bonsaidarrell Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 I purchased a float valve to use in my planned ATO. It is all plastic, except for a stainless steel cotter pin that serves as the pivot for the float. It won't be in constant contact with water, but it is sure to be exposed at times. Is it OK, or should I replace it with something else? I have some carbon fiber rod that I could use as an almost direct replacement. Thanks! Darrell Link to comment
SPS20 Posted October 17, 2008 Share Posted October 17, 2008 Depends on the alloy. Some kids of "stainless" steel will rust in saltwater, some won't. If you can make the carbon fiber rod work, do it. If not, I seriously doubt a small piece of steel will cause any problems in terms of poisoning your stock, but keep an eye on it to make sure it doesn't rust enough to fall apart and make your float swithh malfunction. The screws holding my submerged circulation pump together are stainless steel, as is the impeller shaft. Neither has caused any problems, so I think you should be ok. Link to comment
The Propagator Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Oh you would be surprised what a small piece of rusty low grade SS can do actually. it will corrode and rust quite fast in SW alone as is. add power heads, filters, heaters and all their stray voltage and you have a nice little rust cluster before you know it flaking off into your water column. It wont do much at 1st but it will build up in solid little particles over time until the cotter pin is dissolved away. Link to comment
Psychographic Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Why risk it and have a chance of failure? Mod it before it goes into use. Link to comment
masterbuilder Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Yup...stainless is just what it says. It "Stains Less", not "Stain-Proof" (or rust proof) Link to comment
bonsaidarrell Posted October 18, 2008 Author Share Posted October 18, 2008 OK, thanks! Link to comment
NanoReefGuy Posted October 18, 2008 Share Posted October 18, 2008 Hi bonsaidarrell As was mentioned before it depends on the type of stainless steel. Typically stainless in the 300 series works well around salt water. One rule of thumb is that if stainless is affected by magnetic it probably will rust. Usually the higher hardness stainless steels like 420 & 440 will give you a problem. Try picking up the piece with a magnet. If it won't stick I think you will probably be OK. Cheers NRG Link to comment
The Propagator Posted October 19, 2008 Share Posted October 19, 2008 That's the problem. SS hose clamps that say " high grade SS steel" or "surgical SS steel band" have extremely low quality screws that rust VERY quickly while the high quality band barely even tarnishes. You have to pay a small fortune to get quality SS all the way around in anything now days. Sucks really. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.