Hi Steve,
I have seen this before with cadmium plated parts stored in a box.
It seems to be a reaction with volatiles from the paints and varnishes used
in the box preparation, usually polyurethane.
If you have not seen it before, it may be that the box construction has
changed along with an internal preparation.
Hope this helps
Regards
Eric Dawson

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Steve Gregory [SMTP:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Saturday, February 08, 2003 12:35 AM
> To:   [log in to unmask]
> Subject:      [TN] Substance on connector...
>
> Hi all!
>
> This is a late Friday post, and don't expect much response until Monday...
>
> But the situation is that we build some back-up battery drawers that are
> used on Naval ships...we've been building them for years.
>
> We buy the chassis quite ahead of time, and store them inside their
> shipping boxes (they're made of plywood and pine), and are stored inside
> out of the weather, but not in a controlled environment.
>
> There's a Cadmium plated, aluminum connector on the chassis, that is
> painted with a olive drab, conductive paint (it's a mil-spec paint, that
> has always been used). The chassis is made of brushed aluminum.
>
> We got our batch of chassis for our latest build (they've been in storage
> the better part of a year), and when we opened the boxes, we found all the
> connectors covered with this white powdery substance. Go to:
>
> http://www.stevezeva.homestead.com and look at "battery drawer connector".
> You will see what I'm talking about. There's a screw type cover that goes
> over the end of the connector, and there isn't any of the white substance
> there. So that makes me think that whatever caused this, has to be
> airborn.
>
> We've never seen this before in all the years that we've been building
> them, that's why we're so puzzled.
>
> We're going to get this analyzed to be sure, to try and find out what this
> is, but wondering if anybody else has seen this before...
>
> Thanks!
>
> -Steve Gregory-
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