Danny Richardson wrote:
On Sat, 23 Sep 2006 23:01:06 GMT, Cecil Moore
wrote:


I have a spray can of NAPA MAC'S Silicone spray. It says:
"Waterproofs and Insulates". I've got a thunderstorm on
the way and just sprayed about 2 feet of my 450 ohm ladder-
line with it. I'll see if I can tell where the silicone
spray is and if it has any visible effect on the water.


I would suspect that any oil or wax compounds would be a tad sticky
and may, over time, accumulate more dust on the surface. That, in
turn, could in be a good rooting medium for moss and/or mildew to
form?

By the way I did spray my ladder line with silicone spray when I
originally put it up.


Aha! I was troubled with how you got mold or moss or anything to stick
to PE. I believe you are correct in your suspicions. One of PE's main
draws is it's inertness, and it is a real bear trying to get anything to
adhere to it. There is some possibility that the spray may have
contributed to what appears to be pitting on the line.

Certainly something troubles me with the idea that we can test
something under conditions where we apply chemistry to alter a
fundamental property of the material. (I'm referring to the wetting
agent tests) I believe that the tests do show adequately how ladder line
performs when covered with wetting agent and water. And that we don't
want to do that! ;^)

- 73 de mike KB3EIA -