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Old 08-16-2023, 07:07 PM   #1
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Why steel screws shouldn't be used in aluminum

My antenna was leaking two of the screws were still threaded in to the frame the rest rusted away corroding the aluminum roof.
I don't understand why RV manufacturers continue to do this to us?
This is what's left of the roof.
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Old 08-16-2023, 07:14 PM   #2
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My fix

Aluminum roof, aluminum flashing, aluminum pop rivets lexel sealant.
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Old 08-16-2023, 07:14 PM   #3
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steel into aluminum is fine if sealed correctly……every year
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Old 08-16-2023, 08:58 PM   #4
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Steel and aluminum form a galvanic couple. To get galvanic corrosion moisture and an electric current. The moisture in the air and static electricity is enough. You shouldn't have steel and aluminum in contact. The best thing you can do is seal the contact areas to keep the moisture out. Usually this means dipping the screw in something before installing it. I used lithium grease on an umbrella fitting I made that sat outside for 7 years. I took it a part and it had zero corrosion. Other thread sealers should work, you have to remember to coat under the head as well. If you install a steel part on an aluminum part you need to prevent the contact and seal the surfaces as well. Paint works well. On the other hand, I had a garden hose with an aluminum end fitting that screwed on to a hose bib. After a few months, I went to take them a part and the hose bid tried to unscrew from the wall. I had to use a pipe wrench on the hose bib and channel locks on the hose. The moisture was from an obvious source the electricity from static from the water flowing through the hose.
Iron Pipe and Copper pipe are also a no no. You are supposed to have a dielectric union between them.
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Old 08-17-2023, 08:29 AM   #5
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hope you plan on sealing those rivits and edge of that sheet
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Old 08-17-2023, 10:39 AM   #6
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I suspect some of the statements above are factually incorrect. The situation is more complicated than they state.

Proper steel hardware holding on aluminum aircraft wings are standard. See instructions for assembling Vans Aircraft kit planes.

Zinc plated screws will fail sooner or later with or without contact with aluminum. Once screws have begun to failed, constant wet conditions will take out aluminum as well as many other materials.

Joint vibration in wet environments removes the protective oxide from the bare aluminum. Chemicals in near by particle board can also corrode aluminum.

Zinc plated hardware in automotive environments are cheap, but bound to fail soon.

Some aluminum alloys are more resistant to wet corrosion than others.

The conditions shown should have been evident well before failure occurred. Remove and replace rusting plated hardware. I usually replace with stainless steel in situations like those shown above.

On new zinc plated hardware under a travel trailer, I prime and paint heads and protruding threads well before corrosion starts. The paint also serves to seal in many cases.
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Old 08-17-2023, 04:47 PM   #7
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This is a good write up about galvanic corrosion.
link
There is also a NASA Marshall Space Flight Center document out there that talks about Stress Corrosion Cracking, which is a different phenomena and how different aluminum alloys, tempers, and forms are resistant to SCC.
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Old 08-21-2023, 08:26 AM   #8
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Simple rule: do not mix magnetic and non magnetic.
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Old 08-21-2023, 11:25 AM   #9
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Here are some write up on galvanic actions on dissimilar metals'
Galvanic action

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