sacrificial anodes

[Sam-Q]

Has anyone ever tried using a sacrificial anode in their cooling system? I dont like to rely on my anti-freeze and have thought of making provision for one of these suckers as part of my top cooling pipe

[Simon-KE70]

if u run an alloy radiator then its generally recommended that you do, and its probably a good idea which i cant see doing any harm!

[fantapants]

wtf is a sacrificial anode?? :)

[Simon-KE70]

most hot water systems have them, basically the water corrodes the anode rather then the system itself.

[filfilfil]

Its the "nobler" aluminium you are wanting to protect I assume so its magnesium or zinc needed in a sacrificial system....I have thought of a powered anode but I lost interest without knowing the impact on the rest of the system....or the properties of todays coolent. Chemistry to this level I thought I would leave in the hands of a $30 container!
Todays modern engines obviously have been designed with careful consideration to what metals come in contact with the coolant as they certainly dont seem to suffer like engines of old...or perhaps its just the regular service intervals keeping the integrity of the coolant chemistry?


if u run an alloy radiator then its generally recommended that you do
^Is this something designed in alloy rad's or the engine systems? If so is there something we can acquire off a "modern" engine?

[Sam-Q]

now the other question; where do I get a lump of zinc or magnesium?

[shift_rook]

boat stores you can get zinc i believe

[filfilfil]

boat stores you can get zinc i believe
Scrap metal places will probably have a bar you can hack bits off for the rest of your cooling days cheaper....and they are great to find all those other "one day" bits ;)

[Sam-Q]

yeah good point guys, now I will look at what system I should use to hold one of these pieces into place

[fantapants]

so is this due to the electolytic corosion with the water and aluminium?

[dustyae86]

supposedly since you use rubber mounts on the radiator, this stops it by earthing it out, getting rid of the "electrical current"

[ke70dave]

hey sam

any particular reason why your concerned with sacrificial anodes with a radiator and you have had a aluminum head on your block the whole time?

i would have thought so long as you ground the radiator that should get rid of any coroding due to electrolysis?

i know electrolysis is a big problem in boats (my dad a marine electrician) and i believe this is caused by the fact that there is no real "ground". and also contributed by the fact that the boat is surrounded by an electrolyte.

i would have though so long as you give the rogue electrons a path back to the negative battery terminal (ie ground) then it should be ok?

[enigma]

boats are actually always grounded through the water which is why cathodic protection (the reactive method) works for them. a car on the other hand doesnt have a good earth. so you cant complete the circuit well enough to get it to work properly. if you had your car in storage you could connect an earth stake to it. then you could bury an annode in the ground and have a wire coming off it that connects to your car which would protect it for a while.

[cuzzo]

Tyres a rubber insulator. No earth there.

Have you voltage tested your rad and its water to see if its getting current?