Titanium bike spokes as grounding probes

[AnotherGoldenTeapot]

My tank finally has a robust ground - one probe in the sump and another in the tank itself.

I don't know what I am ever going to do with the other 16 spokes that I had to buy.

I quickly discovered that titanium can't be soldered with the usual soft solder user for copper and steel wires. So, after much pondering I settled on screwing a connetor block (plastic covering removed) to the spoke (very tightly), cutting the screws heads of and then soldering the ground wire to the connector block. Finished up with a piece of heat-shrink to make it look good.

The spokes are bent in a U shapre so that the copper ground wire can't ever end up in the tank.

After searching the whole house for a spare plug to wire the ground wires to, I noticed a rather nice one on the power lead to my wife's computer.
I hope to replace it before she notices I've borrowed it

 

[Mac1]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote

I noticed a rather nice one on the power lead to my wife's computer.

Unless she's out of town or something, those are some mighty big stones you've got there mr. Teapot. Sheesh! I tried upgrading my wife's computer's system software w/o telling her once. Was that ever a mistake!
And I'm the damn computer professional in the family, go figure!

I've heard of people doing the same sort of thing for a grounding probe. I'm curious to hear if it's working (or should I say, have you tested it?). How much did you pay for the pack of 18 spokes?

- Mac

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
You can post on the Market Place and see if anyone else might want to buy a spoke or two.

Notice that titanium alloy spoke used in bicycle is an alloy that may contains Ni, Cu, and other metals. For chemical process, people typical use CP-grade titanium instead. But I guess for such a small piece (and many people used it for years!), it should not be a serious concern.

 

[newreefman1]

why make something so elaborate when a store bought one costs like 7 bucks?

lol

 

[Scottis24]

For some building is half the fun! But for real, why titanium? It's not like your tank's going to the moon.... Or is it...

 

[AnotherGoldenTeapot]

There are no store-bought ones in New Zealand. Nobody sells them. Mind you, nobody sells titanium spokes either.

I was a bit worried about an alloy being used so
I did specify 100% titanium and non-anodised. Who knows if this is what I was sent - they're non-anodised anyway. I'll keep an eye on the tank just in case something nasty is leaching into the water.

 

[Anonymous]

hi.
Keep in mind that people in bike shop don't really know much about metal/alloy. But as I said, for a tiny piece, you should not be too concerned.