[Elecraft] [K3] Case screws rusting

[David Yarnes]

Hi All,

Wayne says he's looking into this, which would be great! 
I'll tell you though, there is a big difference between just 
plain old humidity and salt air!  I don't think backpacking 
in damp forests will even come close to causing the problem 
that just a little exposure to salt air will cause.  And if 
the screws are rusting, you had better take a look-see 
inside as well.

When we go to the Oregon coast during the summer, we are 
only a little more than a hundred yards from the water.  I 
can almost "watch" my stuff rusting and corroding right in 
front of me!  Seriously, I put up a Buddipole for a couple 
of days, and then took it down.  I couldn't even unscrew the 
sections!  The antenna mount on my vehicle needs constant 
treatment for rust and corrosion while I'm there.  Even my 
tools, which are kept in a toolbox and inside the storage 
area of my motorhome, get rusty and corroded.  You should 
see what salt air does to chrome!

There is a product out there called "KwikLube", and it's 
made by an outfit called Kwikee Products in Cottage Grove, 
Oregon.  The guy who works on my motorhome up there swears 
by this stuff.  There are other products out there, but he 
insists this stuff does better than any of them.  It will 
inhibit and/or stop rust and corrosion.  If you are going 
into a salt water environment, you might want to 
periodically daub a little of this on the screwheads. 
Problem is, you can really protect everything that probably 
needs protecting.  I also would be inclined to pull the 
covers off afterward, and attend to any noticeable problems.

I was born in Oregon, but lived away from the coast.  Now I 
live in the desert.  One of the big reasons the military 
chose Tucson for its big aircraft storage location ("The 
Boneyard"), is that they can even leave good planes out 
there for years without worrying a lick about rust or 
corrosion.  So, this has been a whole new experience for 
me--keeping up with rust an corrosion in salt air 
environments--and it can darn near be a full time job!

Dave W7AQK


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "David Pratt" <david at g4dmp.fsnet.co.uk>
To: "g7vjr" <michael at g7vjr.org>
Cc: <elecraft at mailman.qth.net>
Sent: Tuesday, May 26, 2009 7:30 AM
Subject: Re: [Elecraft] [K3] Case screws rusting


> In a recent message, g7vjr <michael at g7vjr.org> wrote ...
>>On returning to England I can see that the salty, humid 
>>air has done
>>some damage to the K3, and caused the black case screws to 
>>rust.
>
> I cannot remember this ever being an issue with the K1 
> which uses
> similar screws, nor with the pan-head screws on the K2. 
> The K1 is often
> used for portable backpack use where moisture could be an 
> issue. This
> suggests that Elecraft could be supplying screws from an 
> alternative
> vendor for the K3.
>
> As an alternative to the suggested stainless steel, are 
> there any brass
> 100 degree countersunk screws available?  If so, they 
> could be less
> expensive.
>
> 73
> -- 
> David G4DMP
> Leeds, England, UK
> ------
>
>
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