|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 1, 2014 7:53:55 GMT -7
I have a couple of fire steels bought from you know who and they're not looking good for never having been used. They've been kept with their strikers in a sandwich ziplock bag. The bags now have a grayish powdered residue in them and the fire steel coating worn off with pitting on the rods themselves. What am I doing wrong or is this normal, I have others which look the same as when I bought them. Are they just bad eggs from a metallurgical viewpoint? My inquiring mind wants to know.  |
|
|
|
Post by Cwi555 on Sept 1, 2014 9:14:02 GMT -7
I have a couple of fire steels bought from you know who and they're not looking good for never having been used. They've been kept with their strikers in a sandwich ziplock bag. The bags now have a grayish powdered residue in them and the fire steel coating worn off with pitting on the rods themselves. What am I doing wrong or is this normal, I have others which look the same as when I bought them. Are they just bad eggs from a metallurgical viewpoint? My inquiring mind wants to know. Most ferrocerium rods will eventually degrade. Their constituent metals are too far apart on the anodic scale to avoid it indefinitely. Add moisture and air and you have all the necessary elements for corrosion.  www.engineersedge.com/engineering/Engineering_Standards_Specifications/MIL,045STD_Military_Standard/milstd889b_5169.htm You can download a pdf for mil std 889b in the link that will give you an idea of it. Like any other metal item it requires protection from the environment for long term storage. |
|
|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 1, 2014 9:20:20 GMT -7
Thanks cwi. What would you recommend to protect them for long term storage?
|
|
|
|
Post by Cwi555 on Sept 1, 2014 9:30:21 GMT -7
Thanks cwi. What would you recommend to protect them for long term storage? Mine are stacked in a Pyrex box with a nitrogen purge. There are multiple solutions, but whatever you do, do not use a mylar bag. Remember mylar is usually metalized with a thin layer of aluminum. That adds another point of failure for metals as found in ferrocerium rods. |
|
|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 1, 2014 9:41:39 GMT -7
Would placing them in a container filled with oxygen absorber granules do the trick?
|
|
|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 1, 2014 9:50:20 GMT -7
Mine are stacked in a Pyrex box with a nitrogen purge. When you say Pyrex box, are you talking about the common dish Pyrex? |
|
|
|
Post by Cwi555 on Sept 1, 2014 19:04:46 GMT -7
Mine are stacked in a Pyrex box with a nitrogen purge. When you say Pyrex box, are you talking about the common dish Pyrex? Yes. It is non reactive to most chemical environments. |
|
|
|
Post by Cwi555 on Sept 1, 2014 19:05:47 GMT -7
Would placing them in a container filled with oxygen absorber granules do the trick? Keep them away from the granules and it should work. |
|
|
|
Post by garret on Sept 1, 2014 23:47:04 GMT -7
mine are coated with beeswax and kept in ziplock bags, seems to be doing the trick so far
|
|
|
|
Post by Cwi555 on Sept 2, 2014 2:35:45 GMT -7
mine are coated with beeswax and kept in ziplock bags, seems to be doing the trick so far Haven't tried that, but in theory it should work. |
|
|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on Sept 2, 2014 5:37:34 GMT -7
mine are coated with beeswax and kept in ziplock bags, seems to be doing the trick so far Haven't tried that, but in theory it should work. You'll never find out anything unless you ask questions. Thanks guys!  Garret that technique sounds simple enough and makes it easily transportable. |
|
|
|
Post by garret on Sept 2, 2014 5:53:36 GMT -7
mine are coated with beeswax and kept in ziplock bags, seems to be doing the trick so far Haven't tried that, but in theory it should work. You'll never find out anything unless you ask questions. Thanks guys! Garret that technique sounds simple enough and makes it easily transportable. plus if you wipe it down with a cotton ball you have instant tinder lol |
|
|
|
Post by orly152 on May 4, 2017 16:57:17 GMT -7
Aaaaaah, the answer I was looking for
|
|
|
|
Post by cajunlady87 on May 4, 2017 19:22:57 GMT -7
You did great bumping this thread. It supplied us all with a few great ideas. |
|
|
|
Post by mud on May 6, 2017 10:50:39 GMT -7
Coated mine with clear fingernail polish
|
|
