brass al mix

chewyboy · 03-14-2003, 08:27 PM

OK a question for everyone here. I've read a lot and talked to a lot of people too and have gotten answers that are soo opposite of each other i have no idea what is going on. Anyway the two sides are that if you mix al and brass fittings you will get corrosion and bad things will happen. The other part i'm reading/hearing/etc..... is that there is not enough cu in the brass to really affect the al and cause the corrosion. so now i'm lost what's going on :P

Blackeagle · 03-14-2003, 09:01 PM

Not enough Cu? Most brass is 80% Cu. Best would be to have no Alum. in system. Just make sure your alum. is hard anodized and then run water wetter as a anti-corrosive.

jaydee · 03-16-2003, 08:04 PM

What happens when you use brass barbs with a bear AL top:

Do yourself a favor and use Copper or Copper and Brass. Aluminum however will work ok even if it is not anodized as long you keep an eye on it and use strong corrosion prevention such as antifreeze. Water Wetter will work for a while but I wouldn't trust it with bear aluminum for a long time. Antifreeze however should work well. If it works for AL heads and blocks in cars with brass rads it should work for PC water cooling. I just hate antifreeze. Spring a leak and what a mess. I use just distilled water and Copper now nothing else and have had no problems for a month and a half running my REV 2.0 block 24/7. Copper is not that expensive either, usually 3 times more than AL but that is still under $7 for a 3/4" thick block. Hard to justify not using it.

I used to be a AL fanboy because of how easy it was to mill, but preschool is over, time to move on.

myv65 · 03-17-2003, 11:39 AM

Note: The following is completely unrelated to the topic of this thread, but irresistable.

Quote:

Originally posted by jaydee116
I used to be a AL fanboy because of how easy it was to mill, but preschool is over, time to move on.

LOLOL. Yeah, I remember those days of you getting into it with BillA and others on Al vs Cu. I appreciate the opportunity for a good laugh this morning, JD. Cheers.

BillA · 03-17-2003, 12:04 PM

yea, I was gonna give him an attaboy also
laughed 'till my belly hurt

not bad jd, not bad at all

MadDogMe · 03-18-2003, 04:08 AM

Does copper and brass react as well?, I noticed 'ever so slight' black corrosion around the rim of a brass barb on my poly topped Maze3, I take it it corrosion?. It's been running 6~9months on tap water with no additives...

I asked before whether solder and copper would corrode?, is solder a dissimulr 'enough' metal?...

Thanx!

...

BillA · 03-18-2003, 08:41 AM

rates are quite low
google on galvanic series

myv65 · 03-18-2003, 08:43 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MadDogMe
I asked before whether solder and copper would corrode?, is solder a dissimulr 'enough' metal?...

Thanx! ...

As you likely know, "solder" is not a particular metal. It is generally a mixture and may contain tin, silver, lead, etc. I use lead-free routinely for copper water pipes around the house and have never had a problem.

chewyboy · 03-21-2003, 10:32 PM

ok i talked to a buddy today that is way into materials. not just the generic metal head, but is freakishly into. anyway i started asking questions bla bla bla brass, al, cu etc..... what will happen if i do a,b,c,d..... so i start talking about a resivoir i am thinking about trying out but the problem is that i have to use al and there will be copper in the system and what in gods name should i do. Sorry this might get long. anyway the first thing he asked was is there going to be liquid in the system and when i said yeah, well he didn't like it but said there are solutions. anyway he then started in on all sorts of numbers and i said...whooooo back the truck up. Anyway he started spitting numbers that were a little more generic. basically there are 7 generic groups of al
1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx. he spouted some stuff that i just ignored or maybe i was boored then it got a little interesting. 1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx are all very corrosive, he said dont use 4xxx al i forget why(i think because it had a cu mix to it but that confused me even more), but 5xxx and 6xxx al had some very interesting properties. They are both very corrosive resistant al. I asked about cu and brass on those al and he pretty much said that they would handle it fine. so the question i have for you guys now is what types of al are you using and what are your observations? oh yeah 7xxx al is aircraft grade al :P

MadDogMe · 03-22-2003, 03:42 AM

I think it's pretty impossible to tell without chemical testing the Alu?, or buying it 'known' from a retailer. Alu is just Alu to most of us. It's easy to tell between Alu and Alloy but the grades of Alu are a different matter. Alot of peeps use scraps/offcuts they find laying around, I know I do (not for H2o though)...

*************************************

Quote:

As you likely know, "solder" is not a particular metal. It is generally a mixture and may contain tin, silver, lead, etc. I use lead-free routinely for copper water pipes around the house and have never had a problem.

I'm not too sure what the 'base' metal is though?, is it tin?...

jaydee · 03-23-2003, 07:16 PM

I have been using 6061 (what is on my pics above). If you plan to make a resivore get it hard anodized. Type 3 preferable. Type 2 should do ok though. Don't use brass barbs on it and you should be alright.

myv65 · 03-24-2003, 07:45 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by MadDogMe
I'm not too sure what the 'base' metal is though?, is it tin?...

Most are tin-based, as the following chart shows:

Lead-free solders

03-14-2003, 08:27 PM	#1
chewyboy Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: us Posts: 75	brass al mix OK a question for everyone here. I've read a lot and talked to a lot of people too and have gotten answers that are soo opposite of each other i have no idea what is going on. Anyway the two sides are that if you mix al and brass fittings you will get corrosion and bad things will happen. The other part i'm reading/hearing/etc..... is that there is not enough cu in the brass to really affect the al and cause the corrosion. so now i'm lost what's going on :P

03-14-2003, 09:01 PM	#2
Blackeagle Thermophile Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: U.S.A = Michigan Posts: 1,243	Not enough Cu? Most brass is 80% Cu. Best would be to have no Alum. in system. Just make sure your alum. is hard anodized and then run water wetter as a anti-corrosive.

03-16-2003, 08:04 PM	#3
jaydee Put up or Shut Up Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 6,506	What happens when you use brass barbs with a bear AL top: Do yourself a favor and use Copper or Copper and Brass. Aluminum however will work ok even if it is not anodized as long you keep an eye on it and use strong corrosion prevention such as antifreeze. Water Wetter will work for a while but I wouldn't trust it with bear aluminum for a long time. Antifreeze however should work well. If it works for AL heads and blocks in cars with brass rads it should work for PC water cooling. I just hate antifreeze. Spring a leak and what a mess. I use just distilled water and Copper now nothing else and have had no problems for a month and a half running my REV 2.0 block 24/7. Copper is not that expensive either, usually 3 times more than AL but that is still under $7 for a 3/4" thick block. Hard to justify not using it. I used to be a AL fanboy because of how easy it was to mill, but preschool is over, time to move on.

03-17-2003, 12:04 PM	#5
BillA CoolingWorks Tech Guy Formerly "Unregistered" Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Posts: 2,371.493,106 Posts: 4,440	yea, I was gonna give him an attaboy also laughed 'till my belly hurt not bad jd, not bad at all

03-18-2003, 04:08 AM	#6
MadDogMe Thermophile Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Just shut up ;) ... Posts: 1,068	Does copper and brass react as well?, I noticed 'ever so slight' black corrosion around the rim of a brass barb on my poly topped Maze3, I take it it corrosion?. It's been running 6~9months on tap water with no additives... I asked before whether solder and copper would corrode?, is solder a dissimulr 'enough' metal?... Thanx! ...

03-18-2003, 08:41 AM	#7
BillA CoolingWorks Tech Guy Formerly "Unregistered" Join Date: Dec 2000 Location: Posts: 2,371.493,106 Posts: 4,440	rates are quite low google on galvanic series

03-21-2003, 10:32 PM	#9
chewyboy Cooling Neophyte Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: us Posts: 75	ok i talked to a buddy today that is way into materials. not just the generic metal head, but is freakishly into. anyway i started asking questions bla bla bla brass, al, cu etc..... what will happen if i do a,b,c,d..... so i start talking about a resivoir i am thinking about trying out but the problem is that i have to use al and there will be copper in the system and what in gods name should i do. Sorry this might get long. anyway the first thing he asked was is there going to be liquid in the system and when i said yeah, well he didn't like it but said there are solutions. anyway he then started in on all sorts of numbers and i said...whooooo back the truck up. Anyway he started spitting numbers that were a little more generic. basically there are 7 generic groups of al 1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx, 4xxx, 5xxx, 6xxx, 7xxx. he spouted some stuff that i just ignored or maybe i was boored then it got a little interesting. 1xxx, 2xxx, 3xxx are all very corrosive, he said dont use 4xxx al i forget why(i think because it had a cu mix to it but that confused me even more), but 5xxx and 6xxx al had some very interesting properties. They are both very corrosive resistant al. I asked about cu and brass on those al and he pretty much said that they would handle it fine. so the question i have for you guys now is what types of al are you using and what are your observations? oh yeah 7xxx al is aircraft grade al :P

03-23-2003, 07:16 PM	#11
jaydee Put up or Shut Up Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: Spokane WA Posts: 6,506	I have been using 6061 (what is on my pics above). If you plan to make a resivore get it hard anodized. Type 3 preferable. Type 2 should do ok though. Don't use brass barbs on it and you should be alright.

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