Brian, How about using some of the "No-Alox" electrical "grease" that is used when connecting aluminum wires to copper wires on our house wiring? The electric company uses this stuff all the time on the aluminum wires that come from the utility pole in the street that are connected to the copper wires that go to the power distribution panel in the house for the sole purpose of preventing dissimilar metal corrosion. Let me know if you need more manufacturer's info. Your local electrical supply house should have this in stock. Phil Nutting -----Original Message----- From: TechNet [mailto:[log in to unmask]]On Behalf Of Brian Ellis Sent: Tuesday, April 06, 2004 10:31 AM To: [log in to unmask] Subject: [TN] Slightly OT for conformal coating experts. I'm on the point of ordering a solar panel installation. The PV panels are set into an aluminium profile framework, held together with stainless steel (presumably 18/8 alloy) screws etc. The installation has a projected lifetime of ~40 years. In this timeframe, I'm a wee bittie worried about dissimilar metals, exposed to the weather, causing corrosion. Granted the surface area of the Al is ginormous, compared to that of the hardware, so that the corrosion will not be localised. The weather here is typically 9 months hot and dry (say, 25 - 47°C, 45 - 20% RH resp.), aggravated by direct exposure to the sunlight. The other three months are cool with intermittent heavy rain (say, 0 - 25°C, 45%++ RH). Would it help to paint onto the hardware (not the profiles) an epoxy coating, after the screws have been tightened, to reduce the risk of long-term corrosion? If so, what type? How does the epoxy stand up to UV exposure over the years? TIA Brian --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 ----------------------------------------------------- --------------------------------------------------- Technet Mail List provided as a service by IPC using LISTSERV 1.8e To unsubscribe, send a message to [log in to unmask] with following text in the BODY (NOT the subject field): SIGNOFF Technet To temporarily halt or (re-start) delivery of Technet send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet NOMAIL or (MAIL) To receive ONE mailing per day of all the posts: send e-mail to [log in to unmask]: SET Technet Digest Search the archives of previous posts at: http://listserv.ipc.org/archives Please visit IPC web site http://www.ipc.org/contentpage.asp?Pageid=4.3.16 for additional information, or contact Keach Sasamori at [log in to unmask] or 847-509-9700 ext.5315 -----------------------------------------------------