| |
Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board
Re: godfrey zincs work really well
Posted By: mike ohlstein In Response To: Re: godfrey zincs work really well (Prop King)
Date: Monday, 10 January 2005, at 5:16 p.m.
Zinc isn't zinc, just like soap isn't soap. All household soaps are surfactants, but some tend to dissolve more rapidly than others. All zincs are sacrificial anodes (when attached to the ships ground) but some tend to disappear quicker than others.
The vanishing acts of both the soap and the zinc have a lot to do with their composition. Soap isn't pure soap, and zinc isn't pure zinc....although most zinc alloys are more than 99.44% pure...purer than Ivory soap...
Some zinc alloys are best suited for plating usage, others are better at being propeller shaft doughnuts. And though all of the anode makers will tell you that their zincs conform to the generally accepted mil spec, what they don't tell you is whether the spec they conform to is the plating spec or the anode spec.
If the zinc is there in May, and still there in October, that doesn't mean it isn't working. But if the zinc is gone by the end of June, you better know about it. I have a pair of props at home that look like Swiss cheese to further illustrate this particular point.
Like I said....this was my first year using domestic zinc, and my first year of zincs lasting the season. It probably isn't a huge issue if you're in a place with little or no stray current, but it makes a difference to me.
Mike
| |
Bertram31.com General Bulletin Board is maintained by Patrick McCrary with WebBBS 5.12.