Date: Thu, 9 Aug 2001 22:39:23 -0400
Reply-To: Paul Cavanaugh <phonyexpress@IWAYNET.NET>
Sender: Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From: Paul Cavanaugh <phonyexpress@IWAYNET.NET>
Subject: Re: Electronic Rust Protection?
In-Reply-To: <3.0.6.32.20010809134500.007ee990@mailhub.exis.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" ; format="flowed"
>I may have missed a post or two, but the thing to keep in mind about
>electronic rust protection is that it requires a electrolyte to work. In
>the case of the ship the ocean is the electrolyte and completes the circuit
>between anode and cathode even if they are seperated by some distance. The
>problem with using this process on a car or van is that there is no
>substance to move the charge through. The corrosion of steel in air
>involves small charge imbalances in the sheet of steel itself. Water that
>condenses on the steel allows charge to flow from one area to another. In
>the case of a car the distance traveled by the charge can be minute, say
>less then 1/100th of an inch. A sacrificial anode bolted to one end of the
>car simply can't protect the other end, because in air it is never
>connected in a circuit with the other end. This is why zinc coatings work
>to protect steel, they are all over the metal and can protect the steel
>even when the galvanic cell set up by water on the steel is very localized.
> but if you had a big enough hole in the coating of zinc say 1" the steel
>in the center starts rusting.
>
>Dave K.
Hi Dave,
Here is my original post on Electronic Rust Protection. A friend of
mine has it in her Buick, sold by the dealer. She was advising me to
get it too, so I started searching the net:
-------------Post:
Has anyone tried the electronic rust protection systems?
Counteract out of Australia is an expensive one; there is one called
Electro-Shield which JC Whitney sells for $99, but seems to require
you to apply a clear paint sealant every year.
--------------
HOW IT WORKS. Salt and other pollutants combine with water and
humidity to create a kind of diluted "battery acid." When this "acid"
comes in contact with metal, an electrical imbalance causes electrons
to migrate from the "anode" portions of your car's metal parts to the
"cathode" portions. Positive ions of metal are left behind to unite
with negative oxygen ions to produce corrosion and rust.
ELECTRO-SHIELD provides an artificial source of electrons to restore
the electrical imbalance and slow corrosion. Also, it discharges
electrons to build up on those areas where the protective coating
(paint, etc.) has been damaged, thus interfering with the formation
of rust.
>>"The CounterAct technology because it relies upon electrostatic
>>fields rather than current electricity, is the only system that can
>>effectively deal with the problem of open-air corrosion. In our
>>system the electrostatic field we create on the motor vehicles body
>>slows down the rate of charge transport in the moisture layer on
>>the vehicles body thus reducing the rate at which the normal
>>oxidation reaction can take place. In other words the CounterAct
>>system acts like a catalyst altering the rate of the reaction
>>without actually affecting any change in the thermodynamics of the
>>reaction. What this all boils down to is that we offer the most
>>effective electronic system for addressing the problem of open air
>>corrosion"
------------
Other than my friend's 3 year old Buick (kept in a garage), no one I
have ever talked to has tried one. There is much scientific debate
here on whether this device can work above the ocean. The
"Counteract" description above really sounds hocus-pocus.
I wish I could borrow the one off my friends car and try it in the
back yard on a tin can or piece of iron rebar! I may call this into
public radio to the "Ask Doctor Science" show. (g)
Thanks,
Paul
