Electronic rustproofing. Myth? Or does wonders?

[Hodge]

I saw this thing in the 4WD mag. So got curious about it, as my nearly year old Nav is exposing it's ugly rust spots here and there. Only minute, nothing to worry about... yet. I'd hate to see the state of things under the tubliner. Might rip it out once and have a look.
Anyways, these electronic rust proofing gadgets, anybody here had experiences? Good? Bad? In particular the Couplertec ones? In scientific theory it works. But i'm, not sold yet. Thoughts?

 

[Old.Tony]

I'm convinced that they are beneficial in slowing down the rust. Preventing it completely is next to impossible - the Fe atom happily surrenders one of its many electrons to allow an oxygen atom to combine with it.

One of the people in this country that I have an enormous amount of respect for is Collyn Rivers and one of the articles he has written is Controlling Tin Worms, which discusses an experiment he conducted about these very things.

In my mind, if you can slow the process down you're winning. If you prevent it completely, you're using titanium and you're cheating.

 

[Gonzo]

I once thought that they were a con . But I have had one on my 2003 STR since new and I have had it on the beach ( I still clean it by the way ) and I have No rust at all . That more than I can say for the 4 prevoius 4By's that I have owned.

 

[user 10312]

Ok missed this thread.
The dealer was very keen to flog one of these things to me. Wanted $800 dollars for it!
Now I come from a matitime background and do know somthing about cathodic protection.
On a ship it does work. Steel hull (the plate) going thru the seawater (the electrolite) causes the hull to become postively charged so just a matter of measuring the potential of the hull and applying the reverse voltage into the ships hull with the positive anode in the sea water.
On a ships electrical system both AC and DC. Negative or neutral is not bonded to earth and everything is above ground and double pole switched.
What gets me, is how the hell does it work on a car when basicaly everything is above earth (it sits on four rubber patches) and the car has a negative to chassis return. Still not sold on the idea, good regular wash and take it for a short drive after to drain out any water has worked for me over the years.

 

[rescue]

One of my customers had one fitted, the thing that made me laugh was the rust on the 4 mounting screws.....

 

[joshman]

Ive got one in my nav, the previous owner had it installed. I've no idea if it's any good, but I dont think its installed correctly anyway. There's no pads on the chassis or tub that I've found. So it's only properly protecting the cab body work.

I'm a huge fan of giving the truck a really good high pressure wash underneath, giving it an easy few days to dry, then pumping every nook and cranny full of fish oil. Has worked for my dad for the last 20+ years of beach driving...

Apparently the couplertec product is pretty good, and there are good reports of customer service. They also offer a pretty good guarantee/warranty - so long as its installed to their specs.

 

[montana]

they slow it down if installed properly,you have to remove the paint to bare metal for the stick on pad.the first time i had anything to do with them 12 years ago on the sunny coast my boss sponsored surf lifesaving with vehicles,yes they worked.and we used them on underground vehicles as well and got up to 18 months longer out of them,but the conditions they are in they will still rust.

 

[DieselTuner2]

Montana, im not sure bare metal is appropriate.
+ Taking the paint back just opens it up to the potential for rust to start with.

Instructions for all Erps/couplertec systems specifically state it must be a painted surface to prevent the pads shorting out to earth.