Rust!

[skotl]

Got my shiny Halfords Pro socket set out to help put the new R-Tech together last night and was horrified to discover that its not so shiny any more! Anything that's not stainless now has a thin layer of rust

This is in my garage which has the good fortune or misfortune to be in Scotland, and the blight is affecting pretty much everything I've got in there.

I've been on the lookout for a 2nd hand industrial de-humidifier (one with a permanent drain that I can run outside) that I would leave running for the coldest six months of the year.

Has anyone else done similar? Do you think it would make a difference? I'm starting to wonder whether the only solution would be to keep the garage heated through winter, but that would be inordinately expensive.

Any other ideas / suggestions? Or just WD40 everything to an inch of their lives?

 

[brightspark]

Got my shiny Halfords Pro socket set out to help put the new R-Tech together last night and was horrified to discover that its not so shiny any more! Anything that's not stainless now has a thin layer of rust

This is in my garage which has the good fortune or misfortune to be in Scotland, and the blight is affecting pretty much everything I've got in there.

I've been on the lookout for a 2nd hand industrial de-humidifier (one with a permanent drain that I can run outside) that I would leave running for the coldest six months of the year.

Has anyone else done similar? Do you think it would make a difference? I'm starting to wonder whether the only solution would be to keep the garage heated through winter, but that would be inordinately expensive.

Any other ideas / suggestions? Or just WD40 everything to an inch of their lives?

a decent dehumidifer takes a fair bit of juice to run just use wd 40 and cover everything up

 

[octo0072000]

most dehumidifiers can be vented to outside you just remove the water tray and add a pipe to outside

 

[skotl]

a decent dehumidifer takes a fair bit of juice to run just use wd 40 and cover everything up

Kind of thought that was going to be the answer. The socket set was covered up, and had a layer of foam over the bits that have gone rusty

Related question; what do hobbyists who are not burning 5KG of MIG wire a day do in the winter? Do you take the wire out of the welder and into the house when not in use?

 

[AndyStobbs]

I reckon most of the blokes on here take the entire welder into the house. Is your garage lacking in air movement?

 

[brightspark]

I reckon most of the blokes on here take the entire welder into the house. Is your garage lacking in air movement?

****** to thathave u ever tried lifting a oilcooled welder

 

[skotl]

I reckon most of the blokes on here take the entire welder into the house. Is your garage lacking in air movement?

Cripes. Really?

****** to thathave u ever tried lifting a oilcooled welder

That, and the fact that the wife wouldn't be impressed.
Hmmm... now I'm depressed at the thought of my brand new and expensive welder rusting to bits in my crummy garage

Re the lack of air movement - yes - definitely. Would that help? Fit a permanently running extractor fan?

 

[the snooper]

I reckon most of the blokes on here take the entire welder into the house. Is your garage lacking in air movement?

I don't know anyone that does ive got 3 migs and and arc welder other half might have something to say if I did

 

[skotl]

I don't know anyone that does ive got 3 migs and and arc welder other half might have something to say if I did

Good - it's not just me, then!

 

[the artfull-codger]

I reckon most of the blokes on here take the entire welder into the house. Is your garage lacking in air movement?

Hmmnn Don't think mrs artfull would be impressed with welders in the house!!

 

[cumbriasteve]

I sprayed my M&W caliper set last year with WD40, must admit it helped them rust even better, the leather punch set in the same draw had not a bit of rust on it.

Plenty of ventilation helps, makes working in there uncomfortable in winter and as soon as you put a heater on to warm up millions of gallon of condensate appears as if by magic.

My welders stay out in the cold, albeit covered with an old blanket which may or may not help but at least keeps them clean.

 

[Maker]

Kind of thought that was going to be the answer. The socket set was covered up, and had a layer of foam over the bits that have gone rusty

Related question; what do hobbyists who are not burning 5KG of MIG wire a day do in the winter? Do you take the wire out of the welder and into the house when not in use?

Is mig wire not like tig rods in that it's copper coated to stop corrosion?

 

[Spark plug]

My garage can get rather damp in winter, even so I don't get too mutch probloem with rusty mig wire and my welder dosent have a cover over the spool..

As for the machines and bare metal I sovereign everything in duck oil, WD40 etc. when not in regular use the mill and lathe get dust sheets over them witch in turn get covered with WD40.

 

[Wallace]

I repaired a dehumidifier for a friend and managed to blag the use of it for most of last winter, made quite a difference on the damp days.

 

[the snooper]

I sprayed my M&W caliper set last year with WD40, must admit it helped them rust even better, the leather punch set in the same draw had not a bit of rust on it.

Plenty of ventilation helps, makes working in there uncomfortable in winter and as soon as you put a heater on to warm up millions of gallon of condensate appears as if by magic.

My welders stay out in the cold, albeit covered with an old blanket which may or may not help but at least keeps them clean.

wd40 is junk for preventing rust, it has 50% spirits in it, then what ever percentage for water displacement so I would imagine that far from covering steel with anti corrosion type oil it probably washes better stuff off

 

[eSCHEn]

We've run dehumidifiers for decades now and they definitely do work. However, they are not insignificant in running costs. You would get better value for money out of a small tubular heater and some air movement. IMHO of course.

 

[the snooper]

We've run dehumidifiers for decades now and they definitely do work. However, they are not insignificant in running costs. You would get better value for money out of a small tubular heater and some air movement. IMHO of course.

you would have to compare running wattage of both and whether the dehumidifier would actually cut out for periods of time

 

[eSCHEn]

Running wattage for mine are 250 - 300 watts pretty much constantly. Tubular heater for the size of garage about 120 watts (two by sixty) and say 50 for small fan. Not much in it but would add up over long periods of use.

 

[the snooper]

Running wattage for mine are 250 - 300 watts pretty much constantly. Tubular heater for the size of garage about 120 watts (two by sixty) and say 50 for small fan. Not much in it but would add up over long periods of use.

yeah just stuff sacks full of silica gel in there

 

[Bill Edwards]

Is mig wire not like tig rods in that it's copper coated to stop corrosion?

It still rusts.

And then the rust ruins the liner, so the next thing you know is that you need to replace the liner, tip and probably reel of wire, unless you have the patience to manually pull off enough to remove every bit of the top layer that's showing any sign of rust.

PITA.
You can get tiny heaters such as http://uk.rs-online.com/web/p/enclosure-heating-elements/2995714/ which could be used to keep gear slightly warmer and ought to help.