Atabites

[randomfeaturezero]

Hi, I am looking for an answer that will perhaps settle my mind somewhat.

A few drips of water were accidentally left over in a measuring jug I had used to pour in metal speaker stand filler. These got poured in to my new stands. I don't know into which of four speaker columns. The stand filler was very expensive, over £100 (Atabites) to fill my large very big speaker stands so it is not an option to start again. I am very happy with the sound.

What I want to know, is how detrimental is this? The Atabites are zinc coated, and my research clearly says water and zinc don't mix, so what will happen? The water cannot evaoprate, so I assume it will just sit there indefinitely? I don't think this is a major problem but if anyone knows about zinc and water please make suggestions. It was a very small amount of water and I am probably worrying about nothing....

Thanks

 

[Frank Harvey]

Maybe contact Atacama?

 

[MajorFubar]

The water cannot evaoprate

Of course it can, unless you poured the sand into a bag first then tied a knot in it to make it airtight. Zinc has no reaction with cold water, it's present in most water to start with so I'm not sure what you've read. Listen to your HiFi more and worry less about non-existent problems.

 

[spiny norman]

Sure it won't be a problem, but it kind of depends on how much water and what the stands are made from.

Had a friend who filled a pair of stands with sand he thought was dried, but clearly wasn't, and after a year or so there were signs of corrosion coming from within at some of the seams where the columns were welded to the baseplates.

Don't remember which brand of stands they were, but looked like there was probably some unfinished metal inside the columns with which the moisture was reacting.

 

[MajorFubar]

Sure it won't be a problem, but it kind of depends on how much water and what the stands are made from. Had a friend who filled a pair of stands with sand he thought was dried, but clearly wasn't, and after a year or so there were signs of corrosion coming from within at some of the seams where the columns were welded to the baseplates.

True enough, though he did say 'a few drops'. The only time I sand-loaded any stands, I put the sand in tied-up poly bags, for mainly that reason, just to be sure.

 

[spiny norman]

True enough, though he did say 'a few drops'. The only time I sand-loaded any stands, I put the sand in tied-up poly bags, for mainly that reason, just to be sure.

And of course the Atabytes, being zinc-coated metal, won't retain the moisture as would sand, so I don't think he has much to worry about

 

[randomfeaturezero]

Thanks to everyone for your replies. spinynorman and major fubar, with regard to your last posts, this is exactly what my question was - as you say the zinc-coated metal won't retain the moisture like sand does, so the question is what happens to it, does it just continue floating around various atabites, trapped? Bear in mind it is underneath about 7kg of other atabites so what happens under that pressure, does the water become a gas? Or what? Where does it go?

Thanks

 

[MajorFubar]

lol none of that. You said it was just a few drops, it will have dried up already, or will do within a day. Try leaving a saucer of water in your room, within a week you're looking at a dry saucer, especially now the weather's warming up.. It's just basic physics. Unless your idea if a few drops is half a gallon, you're worrying over nothing.

 

[GeoffreyW]

Presumably there's a hole through which the Atabites were poured into the stands, hopefully near the top, so can you just open these holes up for a few days, to allow any moisture to evaporate?

The Atabites will have gaps around them, so any moisture will rise and evaporate to atmosphere via the filling point, even if it's not very big. Now that the weather's warming up, it shouldn't take long.

Zinc is used to waterproof metal, usually steel used in external structures, so if the "few drops" you mention is literally just a few drops, i.e a few millilitres, you shouldn't worry about structural failure of your stands.

 

[randomfeaturezero]

To the last two posters :

Many thanks for giving me a bit of peace of mind. Yes the stands were left with the top plates off for a few days anyway. Now I know there's nothing to worry about. I am a manic idiot at times, and several people on these forums have helped me a number of times now when I've got stuck trying to think sensibly... THANKS AGAIN

 

[GeoffreyW]

After all that, did the Atabites improve your listening experience?

 

[randomfeaturezero]

I'm noticing a lot of gloriously controlled and solid bass. Partly due to the sheer weight of the Atabites, partly due to the capacity of the stands. I used 14kg of Atabites in each stand. My set up is B&W 685 s2, B&W STAV24 matching stands, and a Cyrus 6 XPd with direct USB as my source (laptop). I must say that compared to other stands with less filling space, and having only used sand before, this sound is now stupendously good and with much improved bass clarity and clout! And I still get away with them being fairly close to a wall, not only because the bass ports in the 685s2s fire forward, but because the Atabites provide so much control. Although there are cheaper options such as Inert Filler from Custom Design, I can only share my experience of the Atabites, which is very good. If anyone wants to try the same thing with the same stands, you'll need to fill each of four pillars two-thirds up, which needs exactly one tub of Atabites per pillar, totalling four 7kg tubs.

Thanks once again.

 

[spiny norman]

I must say that compared to other stands with less filling space, and having only used sand before, this sound is now stupendously good and with much improved bass clarity and clout!

Attaboy! ;-)

 

[GeoffreyW]

That's all that matters, mate. Now you can move on to the next improvement to your system.