Using a Sacrificial anode on a car to suppress or at least help prevent rusting
Brent
am or i'm not nuts.
First off i live up in snow country and salt country, Ottawa Ontario
Canada
we put enough salt on our roads up here to make the ocean seem fit to
drink. And well Ottawa has one of the most aggressive snow removal and
salt plans going in in the first place.
So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it? IF
i'm not "nucking futs" then the anode (Magnesium or zinc) getting wet
touching bare steel will set up a galvanic cell with the Mg being
sacrificed and "rusting/oxidizing" away to protect the steel of the
cars bodywork.
Am i nuts? is this doable? does anyone do this? Just curious?
If it matters drive a unibody car with an aluminum block (diesel jetta)
Harold and Susan Vordos
"Brent" <b_ph...@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:1172560966....@t69g2000cwt.googlegroups.com...
I may be wrong, but I'm of the opinion that unless you can achieve an
electrical circuit between the sacrificial anode and body and frame work of
the car and the water it holds, it won't work. The mere presence of a
sacrificial element isn't enough. The navy uses a similar technique
whereby a ship is one pole, the ocean the other. Same with rebar and
structural steel in highway overpasses.
Harold
Lew Hartswick
If I'm not mistaken, I remember seeing such devices advertized years
ago in some mags. I think even one of my acquaintences even had one,
No idea if it worked.
...lew...
Nick Mueller
> So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
> deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
> or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it?
It works. If you make a boat out of your car. :-)
Nick
--
***********************************
*** Available now in NZ and AUS ***
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Larry Jaques
Hartswick <lhart...@earthlink.net> quickly quoth:
Lots of people swear by them and there are lots on the market.
http://www.counteractrust.com/ f'rinstance.
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prfe...@hotmail.com
Hello Brent:
You need more than 'the elements' striking the sacrificial anode. A
sacrificial anode is effective on a ship or an underground tank where
the *metal* *being* *protected* is in direct contact with the
*solution* (ocean water or underground moisture) in which the anode is
immersed.
Yeah, it kinda means that you have to drive the car under water for
the anode to be effective...<G>
An alternative is to coat the metal entirely with the anode material,
as in galvanized steel.
Regards -- Terry
Jeff Wisnia
IIRC glvanizing steel is done for just that reason. (At least the name
makes it sound that way.)
I read somewhere that even if the galvanizing is scratched through in
one location the presence of the zinc adjacent to the scratch means that
when the area gets wet the adjacent zinc takes the galvanic corrosion
hit and "saves" the exposed steel.
Jeff
--
Jeffry Wisnia
(W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)
The speed of light is 1.8*10^12 furlongs per fortnight.
Ignoramus19052
supposed to prevent corrosion. I am not sure how they could possibly
work, in the absense of the electrolyte envelopig the car (like on
boats), but maybe I am missing something.
i
Don Foreman
In order to work, the sacrifical anode must be in contact with the
same liquid that is doing the corroding. That's easy in water
heaters and boats, not so easy in an auto which can have isolated
pockets of trapped corrosive liquid.
About the best defense is frequent washing (including "bottom blast")
during salt season. My Ford Contours are 12 years old, have operated
all of that time in the salty Minneapolis metro area, are completely
rust free thus far. They get a trip thru the carwash after every
snow, once the roads are again reasonably clear and dry.
sta...@prolynx.com
VWs have been double galvanized since at least the late 80's, IIRC, as
are most current cars. The problems with your concept is that you
don't have total immersion in salt water, just splashes here and
there. So you need a whole lot of zinc blocks, not just one or two,
which is effectively what you have with the galvanizing. It won't
prevent corrosion entirely, but will slow it down. Best thing is a
hot freshwater rinse after exposure.
Stan
clareatsnyder.on.ca
That's not a sacrificial anode - it's an electronic device to counter
the electrolitic action. It's useless under most conditions.
Daughter's Neon has one and it's rusting like all Neons.
--
Posted via a free Usenet account from http://www.teranews.com
starb...@sbcglobal.net
Bud
Jon Elson
Don Foreman wrote:
>In order to work, the sacrifical anode must be in contact with the
>same liquid that is doing the corroding. That's easy in water
>heaters and boats, not so easy in an auto which can have isolated
>pockets of trapped corrosive liquid.
>
>
Exactly.
>About the best defense is frequent washing (including "bottom blast")
>during salt season. My Ford Contours are 12 years old, have operated
>all of that time in the salty Minneapolis metro area, are completely
>rust free thus far. They get a trip thru the carwash after every
>snow, once the roads are again reasonably clear and dry.
>
>
My 1989 Toyota gets washed at least once a year, and there's plenty of salt
used around St. Louis. I had "the Protector" put on it for a couple hundred
$ when I bought it, although the dealer made a big fuss that I was throwing
MY money away, as that kind of stuff is no longer needed. There are a few
rusty undercarriage pieces, but the body is totally free of any rust.
The car
is roughly 18 years old, driven 250+ days a year, and has 163,000 miles on
it. I'm sure hot-dip galvanizing is helpful, and the new paints adhere
better
than the traditional finishes from the 1950's, but it seems to me that
the internal
coating is still the best thing you can do for long life.
Jon
Ignoramus19052
> My 1989 Toyota gets washed at least once a year, and there's plenty
> of salt used around St. Louis. I had "the Protector" put on it for
> a couple hundred $ when I bought it, although the dealer made a big
> fuss that I was throwing MY money away, as that kind of stuff is no
> longer needed. There are a few rusty undercarriage pieces, but the
> body is totally free of any rust. The car is roughly 18 years old,
> driven 250+ days a year, and has 163,000 miles on it. I'm sure
> hot-dip galvanizing is helpful, and the new paints adhere better
> than the traditional finishes from the 1950's, but it seems to me
> that the internal coating is still the best thing you can do for
> long life.
Jon, could you elaborate on that Protector, what is it, how it is
applied, how it works etc.
i
clu...@lycos.com
>I have had a thought occur to me and i could use confirmation that I
>am or i'm not nuts.
>
>First off i live up in snow country and salt country, Ottawa Ontario
>Canada
>
>we put enough salt on our roads up here to make the ocean seem fit to
>drink. And well Ottawa has one of the most aggressive snow removal and
>salt plans going in in the first place.
[snip]
During the warmer (non snowy) months, whenever I change oil in my car,
I re-paint any part of the undercarriage that shows a rock chip.
One of the issues I see with many car chassis is that the various
holes trap dirt and moisture on the other side of the metal where you
can't easily inspect it.
Wes
Howard Eisenhauer
Rather than give myself carpal tunnel syndrome again heres a link to a
post addressing this issue that I made a while back on anudder group-
This was in response to a query about Crappy Tire selling Crap. if the
link doesn't work for you long story short-
Rust & galvanic corrosion are two seperate things, what works for one
won't necessarily work for the other. :(
H.
Eregon
> Brent wrote:
>
>> So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
>> deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
>> or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it?
>
> It works. If you make a boat out of your car. :-)
>
>
> Nick
How about an Amphicar???
Bruce L. Bergman
>Move to California
Nice idea - Won't always work if you are close to the beach.
And there are mountainous areas in the state where they use a bit of
salt - though AFAIK they try to use sand as much as possible.
--<< Bruce >>--
Brent
<blnospamberg...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
> On 27 Feb 2007 10:36:18 -0800, starbol...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>
> >Move to California
>
> Nice idea - Won't always work if you are close to the beach.
>
> And there are mountainous areas in the state where they use a bit of
> salt - though AFAIK they try to use sand as much as possible.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
Its a good idea for other reasons. like the availability of machine
tools. compared to this corner of the world I'd have likely already
picked up Gunners Clausing 8540 for example at least.
Brent
wrote:
> Rather than give myself carpal tunnel syndrome again heres a link to a
> post addressing this issue that I made a while back on anudder group-
>
>
> This was in response to a query about Crappy Tire selling Crap. if the
> link doesn't work for you long story short-
>
> Rust & galvanic corrosion are two seperate things, what works for one
> won't necessarily work for the other. :(
>
> H.
>
> Brent wrote:
> > I have had a thought occur to me and i could use confirmation that I
> > am or i'm not nuts.
>
> > First off i live up in snow country and salt country, Ottawa Ontario
> > Canada
>
> > we put enough salt on our roads up here to make the ocean seem fit to
> > drink. And well Ottawa has one of the most aggressive snow removal and
> > salt plans going in in the first place.
>
> > So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
> > deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
> > or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it? IF
> > i'm not "nucking futs" then the anode (Magnesium or zinc) getting wet
> > touching bare steel will set up a galvanic cell with the Mg being
> > sacrificed and "rusting/oxidizing" away to protect the steel of the
> > cars bodywork.
>
> > Am i nuts? is this doable? does anyone do this? Just curious?
>
> > If it matters drive a unibody car with an aluminum block (diesel jetta)
Thats a great reply explaining it. So essentially deal with paint
chips and rust spots fast and its not an issue but tossing in zinc or
mg just wont cut it as an effective means of preventing corrosion
thanks.
Thanks to all for the posts i'm glad it generated some discussion and
I came away understanding better
Bruce L. Bergman
>On Feb 28, 2:14 am, Bruce L. Bergman
><blnospamberg...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>> On 27 Feb 2007 10:36:18 -0800, starbol...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>>>Move to California
>>
>> Nice idea - Won't always work if you are close to the beach.
>>And there are mountainous areas in the state where they use a bit of
>>salt - though AFAIK they try to use sand as much as possible.
>
>Its a good idea for other reasons. like the availability of machine
>tools. compared to this corner of the world I'd have likely already
>picked up Gunners Clausing 8540 for example at least.
But there's a whole raft of BIG downsides - Blue state, between
Frisco and Hollywood. Big taxes, big regulation, Democratic
legislature and a RINO Governor (Oops!) who was supposed to clean it
up but instead is playing Three Card Monte with the state budget.
(The state borrowed a ton of money with bonds earmarked to pay down
public debt, and then they spent the dough and never paid it down -
and new revenues are getting spent as fast as they come in. And when
confronted with the facts, they deny it. If you or I tried that,
they'd cart us off to prison.)
/Very/ high cost of living unless you want to commute to Taft or the
other backwaters way out of town. Traffic is rapidly turning into a
nightmare, even in the suburban areas and 'Rush Hour' is all day on
some routes. But the NIMBY's don't want to put in a new road or widen
an old one if it goes through /their/ neighborhood.
And in all industries there are a ton of crooks and charlatans you
have to watch out for - who wouldn't survive a week in a small town,
since word would get around and there would be no new or repeat
business...
P.T. Barnum didn't figure on scale - With a big enough population
base to fleece, you /can/ find enough fresh suckers that don't check
references to screw over once to have a going operation.
(Plumbers getting $3K for an "emergency" water heater on the weekend
- and they make you hand-write up a form [printed ones are invalid] to
get around the contract laws on 3-Day Right of Recession. So when you
call around on Monday and figure out you just got screwed with the
Holland Tunnel you can't do a thing about it...)
If I wasn't born and raised here, I'd seriously think twice about
coming. It's not all Goodness and Light, some of that is false fronts
and Hollywood set dressing.
--<< Bruce >>--
Gunner
Its still available <G>
Road Trip!!
Free Cats with every machine tool purchase!
Gunner
"Liberalism is a philosophy of consolation for Western civilization as it commits suicide"
- James Burnham
John L. Weatherly
> Free Cats with every machine tool purchase!
lol
--
John L. Weatherly
Nashville, TN
please remove XXXs to reply via email
Gunner
However..the small towns can be nice to live in. Particuarly since most
of the state Is Red, except for the urban areas.
Steve W.
Not worth the bother. Without submersion in a conductive media they
don't work.
Best solution to salt is to WASH the vehicle completely. This means you
pull the door panels and any trim so you can wash out ALL the hidden
spots. Then use hot air to dry all those areas real well. Now spray the
panels with some good undercoating. MAKE SURE YOU KEEP THE DRAINS OPEN
in the panels. if not normal condensation will not get out and it will
cause problems.
For a good undercoating you want something that will stay in place BUT
will stay semi soft so that it can flex as the panels expand and
contract. I use three types (depends on the panel and finish wanted) One
is a Body Shutz 08864, another is Rust Fighter-I 08891
The last is from an outfit in Canada and goes on like water, BUT it goes
into any body seams or openings and as the carrier dries it leaves a
thick waxy coating behind.
The first two are great for large panels. The first also makes a good
sound deadener.
--
Steve W.
Near Cooperstown, New York
Bruce L. Bergman
wrote:
>On 28 Feb 2007 07:21:19 -0800, "Brent" <b_ph...@hotmail.com> wrote:
>
>>On Feb 28, 2:14 am, Bruce L. Bergman
>><blnospamberg...@earthlink.invalid> wrote:
>>> On 27 Feb 2007 10:36:18 -0800, starbol...@sbcglobal.net wrote:
>>>
>>> >Move to California
>>>
>>> Nice idea - Won't always work if you are close to the beach.
>>>
>>> And there are mountainous areas in the state where they use a bit of
>>> salt - though AFAIK they try to use sand as much as possible.
>>>
>>> --<< Bruce >>--
>>
>>Its a good idea for other reasons. like the availability of machine
>>tools. compared to this corner of the world I'd have likely already
>>picked up Gunners Clausing 8540 for example at least.
>
>
>Its still available <G>
>
>Road Trip!!
>
>Free Cats with every machine tool purchase!
I wanna, I need a... No, I can't. I must not.
If I show up, it's too tempting. They don't make trucks big enough
(at least not that I can drive, I only have a simple Class C...) and I
have no place to put it. I need to go through my own Piles Of Stuff
and seriously winnow it all down first - throw out the hopeless trash,
sort and box the breakers and panel parts...
Might be nice to be able to park a car in the garage (even
temporarily) for the first time in 36 years.
And if I bring home a kitten the Parrot is going to be seriously
pissed when he finds out he's no longer an Only Pet.
--<< Bruce >>--
Harold and Susan Vordos
"Bruce L. Bergman" <blnospa...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
news:2aecu258cl1o2s3hm...@4ax.com...
snip-----.
>
> And if I bring home a kitten the Parrot is going to be seriously
> pissed when he finds out he's no longer an Only Pet.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
>
Amazon?
Harold
Gunner
Mi Casa....su casa
> Might be nice to be able to park a car in the garage (even
>temporarily) for the first time in 36 years.
>
> And if I bring home a kitten the Parrot is going to be seriously
>pissed when he finds out he's no longer an Only Pet.
>
> --<< Bruce >>--
my #1 lady friend, who visits the homestead regularly, usually brings
her Amazon Green. The cats are curious, but leave it alone.
Come on up, its not that far. Im home all weekends
Bruce L. Bergman
<vor...@tds.net> wrote:
>"Bruce L. Bergman" <blnospa...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
>news:2aecu258cl1o2s3hm...@4ax.com
>snip-----
>> And if I bring home a kitten the Parrot is going to be seriously
>> pissed when he finds out he's no longer an Only Pet.
>
>Amazon?
Double-Yellow, wild caught we think, about 40, and has a serious
attitude problem with men. We adopted him 20 years ago when one of
our neighbors moved to an apartment that was totally No Pets.
--<< Bruce >>--
Harold and Susan Vordos
"Bruce L. Bergman" <blnospa...@earthlink.invalid> wrote in message
good as an African gray.
We've owned a couple parrots through the years, and have baby sat one other.
Found it's real common for them to favor one sex over the other, and they
damned well know the difference. Midas, our blue & gold macaw, liked
women. Barney, the red head Amazon, liked men. He was mistreated by the
wife of a friend, the guy that gave the bird to us. If you don't know, the
macaws are quite intelligent. Midas could remove the lock and open his cage
and be on top faster than people could do it for him. The only way to keep
him in was to use a padlock. Not sure, but I think he was studying
locksmithing when we sold him. :-)
Harold
keith....@btinternet.com
> I have had a thought occur to me and i could use confirmation that I
> am or i'm not nuts.
>
> First off i live up in snow country and salt country, Ottawa Ontario
> Canada
>
> we put enough salt on our roads up here to make the ocean seem fit to
> drink. And well Ottawa has one of the most aggressive snow removal and
> salt plans going in in the first place.
>
> So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
> deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
> or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it? IF
> i'm not "nucking futs" then the anode (Magnesium or zinc) getting wet
> touching bare steel will set up a galvanic cell with the Mg being
> sacrificed and "rusting/oxidizing" away to protect the steel of the
> cars bodywork.
>
> Am i nuts? is this doable? does anyone do this? Just curious?
>
>
> If it matters drive a unibody car with an aluminum block (diesel jetta)
Interestingly this car was first delivered to Ontario in 1933 for it's new owner Fredric William Cowan chairman of the Ontario Malleable Iron Company and it remained in the family's ownership until 1974 so the car knows about your environment and road conditions.
Seems the anode Idea is neither mad or new
John B.
wrote:
idea is certainly feasible although if one mixes various metals it
might be a bit complex to figure exactly what you wanted to do to
[protect all of them.
Another system that might be of interest is an electronic system, I
believe called a "Cathodic System" where sensors determine the
difference in potential and feed an electrical current to oppose
existing current flows.
--
Cheers,
John B.
Ed Huntress
water and zinc for salt water. Aluminum (pure) is becoming more common
in salt water, and it's also more effective in brackish water.
Some things to keep in mind: It only works if you have a good
electrical connection between the anode and the metal being protected.
The water is not enough. You need either a good, clean contact, or an
electrical wire connecting the two.
Any of the steel that is not electrically connected will not be
protected. The way it works is that the anode/cathode (the cathode is
the steel, iron, aluminum alloy, brass or bronze) combination forms a
battery, and the anode material is "eaten" away as the "battery"
conducts electricity. The water is the electrolyte.
I have a couple of 10-pound anodes ("zincs") left over from when I
maintained my uncle's 42-foot boat. Two of them would last a year,
protecting the bronze prop shaft and the propeller, as well as the
stainless and bronze through-hull fittings. If the prop shaft was
stainless and if there was any aluminum down there, like an aluminum
propeller, they would have been eaten up in a few months without anode
protection.
I've never seen them installed on a car, but I suppose it would work.
You might look into the "pencil" zincs and magnesium rods that are
used in fresh-water cooling systems for salt-water boats.
--
Ed Huntress
Bob Engelhardt
...
> the steel, iron, aluminum alloy, brass or bronze) combination forms a
> battery, and the anode material is "eaten" away as the "battery"
> conducts electricity. The water is the electrolyte.
Right! And where is the electrolyte in a car?
Bob
Ed Huntress
electrolyte. When it's dry, you don't have to worry about corrosion,
anyway.
Again, I haven't seen it used on a car. I'm guessing about how it
would work in practice.
--
Ed Huntress
Bob Engelhardt
> <BobEng...@comcast.net> wrote:
>> On 4/12/2016 9:18 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
>> ...
>>> The way it works is that the anode/cathode (the cathode is
>>> the steel, iron, aluminum alloy, brass or bronze) combination forms a
>>> battery, and the anode material is "eaten" away as the "battery"
>>> conducts electricity. The water is the electrolyte.
>>> ...
>> Right! And where is the electrolyte in a car?
>
> electrolyte. When it's dry, you don't have to worry about corrosion,
> anyway.
anywhere else is wet, that anywhere else is not protected.
> Again, I haven't seen it used on a car. I'm guessing about how it
> would work in practice.
more details than the usual BS, but there is still the fundamental
chemistry issue. Maybe the Rolls in the OP had some kind of permanent
electrolyte that didn't need to be wetted. But then the anodes wouldn't
last 80+ years. I dunno.
Bob
Ed Huntress
but then, Rolls Royce would go to extremes in the old days, to make
everything as perfect as they knew how. Maybe...
I wonder, too, about stray currents. Those are the really big problems
with boats, which are docked around electrical currents. The ground
rods for shore power -- often just an EMT shield -- tend to eat the
submerged metal parts of boats, even when they're protected with
sacrificial anodes. You probably have such stray currents in an old
car, which tend to have a lot of high-resistance paths to the battery
ground.
I'm skeptical but it's not something I've heard about before.
--
Ed Huntress
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
policy that comes with them. Friends have 5 and 6 year old vehicles
that have had in excess of $5000 worth of rust repair done under
warranty. (make sure you keep up with the inspections or the policy is
null and void).
My daughter's Neon rusted very badly with the unit installed - no
warranty because one inspection had been missed. I have 20 year old
vehicle with no rust - used RustCheck.
I'm in tha salt and slush belt of Central Ontario - every bit as bad
for rust as Ottawa.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
Doesn't (apparently) work too well dry.
cl...@snyder.on.ca
location is clean and dry.
It's been tried - the results are not encouraging - not worth the cost
and effort of installing, generally speeking.
Ed Huntress
the wet was salt water all winter long.
'Dunno. It's an interesting idea. But having worked on some large
boats, and having placed as many as six anodes on a hull to keep the
current paths through the water within protected range, I have a hard
time imagining how it would work on a car. But then, I haven't seen it
or done it.
--
Ed Huntress
John B.
no corrosion. If you place different metals in contact with an
electrolyte there is corrosion and if you add an anode the corrosion
takes place at the anode.
As has been mentioned they are commonly used on boats and outboard
engines and in saltwater cooled marine engines and even large
stationary power plants engines usually have anodes.
--
Cheers,
John B.
John B.
assure you that the similar systems used on buried pipelines are very
effective, certainly far more than anodes. I also understand, although
I've not seen it my self, that all very large shipping use the system.
--
Cheers,
John B.
whit3rd
> On Tue, 12 Apr 2016 09:50:23 -0400, Bob Engelhardt
> <BobEng...@comcast.net> wrote:
>
> >On 4/12/2016 9:18 AM, Ed Huntress wrote:
> >...
> >> The way it works is that the anode/cathode (the cathode is
> >> the steel, iron, aluminum alloy, brass or bronze) combination forms a
> >> battery, and the anode material is "eaten" away as the "battery"
> >> conducts electricity. The water is the electrolyte.
> would work in practice.
least the 1964 Rambler I used to own.
It's not as cheap as good paint, though.
Ed Huntress
wrote:
protected is immediately adjacent to zinc in that case.
--
Ed Huntress
cl...@snyder.on.ca
wrote:
>
>assure you that the similar systems used on buried pipelines are very
>effective, certainly far more than anodes. I also understand, although
>I've not seen it my self, that all very large shipping use the system.
examples I provided. They were a pretty common "aftermarket upsell"
at many dealerships when I was in the business - and the dealer was
the only one who got any advantage out of the sale other than the rust
warranty (if it was vallidated by paying the dealer an annual
inspection fee) - and even then it seemed the vehicles with the units
installed needed a lot more rust repair than those that didn't -
particularly those that got an aftermarket oil / wax type rust spray.
dca...@krl.org
>>
> 'Dunno. It's an interesting idea. But having worked on some large
> boats, and having placed as many as six anodes on a hull to keep the
> current paths through the water within protected range, I have a hard
> time imagining how it would work on a car. But then, I haven't seen it
> or done it.
>
> --
> Ed Huntress
Dan
Ed Huntress
dunked in salt water, the best thing I ever tried was a zinc-loaded
epoxy coating.
It was miserable to apply (very thick, and it drooled -- not
thixotropic at all), and very expensive, but it worked great. I
rotated the trailer 90 deg. after painting the top and bottom
horizontal surfaces, and then coated tops and bottoms of *those*
sides. You have to do that before the epoxy cures but after it starts
to gel, or the amine will blush and the overlap won't seal it. Then
wash off the amine with soap and water, rough it with steel wool, and
coat with a good boat enamel.
Second best was two coats of zinc chromate primer, and then two coats
of brush-on Rust-Oleum. That was the fish-oil based stuff that took a
week to dry hard.
--
Ed
Gunner Asch
drewh...@gmail.com
edhun...@gmail.com
> For this to work there must be an electron pathway between the anode and the metal to be protected (e.g., a wire or direct contact) and an ion pathway between both the oxidizing agent (e.g., water or moist soil) and the anode, and the oxidizing agent and the metal to be protected, thus forming a closed circuit; therefore simply bolting a piece of active metal such as zinc to a less active metal, such as mild steel, in air (a poor conductor and therefore no closed circuit) will not furnish any protection.
The direct contact with the metal surface being protected usually is enough of a conducting path. Many protective electrodes used in marine environments are just screwed onto the metal being protected, and they work quite well.
--
Ed Huntress
Jim Wilkins
news:9d959bc2-9d04-446e...@googlegroups.com...
There is a sacrificial anode in your electric water heater. Home Depot
now carries replacements.
Martin Eastburn
the gas fields and other explosive places would work as the cathode to
'earth' connection ?
Martin
Martin Eastburn
Martin
cl...@snyder.on.ca
>For this to work there must be an electron pathway between the anode and the metal to be protected (e.g., a wire or direct contact) and an ion pathway between both the oxidizing agent (e.g., water or moist soil) and the anode, and the oxidizing agent and the metal to be protected, thus forming a closed circuit; therefore simply bolting a piece of active metal such as zinc to a less active metal, such as mild steel, in air (a poor conductor and therefore no closed circuit) will not furnish any protection.
USING SACRIFICIAL ANODES, SOME NOT - AND none OF THEM TERRIBLY
EFFECTIVE AT REDUCING OR PREVENTING RUST.
ramjy...@gmail.com
> I have had a thought occur to me and i could use confirmation that I
> am or i'm not nuts.
>
> First off i live up in snow country and salt country, Ottawa Ontario
> Canada
>
> we put enough salt on our roads up here to make the ocean seem fit to
> drink. And well Ottawa has one of the most aggressive snow removal and
> salt plans going in in the first place.
>
> So heres my question. has anyone or is there any reason not to
> deliberately set up a galvanic cell by bolting an amount of magnesium
> or zinc to the car body in a place where the elements can hit it? IF
> i'm not "nucking futs" then the anode (Magnesium or zinc) getting wet
> touching bare steel will set up a galvanic cell with the Mg being
> sacrificed and "rusting/oxidizing" away to protect the steel of the
> cars bodywork.
>
> Am i nuts? is this doable? does anyone do this? Just curious?
>
>
> If it matters drive a unibody car with an aluminum block (diesel jetta)
areol...@live.com
> What about those electric kits that are mounted on cars and are
> supposed to prevent corrosion. I am not sure how they could possibly
> work, in the absense of the electrolyte envelopig the car (like on
> boats), but maybe I am missing something.
>
> i
the rust prevention kits work by using two magnesium blocks attached to the front and rear of the vehicle body, and a electronics pod that is attached to each block and powered by the vehicles battery, the electronics pod applies a high voltage low current charge to the blocks, charging your car with magnesium ions, thus preventing the rusting process. the down side of these kits is you get a shock every time you touch your car, a good way to tell its working.
Clare Snyder
insurance policy that pays to repair the car when it rusts. In my
experience they do NOTHING to prevent rust. My sister's neon, which
became my daughters, rusted as badly as any other neon (which is BAD)
A good friend had the units on 3 vehicles. The Pontiac had over $7000
worthof rust repair done to it over a period of 14 years (all covered)
and each of his pickup trucks had in excess of $4000 done over the
years.
In comparison I had less than $500 bodywork done over 18 years on my
"unprotected" chrysler and none on my "unprotected" taurus over a
period of 12 years.
Jon Elson
> That may be the theory, but in practice all you are buying is an
> insurance policy that pays to repair the car when it rusts.
This is used on pipelines and other infrastructure that needs to be
buried, but all electrical circuits need a complete closed circuit, and
a car sitting on rubber tires is NOT going to be a complete circuit.
The best thing you can do for rust prevention is one of the rust
prevention applications. I had it done on one of my cars, and it didn't
have a SPECK of body rust in the doors or fenders after 19 years, except
places where the exterior paint was damaged. That stuff actually DOES
work.
Jon