pennies prevent rust? what say ye?

Had a friend tell me that if you put a couple pennies in each drawer of your toolbox, the tools won't rust. It has something to do with the copper absorbing moisture? I don't see how this works, but an ounce of prevention... (or actually about 20 cents of prevention).

Anyone hear of this? Old husbands tale or scientific fact?

Frank

Reply to
Frank Ketchum
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Come by my house and try it first. First off, pennies are mostly zinc-extremely little copper. Maybe you have to go buy some wheat pennies to do it properly. Better ask him first. Sute hate for you to screw up a good thing just you "cheaped out" and used a new penny.

Reply to
Lawrence A. Ramsey

Dip the pennies in kerosene first, then they will work.

Reply to
Phisherman

Hmm - you're contradicting NASA.

Penny Facts:

  1. The composition was pure copper from 1793 to 1837.

  1. From 1837 to 1857, the cent was made of bronze (95 percent copper and 5 percent tin and zinc).

  2. From 1857, the cent was 88 percent copper and 12 percent nickel, giving the coin a whitish appearance.

  1. The cent was again bronze (95 percent copper and 5 percent tin and zinc) from1864 to 1962. In 1943, the coin's composition was changed to zinc-coated steel. This change was only for the year 1943 and was due to the critical use of copper for the war effort. However, a limited number of copper pennies were minted that year.

  2. In 1962, the cent's tin content, which was quite small, was removed. That made the metal composition of the cent 95 percent copper and 5 percent zinc.

On the other hand - the US Mint supports your assertion that the current circulating pennies are copper clad Zinc. Maybe this happened after 1963...

Damned web...

Reply to
mttt

Make that "US penny facts". Other countries pennies can be different compositions.

Mike

Reply to
Michael Daly

And it changed to copper-plated zinc in 1982. Composition is currently 97.6% Zn, 2.4% Cu.

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Doug Miller (alphageek-at-milmac-dot-com)

Reply to
Doug Miller

FWIW Cool experiment the chem teacher in the classroom next to mine had his students do. Take a copper clad penny and, using a triangular file, file several holes through the copper on the edge around the periphery of the penny. Place in glass beaker and cover well with muriatic(hydrochloric) acid( IIRC they used about 50 ml.). Careful of the fizz. Let set a day or so. If all goes as planned, the acid will 'eat out' the zinc inside and you have a hollow penny.

Larry

Reply to
Lawrence L'Hote

Or build a nice fast pulse generator and shrink the penny shirt button size...

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FWIW

Reply to
Bruce Rowen

You don't believe in first hand experience? Hit one with a file and see the zinc.

Reply to
Toller

Neither. Just plain silly. Even if they were copper, why would copper absorb moisture? Even if they could, how much could they absorb, and why wouldn't they be saturated when you got them?

Reply to
Toller

On Tue, 02 Dec 2003 20:52:07 GMT, "Michael Daly" scribbled

Canuckistani penny facts from the Royal Canadian Mint web site:

Today's one cent coin, modified in 2000, is made of copper plated steel (94% steel, 1.5% nickel, 4.5% copper). From 1997 until 2000, it was made of copper plated zinc. Prior to 1997 the one cent coin was

98% copper, 1.75% zinc and .25% other metals.

Luigi Replace "no" with "yk" for real email address

Reply to
Luigi Zanasi

And that jar of pennies I have in my bedroom sure would dry out the place. I think you'd be better with some of those silica packs that come with numerous items.

Shawn

Reply to
Shawn

I've also heard that if you put a 3-way light bulb on the dashboard of your car, it scatters the radar beam and the cops can't get your speed right.

-JBB

Reply to
J.B. Bobbitt

Hey, you can introduce logical deduction into these kinds of discussions can you? It isn't fair.

Reply to
George E. Cawthon

Forget the pennies. You may try a charcoal briquette or two in each drawer. Charcoal will absorb the moisture.

Or you can get some packets of silica, just like you see in packing material. Usually packed with metal objects, and shipped from overseas. I think you can get them at hardware or packaging/shipping stores, like UPS.

Reply to
afinns

Never.

Just plain stupid.

You should re-evaluate your inventory of friends! lol

Have a nice week...

Trent

Dyslexics of the world ... UNTIE !

Reply to
Trent©

It is true. Something to do with static electricity and cathodic protection. Similar to those solar panels near bridges on the freeway keep the steel from rusting... I have had a short length of copper pipe in each drawer of my Snapon box since it was new.... NO rust on the tools at all.

drawer of your

copper

Reply to
solarman

I can imagine that it works for bridges because the solar panels are electrically connected to the bridge. I might also imagine that there is a sacraficial anode somewhere. This would be similar to the way underground storage tanks are protected. I wouldn't rule out the penny trick out of hand, but if it does work, it would have to be under some special conditions. To have a chance of working, there would have to be an electrical connection between the penny, drawer, and tool. Copper might be electrically dissimilar enough to induce a voltage when in contact with steel, but I'd have to check that out.

todd

Reply to
todd

I have used large pieces of chalk in a toolbox that works.

Reply to
Phisherman

most chrome plating on steel is put on over a layer of pure copper, mostly because chrome doesn't like to stick to steel, but it will stick to copper, which will stick to steel. if you cut into that, the exposed steel *will* rust.

copper alloy parsts- brass and bronze- and for that matter monel- don't rust because they are non ferrous, not because they contain copper. Bridger

Reply to
nospam

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