Actually worse, I'm a geek and a nerd....

Thanks, Tom Hargrave Our Web Sites: www.kegkits.com http://www.kegkits.com/JABF/ www.stir-plate.com www.andyshotsauce.com 256-656-1924

-----Original Message----- From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of Rocket J Squirrel Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 12:11 PM To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM Subject: Re: Electronic Rustproofing?

Tom, as a geek, I do love reading an in-depth response to a technical question. Many thanks for the info! -- Mike "Rocket J Squirrel" Elliott 84 Westfalia: Mellow Yellow ("The Electrical Banana") 74 Utility Trailer. Ladybug Trailer, Inc., San Juan Capistrano Bend, OR KG6RCR

On 8/15/2009 9:42 AM Tom Hargrave wrote:

> Corrosion occurs when you have metal surfaces with positive ions and > negative ions and those areas are bridged with a conductor (water or salt > water) Surface rust is caused by positively charged metal surfaces being > exposed to oxygen and it not the same as corrosion. Actually, surface rust > can build up a barrier that will help to prevent corrosion. Aluminum and > copper as well as quite a few other metals will do this as soon as they are > exposed to air, so does stainless steel. So will mild and high carbon steel > if given a chance - this the dark brown coating an items like carbon steel > knives, the brown coating (called browning) on old handguns & long guns and > on old steel antiques. Some of today's spray on "rust converters / stoppers" > chemically build a brown oxide layer and if applied right, work well. > > The electronic Rustproofing devices work by keeping everything at a slight > negative charge and the theory is that with no positively charged metal > there will be no corrosion. I remember people trying to sell these in the > 70s and even then those who were selling the units could prove they worked > "in theory". The problem comes from that fact that we all already have one > of these devices installed in every one of our cars!!! > > Let me explain..... > > Years ago car manufacturers noticed that car bodies with a positive ground > electrical system would corrode much faster than car bodies with a negative > ground electrical system. This is why all cars manufactured today have a > negative ground electrical system. All of the positive ions gather on the > positive side of the electrical system (the hot side) and all of the > negative ions gather on the negative side of the electrical system (the > ground side which also happens to be the car body). This is also why the > surface of your copper wires turn dark so fast and why only the positive > terminal of your battery corrodes! > > BTW, boats take a much more aggressive approach. They bond all of the metal > parts together with copper wire then they run a wire to a sacrificial anode, > usually zinc, below the water line. This guarantees that the anode has > positive ions & everything else has negative ions, causing the anode to > corrode away instead of the other metal parts. > > We could do the same thing with our cars but I don't think you want to be > standing waste high in water. But VW and the other car companies did the > next best thing. They started building cars in the 80s with steel panels > coated with a sacrificial anode - it's called zinc plating. The problem is - > steel is different than any other metal alloy. Steel has localized regions > of positive and negative charged ions and body corrosion starts once the > anode (the zinc plating) has been used up, even in a small area. > > And there are other issues with car bodies. Welding and folding plated steel > damages the zinc coating. Plus, once seam areas get wet they tend to stay > wet. This is why corrosion usually starts in seams - the zinc coating was > damaged during manufacturing and / or was used up there first. The right > answer is to repair those areas then protect them with a good undercoating > that won't let oxygen (air) or moisture come in contact with the steel > surface. Undercoating seams that have started to rust will only slow things > down because you can't get the moisture out. > > Thanks, > Tom Hargrave > Our Web Sites: > www.kegkits.com > http://www.kegkits.com/JABF/ > www.stir-plate.com > www.andyshotsauce.com > 256-656-1924 > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of > Max Wellhouse > Sent: Saturday, August 15, 2009 9:12 AM > To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM > Subject: Electronic Rustproofing? > > Well, the title says it all. I was on the Subie Outback web page and > saw this little gem. Apparently some dealers are selling electronic > rustproofing for your car now. Can't confirm what country this was > in, but a reply on the post was a guy from Austrailia fixin' to > become a dealer for such stuff. To say the least, she got a lot of > response saying it wouldn't work and the process was likened to the > electronic(magnetic) fuel conditioners for sale > > So, I don't think I've seen this thread discussed on the Vanagon list > so far, so have at it boys and girls!! Would be great if it did work. > > DM&FS > > Link provided by the Aussie > > http://www.couplertec.com.au/index.html >