7'*18' V-Nose Cargo Trailer Toy Hauler Conversion

[McDave]

I wonder if separating and isolating the pos. from the neg. would slow the electrolysis/corrosion? May need to inject some nitrogen gas...

McDave

Maybe some sort of sacrificial anode rod?

[lrrowe]

I wonder if separating and isolating the pos. from the neg. would slow the electrolysis/corrosion? May need to inject some nitrogen gas...

McDave

Maybe some sort of sacrificial anode rod?

Or fill the box with some sort of epoxy or similar. Yes it would require cutting of the wires to remove, but it sure would be permanent and moisture free.

[flboy]

Not sure why so much corrosion. It is watertight, but may not be 100% airtight from inside the trailer. Could be some electrically induced type corrosion? In any case, the coating I put on there should mitigate. I'll keep an eye on it.

Tommy, this how the LEDs sit in the rail.



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[flboy]

Don, I am considering doing something like you did for your panels to be mounted to. To a cross member. I have read all the great performance results on the special adhesives and the 3 M tapes. But I cannot convince myself that they will hold up at 65 mph. I know many have great results, but I am just too paranoid. So I will be looking at a method like yours, but the curved top/side of my CarMate requires I fabricate some curved bracket which to me is a challenge.

I agree.. I'd have a hard time trusting the adhesive, especially for the long term. These new adhesives are amazing, but if not prepped right and etc.. they will let go. Obviously I don't have any problem drilling holes in things. Just got to make sure to use the butyl tape. I feel much better with the screws.

Good luck on your rack.

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

WOW on the corrosion you found in the junction box. Might want to think about using some desiccant
inside the box and some silicone sealant for the lid. Just a suggestion from one that worked aircraft
corrosion control for 13 years in the Navy.
The desiccant will soak up any residual moisture that's left inside while the silicone cures.

hank

[flboy]

flboy, Howdy;

WOW on the corrosion you found in the junction box. Might want to think about using some desiccant
inside the box and some silicone sealant for the lid. Just a suggestion from one that worked aircraft
corrosion control for 13 years in the Navy.
The desiccant will soak up any residual moisture that's left inside while the silicone cures.

hank

Hank...any idea why the corrosion? I put battery terminal spray all over the aluminum bus bar. Did I just waste my time? I've never seen this happen like this before. I did seal the lid with Silicone after I let the battery terminal spray set up .

[McDave]

Could it be a condensation issue? If you have outdoor outlets that are fed from inside wiring, you may want to open one up and take a look. Here's some food for thought...

Electrolysis of a solution of sodium chloride[edit]

The presence of water in a solution of sodium chloride must be examined in respect to its reduction and oxidation in both electrodes. Usually, water is electrolysed as mentioned in electrolysis of water yielding gaseous oxygen in the anode and gaseous hydrogen in the cathode. On the other hand, sodium chloride in water dissociates in Na+ and Cl− ions, cation, which is the positive ion, will be attracted to the cathode (-), thus reducing the sodium ion. The anion will then be attracted to the anode (+) oxidizing chloride ion.[28]

The following half reactions describes the process mentioned:[28]
1. Cathode: Na+(aq) + e− → Na(s) E°red = –2.71 V2. Anode: 2 Cl−(aq) → Cl2(g) + 2 e− E°red = +1.36 V3. Cathode: 2 H2O(l) + 2 e− → H2(g) + 2 OH−(aq) E°red = –0.83 V4. Anode: 2 H2O(l) → O2(g) + 4 H+(aq) + 4 e− E°red = +1.23 V
Reaction 1 is discarded as it has the most negative value on standard reduction potential thus making it less thermodynamically favorable in the process.
When comparing the reduction potentials in reactions 2 and 4, the reduction of chloride ion is favored. Thus, if the Cl− ion is favored for reduction, then the water reaction is favored for oxidation producing gaseous oxygen, however experiments show gaseous chlorine is produced and not oxygen.

I have seen chlorine cause similar damage. Just brainstorming. The white scale and rust may be a clue, plus the pos. copper looked darker than the neg.

McDave

[featherliteCT1]

McDave,

I presume you recited those chemical formulas from memory, off the top of your head ... amazing!

[McDave]

Copy and paste. Note the blue print. Just need to have an idea what you're looking for.

McDave

[flboy]

McDave... there could be some condensation since the box is sealed from the outside, but not airtight to the inside of the CTC.. In any case, this is Florida, so moisture getting in somewhere - somehow is a given.

I think the corrosion must be something strange related to the low voltage DC present along those bus bars. I never did well in chemistry, but I know that for corrosion to occur three essential things usually must be present. There must be an exposed metal, an electrolyte of some sort, and a receptor. With those ingredients, it doesn't take much voltage potential across those bus bars to make the magic happen over time.

I figure I removed one essential by coating the exposed metal the second time around here. Hopefully that will interrupt the process. I am not sure what the electrolyte would have been other than maybe something from that white silicone curing and out-gassing. I'll check on it in a few months to see. :-)

At home, I have a few outlets going outside from the house... there is typically never an issue unless there is water ingress and then the GFCI trips. Humidity is not enough and rarely see corrosion . Probably something related to the fact it is AC instead of DC. I think all the ions have to go one direction for the corrosion build up?

BTW: It was the negative bus bar that looked the worst for sure. The negative side has the red wires in the picture, but recall I wired them up backwards color wise accidentally when I built the extender cables for the solar panels and fixed the error at the wire I send down through the roof so it was not confusing at the DC panel. I didn't want to have to cut all those MC4 connectors I soldered on and start over.

[hankaye]

flboy, Howdy;

Well, you live in Fl. that's part of the problem. Salt is in the air (McD's Sodium Chloride), so,
there needs to be a protective layer between the salt in the air and the metal that you don't
want to corrode. The spray-on stuff you used is a good start, I use it on my RV batteries as well
as the ones in the pick-up. You just need to pop the lid every so often to check on the buss bars.

We had a schedule for our aircraft, 14 day cycle for the F-14s that I worked on as an example.
Funny thing is we also had 14 aircraft assigned to the Squadron ... my crew was 12 folks that
inspected, removed the crud, treated the bare metal, primed, sealed and painted (including
any markings), and did a final inspection in a 12 hour period (it was all we had they had to fly
the next morning). I've had times when the guys with spray cans were walking alongside the plane
while it was being towed to the elevator to go topside for a flight. Can't tell ya how much fun it
was trying to paint a gray aircraft with light gray paint when they would go to red lights.

hank

[WoodSmith]

I've been elsewhere for quite a while, but have re-ignited my interest in doing a CTC, I've spent a lot of hours reading your thread and a few others. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the time you have taken to document your build. This is a beautiful thing you have built.

As to the corrosion that you got on those terminal strips, I wonder if the Silicon sealant was out-gassing acetic acid, adding to the problem of the salt air? I know that when I use it, I can smell a vinegar smell for quite a while as it cures. I understand that you have sprayed the strips with battery terminal coating, I wonder if some form of conformal coating would be in your best interest?

Potting it with Epoxy might be a cure worse than the disease if you ever need to replace or change those wires, but depending on the size of your service loops and what connectors are between that J-box and the panels, might be a final solution.

Thanks again for sharing this with us.

[flboy]

I've been elsewhere for quite a while, but have re-ignited my interest in doing a CTC, I've spent a lot of hours reading your thread and a few others. THANK YOU SO MUCH for the time you have taken to document your build. This is a beautiful thing you have built.

As to the corrosion that you got on those terminal strips, I wonder if the Silicon sealant was out-gassing acetic acid, adding to the problem of the salt air? I know that when I use it, I can smell a vinegar smell for quite a while as it cures. I understand that you have sprayed the strips with battery terminal coating, I wonder if some form of conformal coating would be in your best interest?

Potting it with Epoxy might be a cure worse than the disease if you ever need to replace or change those wires, but depending on the size of your service loops and what connectors are between that J-box and the panels, might be a final solution.

Thanks again for sharing this with us.

Thanks Glen and you are welcome! This site is great for sharing and borrowing!

If this coating I put on doesn't work, the conformal coat is a great idea. We use it in manufacturing electronics a lot.. mostly for moisture protection, but the rest of the benefits go along for the ride.

[flboy]

I've been doing alot of the little things in terms of final finish. I always make it a habit of a few small things before each trip. Today , I added blinds to the door for privacy after dark, added some bling outlet covers, and flooring over the batteries in the closet.

The Blinds for the door. This will add privacy at night. I never had any cover for it.







Bathroom Outlet



Kitchen outlet. I actually did that one last week.




The floor is removable so I can get to the batteries and service them or etc.. I can get to two of them from the closet and the third one extends under the dinette seat which also has a lift off top for access to storage below. The emergency battery disconnect is in the back corner of the closet. I guess I can get to it quick enough if needed. Hopefully never needed except for when working on the system.



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[featherliteCT1]

looks great!