At 06:03 PM 11/17/2006, K8RI on TowerTalk wrote:
>I doubt Alodine would be very effective for buried radials and it is a lot
>of work.
>The Aluminum is etched with Phosphoric Acid, thoroughly washed and then
>given repeated treatments
>http://www.rci-products.com/ALODINE.html
>of Chromic Acid each of which is followed by thorough washing. This
>produces the Gold color which is relatively fragile. A good rubbing with a
>dry paper towel will remove it. OTOH if handled carefully the majority of
>the wire would remain coated. In a cold climate like here in Michigan the
>freeze and thaw cycle would eventually remove the coating by the abrasive
>movement of the soil. How long that would take I have no idea.
The question is whether an aluminum wire manufacturer could provide
passivated wire, perhaps coated also for mechanical abrasion
resistance, for a price that's less than bare copper wire. "enamel"
wire isn't much more expensive than bare wire, and the wire
manufacturers do all sorts of chemical treatments, so if they DO the
corrosion protection at all, I wouldn't expect it to cost a lot.
Jim, W6RMK
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