Electronic corrosion protection

Discussion in 'OnBoard Electronics & Controls' started by Elysium Tech, Sep 23, 2019.

  1. Elysium Tech
    Joined: Jun 2018
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    Location: Sechelt, BC

    Elysium Tech New Member

    Hello I have a electronic rust inhibitor for my truck. It comes with 2 pads and a controller. I think it sends negative pulse waves through the metal. Can I put this on my outboard to protect from salt water corrosion?
     
  2. Eric ruttan
    Joined: Jul 2018
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    Location: usa

    Eric ruttan Senior Member

    Yes. And it will function just as well as it does on your car.

    Which is, not at all.
     
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  3. Barry
    Joined: Mar 2002
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    Barry Senior Member

    Check out the OEM outboard sites. Mercathode has an outboard protection unit and I believe Volvo as well. On a 40 foot aluminum sports cruiser that we owned, there was a
    system that protected the entire boat. So while Eric above says that a system will not work, the engineers at Merc and Volvo et al have decided that they will.

    I have seen a few outboards in the marina with additional anodes bolted to the ventilation plate as well. On a different boat that we owned, not aluminum, the boat had to sit many months
    over winter in the water so we purchased a couple of very large anodes, attached them to copper wires, and when leaving for the winter, would connect the wires to each prop shaft inside the boat and hang the anodes over the side. Well tied of course. The boat was in the water for over 14 years, only coming out for bottom paint so seemed to work.

    possible others Promarine, Newmar

    Depending on the size of your engines you could flush the engines after use with fresh water.

    Taken from the internet,
    In some cases, impressed current cathodic protection (ICCP) systems are used. These consist of anodes connected to a DC power source, often a transformer-rectifier connected to AC power. [14]

    Anodes for ICCP systems are available in a variety of shapes and sizes. Common anodes are tubular and solid rod shapes or continuous ribbons of various materials.


    Cathodic protection transformer-rectifier units are often custom manufactured and equipped with a variety of features, including remote monitoring and control, integral current interrupter
     
    Last edited: Sep 24, 2019
  4. Eric ruttan
    Joined: Jul 2018
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    Location: usa

    Eric ruttan Senior Member

    In theory an electronic rust inhibitor can work on a submersed system. But I know of no such theory for a truck. Thus, I think it is silly.

    To take said, IMHO, silly system, and put it on a boat, is even more silly.

    To compare the above sillyness to a, supposed, well engineered system, is even more sillyness.
     
  5. BertKu
    Joined: May 2009
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    Location: South Africa Little Brak River

    BertKu Senior Member

    Hi Eric, for donkey years we have been placing solar panels every so many meters on the oil pipe lines to prevent rusting. just a low DC current flow. I guarantee you that it was working all those years. Should we say for the last 40 years? Why is it then so silly to protect a truck or a boat engine? By engineering a low level DC flow? I wonder what you know about the principle of rust and how to combat this. Bert
     
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  6. Eric ruttan
    Joined: Jul 2018
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    Location: usa

    Eric ruttan Senior Member

    I can't say I know.
    But, as I understand it, the panels on oil pipelines, like submerged boats, have a path for flow to ground. A rubber tired truck has no such path, as I see it.
     
  7. BertKu
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    Location: South Africa Little Brak River

    BertKu Senior Member

    Eric, it has nothing to do with the ground. Oil pipelines or water pipelines for pumping large volume of water over a long distance are under ground often. But also above ground. The trick is to neutralize stray currents which courses the rust. This is done by measuring the negative current and combat this with a positive current or visa versa, which end result = NIL stray currents or electrons. In a truck it maybe difficult to measure stray currents, but rubber wheels has no influence over that process. By having sensitive sensors at various places on the truck and a microcomputer chip which could regulate a positive or negative current in that part of the truck could combat rust. Unfortunately nothing in life is silly when you understand it. Bert
     
  8. Eric ruttan
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    Location: usa

    Eric ruttan Senior Member

  9. BertKu
    Joined: May 2009
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    Location: South Africa Little Brak River

    BertKu Senior Member

    Well Eric if you believe that it is because the rubber tires prevent the car from having a connection to ground. That is easy to resolve then. You have a chain which scrape at the back of your car onto the ground. Like in the olden days when we wanted to prevent to get a shock from static charge when getting out of the car after a lots of lightning in the sky. But that is not the reason. If the unit is transmitting a low DC current then it should work. 2 different metals will then be prevented from forming a small battery whereby the one side oxidize (rust) . Except if you have plastic parts in the car which prevent a close circuit. That is the principle what I understood. But if people test it with lots of plastic in a car, yes you will have a failure. They spending billions of dollars in preventing all kind of pipes from rusting, water transport, gas , diesel, oil etc. you think they are idiots and waste their money? Bert
     

  10. BertKu
    Joined: May 2009
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    Location: South Africa Little Brak River

    BertKu Senior Member

    Hi, Elysium Tech. Personally I think it could work. What is corrosion, normally, when a metal whereby stray currents and oxygen + moisture result in this: An oxidation-reduction reaction is a reaction that involves the full or partial transfer of electrons from one reactant to another. Oxidation is the full or partial loss of electrons or the gain of oxygen. Reduction is the full or partial gain of electrons or the loss of oxygen. This means that the unit you have transmitted a certain frequency most likely an alternating positive and negative pulses (electrons ) out whereby the oxidation is be hampered. I would say on a boat it should also work as long the 2 pads do not make contact via the sea and short circuit those parts you would like to prevent from oxidizing. In my opinion you have nothing to lose. What part of the outboard would you like to protect? I hope not the hull, because the 2 pads will be short circuit by the sea. Well for what it is worth, this is my personal opinion. Bert
     
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