breaking the SD holder), electrical misadventure (e.g. connecting the wrong voltage, too much voltage, reversed polarity, short circuiting).
    – Steve Robillard
    Dec 17, 2015 at 16:56
  • @SteveRobillard, yes that is the sort of thing I was thinking of, I'd like to think of a way to also gather the more unusual cases, perhaps e.g. a High altitude photography Pi+Camera where a parachute did not deploy properly...!
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 17:05
  • The tag idea is not a bad one (which hints at a mechanism that might be used to extract this kind of information).
    – goldilocks ♦
    Dec 17, 2015 at 17:06
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat.
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 17:16

2 Answers 2

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Do not spill liquids on the board!

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  • I think anything non-conductive (e.g., oil) is actually okay. It will make the pi slippery though, which could lead to breakage.
    – goldilocks ♦
    Dec 17, 2015 at 18:11
  • What liquid was it for you? Re: the oil I guess it is an issue if If it slips out of you hands at elevated altitudes or ignites at elevated temperatures.
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 18:14
  • The question is what will it be. Most likely tea, coffee, water, or hot chocolate.
    – Ari K.
    Dec 17, 2015 at 20:33
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    Water in itself may not be that destructive to electronics, if it is clean water and the Pi is not powered then allowing it to dry out before reapplying power may not cause any lasting harm. If done whilst powered I guess it may cause a crash and thus SD card corruption, but it may not actually "brick" it.
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 23:54
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Below is my list of things that will destroy your RPi. While not complete, it is relatively comprehensive of things that should not be done to an RPi.

  1. Shorting it
  2. Plugging it into a car battery
  3. Overclocking it to 3GHz
  4. Putting it in an active volcano
  5. Using it in a pool
  6. Using it in the ocean
  7. Running it over with a car
  8. A drive by shooting
  9. Using it near explosives
  10. Hitting it with a meteor
  11. Feeding it to a dinosaur
  12. Jesus smiting it
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  • Just how many of the above have you (or a Pi belonging to you) experienced? 8-|
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 23:25
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    @SlySven: 12...
    – Jacobm001
    Dec 17, 2015 at 23:27
  • Can we have some of the details - I'd suggest splitting your above into individual answers so you can give the details, I do have to say that some seem impossible or downright obvious so I think you are messing about here. I mean seriously - setting the speed to 3GHz - that just isn't going to happen...
    – SlySven
    Dec 17, 2015 at 23:49
  • @SlySven: What, everyone hasn't had Jesus come smite their RPi?
    – Jacobm001
    Dec 18, 2015 at 0:00
  • re 5, 6; except if Jesus were doing it.
    – uhoh
    Mar 31, 2018 at 5:32

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