Is a little rust normal for nickel strip in salt water

[pbert]

[img]I purchased some pure nickel strip from ali express. I cut a small portion and scratched the surface of the strip in order to epose the center of the strip and then placed it in salt water for 48h. Ther eis a small amount of rust as can be seen in the pics. Is this normal or does this mean that the strips are not pure nickel ?
Thanks.

 

[pbert]

Also im unable to attach a picture ... ive tried jpg and png format. What are valid picture formats ?

Thanks.

 

[pbert]

Ok, i renamed the file to jpeg extension and seems to work now.

 

[Chalo]

Nickel doesn't rust. Red means steel.

 

[kansas]

Check it with a magnet.

 

[999zip999]

do you have a link so you can check it out and see how they wrote it cuz I was reading this one and they call it nickel steel. ? Hard to trust and know what you're getting.

 

[pbert]

Hi, here is the link to the product :

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000060790787.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.27424c4dMCFMtj

It does not mention steel anywhere, just Nickel strip.

I tested with a magnet and it is magnetic ....

Ill keep searching for true nickel strip on aliexpress.

Thanks.

 

[spinningmagnets]

First, check out the copper/nickel sandwich discussion.

 

[Chalo]

Check it with a magnet.

Pure nickel is ferromagnetic. Less so than steel.

 

[pbert]

First, check out the copper/nickel sandwich discussion.

spinningmagnets thanks for pointing me towards the nickel / copper sandwhich thread. I read through it and it looks like i might give this solution a try. I had actually ordered some copper from aliexpress and never got around to experimenting with it so now i have a reason. Is there any way to know if the copper is pure copper or mixed with another material ?

Thanks.

 

[kdog]

I've often had a little rust colour (exactly like in your pic) with pure nickel. I think if you have old gal pipes some dissolved iron precipitates out causing the colour, usually rubs off showing bright nickel inderneatg. The rust you get with nickel plated steel is very obviously part of the metal and inhabits the scratch.
Magnet test is useless.

 

[spinningmagnets]

I dont know if theres a purity test for copper that would be easy for DIY garage builders. Even if there is some admixture from a cheap copper recycler, just check the resistance in ohms with a multimeter.

The reading wouldnt have to be precise. As long as it's very high conductivity and very low resistance, its miles ahead of using pure nickel. Check a longish section of your copper, and then check the same length on a section of copper wire that you are certain is pure copper.

The IACS conductivity of nickel is around 24/100, and pure copper is 100/100, four times better.

If you got ahold of some dirty recycled copper that was only 98% copper, you are still doing great. Steel is roughly 5/100, which is horrible.

 

[pbert]

I tried verifying the resistance of the nickel strip vs the copper but my ohm meter is not precise enough, the smallest resistance measurement is at 200 ohm level.