Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

I know copper in a no go, but what about brass?

I ask because I have the brass fitting I need to connect pump to hose, but if I have to I can find a plastic one.

Thoughts?

Thanks,
Steve

Brass is ok a lot of pumps have brass in them

AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHh,
So much stress on deciding on heat exchanger material ,, copper good conductor zCANNOT use , ALUMINIUM good conductor cannot use ..... stainless steel BAD conductor CAN use,,,and now we hit the jackpot ,, BRASS , relatively cheap , mid level heat conductor and safe.

Don't know prices but: http://www.georgewhite.com.au/products/ ... gory=Brass

OOPS ,, looks like brass is mostly copper ,, not sure if the copper within the brass is somehow "bonded".

I have 3 brass fittings that have been in the AP system about a year. Really, they were just the ticket to self-tap into my PVC pipe. No problems so far.

janetp/Chappo,
Low temp is the key to not leaching out excessive Cu methinks.

how low is a "low" temp?

As opposed to a solar panel that could have more than double the FT temp inside it.

bronz is a mixture of copper and brass

Just how stable is the brass from leaching zinc and copper. What is a safe amount of either? Hopefully your brass is lead free.

This doc file linked to below explains dezincification of brass a tiny bit -how the zinc leaches leaving behind a soft porous copper with little strength using a faucet screw as an example. The photos show the difference in the hot and cold faucet screw. In the hot the copper too leaches and reforms. Lower in the document in outline it tells of the dezincification of brass.


http://www.egr.uri.edu/che/course/CHE534w/Chap%207.doc

the doc also shows how to avoid the leaching by using low zinc and using nickle copper alloys in the brass.

why can we not use copper in AP???

Oh no not again !!

Copper kills the fish, AP is acidic and dissolves the copper = badness.

DRD is on the money.
The zinc will come out of 'solution' (the alloy), leaving Cu behind.
Once the Zn is gone, my guess is the porous Cu is next.
Use a lot of brass in your plumbing* and you increase the surface area of Cu exposed to the water - BAD.
Janet has very little of the plumbing made of brass (but I'll bet she'll be keeping an eye on it after this thread )


*especially with elevated temperatures - see the article, the hot water screw corroded right through