Electronic RUST prevention

[blk lt awd]

with one of the worst canadian winter's upon us.........snake oil or does it in fact work as advertised? worth it?

[Cobra]

i have it on my van and a rust spot that was clearly growing stopped. my friends uncle had it installed a long time ago on his muscle car (old camaro don't know year) and i never saw ANY rust on the body. shame he had to sell it

[Someone]

It has been in my van since new, and it is covered in rust... newer ones "might" work better

[Rileysowner]

I seem to remember discussing the principle on which they are probably based in a science class in highschool. That was years ago, and there was no way to do it on a car, but the principle is probably sound. Whether it works or not, I cannot say. There is one on my wife's car, but it is rusting. That could mean it doesn't work, that it is an early unit which does not work as well and newer ones, or that the unit itself has stopped working. Like anything electronic if a wire or connection breaks, it won't work, and any electronic device functioning in a vehicle faces stresses that can break connections. I have not googled it at all, but it would tempt me if it worked.

[blk lt awd]

It has been in my van since new, and it is covered in rust... newer ones "might" work better

just what i figured.....i guess wait and see if someone has a newer unit to provide some input....i don't mind spending the cash....but i usually like to on things that work..hahha.

[chesehd]

Captain Squid may be able to supplement what I'm leaving out but there are electronic corrosion control systems out there. Problem is they exist on ships. They are forcing an electric current through the water around the hull through a "sacrificial" anode. The corrosion is forced to eat the more reactive anode prior eating the hull of the ship, protecting the vessel.

I'm not sure I can see a way to make it work on a car.

Regarding Cobra's post, I can see 2 scenarios regarding the rust hole stopping. 1) Ran out of material to react with or 2) the corrosion reached a sufficient thickness to actually insulate the rest of the good metal from the salt/water. Yes, that is possible but not likely.

I'm leaning heavily towards the idea of snake oil for this one.

[Kabey's Van]

I put one of these on an old vehical to stop it from rusting until I could get at to do the body work, I noticed no difference in the rusting process.
I think you are refering to zinc plates on a ship, Cheese Head.
The zinc is more conductive than the metal parts on a ship and when it is in port any boat that has metal in the water is susceptable to electrolysis.
Any time you put a non-ferrous metal in water you create a battery that will introduce a current in the water. This current is stronger in port because of all the other boats around you and it will eat the zinc plate off you boat quicker than if you were at sea.
Same idea as the anti rust snake oil gizmo, but for a zinc plate to work you would have to completely submerge you vehicle in water.

[Cobra]

I do have a new unit and it has an indicator light to show that it's functional also anyone with good hearing can hear a very high frequency oscillation sounds if your listen under the hood. I know they are using an electronic rust prevention system in some mining equipment so that in my mind is probably a good indication that it has some effect tho the stuff they use is vastly superior to what we can buy. if I remember correctly the have a similar system to mine but use actually blocks of metal placed in high corrosion areas of the vehicle then are constantly supplied energy from the main unit, they get eaten away first to prevent the body rust but have to be replaced periodically in order to maintain functionality. Mine just has two large stick on pads (have no idea what they are made of) one at either end of my van supposed to be based on the mining systems but who know.
I was roaming the net a long time before I decided to spend the $300? (Something like that) wanted to know if it worked or not seemed like it could work so I grabbed it. I’m now a believer (still don't like Canadian tire tho)

[CaptSquid]

I don't know if you can put zincs on vehicles or not, but you should be able to get them at any decent marine shop. Might be worth a try to put some on the UC of the vans.

[blk lt awd]

I do have a new unit and it has an indicator light to show that it's functional also anyone with good hearing can hear a very high frequency oscillation sounds if your listen under the hood. I know they are using an electronic rust prevention system in some mining equipment so that in my mind is probably a good indication that it has some effect tho the stuff they use is vastly superior to what we can buy. if I remember correctly the have a similar system to mine but use actually blocks of metal placed in high corrosion areas of the vehicle then are constantly supplied energy from the main unit, they get eaten away first to prevent the body rust but have to be replaced periodically in order to maintain functionality. Mine just has two large stick on pads (have no idea what they are made of) one at either end of my van supposed to be based on the mining systems but who know.
I was roaming the net a long time before I decided to spend the $300? (Something like that) wanted to know if it worked or not seemed like it could work so I grabbed it. I’m now a believer (still don't like Canadian tire tho)

which brand are you using?

[blk lt awd]

or another item.....one of those car capsule things? don't they claim to prevent moisture build up therefore preventing rust over winter.......but i'm thinking that it has to suck in air using a fan to keep it inflated....moisture filled air will still be circulating...defeats the purpose no?

[Cobra]

i have counteract
http://www.counteractrust.com/

oh i forgot to mention when you get this thing they tell you to check that the light is flashing(to make sure it's working) once a week just like your oil level my first unit actually burned out but it has a long warranty so i went back to canadian tire and they put a new one on for free it looks easy to install your self tho i was just lazy