ECN Forum Forums General Topics of the Trade General Discussion Area Are plastic wire spools getting flimsier or

Harold:
BTW, I personally hate solid wire, with any insulation.

In the pool Greg? At least you have a chance to retrieve them. Just a couple weeks ago, I lost one of my screwdrivers in the salt water of the narrows. A few years ago hand my tool pouch out of the boat and it bumped the rail and I lost several tools out of my pouch. Oui vey!

I have a big magnet (voice coil magnet from a 14" disk drive) that is about the size of a brick with a round bite out of it. I have used that a number of times to retrieve things from the drink.
A little spritz of WD40 and they are good as new.

Greg:
I guess you retrieve quickly. The tools that were in the flood were toast after three days.

Off subject but yesterday the dredgers working to clear the channels in Barnegat Bay pulled in a 1990 Mercedes E that,s been under for 4 months. Not enough WD-40 to clean that baby!!

I keep one of those magnets on the boat and another in the garage. I do get stuff back as fast as I can. Otherwise you might as well just let the sea have it.

One thing you have to keep in mind is it isn't really the water that hurts things, it is the air. If you are not prepared to deal with it, you are better off leaving something in the water until you have your WD40 or whatever in hand.
Typically I flush it immediately with fresh water and then hit it with a massive dose of WD40. When I found the lower unit in my boat full of salt water, I immediately filled it with WD turned it over, drained, repeated WD and then filled it with motor oil because that was what I had handy.
When I finally got a chance to take it apart, everything was OK.

Greg...

WD40 = Water Dispersant (attempt) 40 was originaly, originaly, blended out of fish oils to solve water intrusion into the cable harness couplings to Atlas missiles at Cape Canaveral which was causing so many of the rocket's mis-fires.

Rustoleum also has a fish oil base. It was originaly, originaly, blended to fight rust at sea.

Fish have been fighting back the sea for 500,000,000 years, so they may have something going.

Chloride ions act as a catalyst for rust. So, be sure to flush the heck out of any item that's been exposed to salts. That may mean road salt, for you electricians out East.

You guys hit the nail on the head... Recent plastic spools SUCK! About a year ago I found METAL spools buried in my supply houses stock of 80's or 90's THHN that had new stock continuously getting stacked on it (General Cable/Cornish and Guardian) and I bought every last roll