Has any one though of or done an electrical isolation of the heat exchanger? I'm thinking of placing thin rubber strips between the exchanger and the bracket(s). Could this help keep the anode from eroding as quickly? Thoughts....
John
C36 87 Mk1 Tr
Hull 658
John-
My guess is that HX isolation wouldn't change the rate of the pencil zinc being consumed. Think of the HX as a battery and the salt water as the acid. The "acid" is contained to the HX and the raw water pump, not the entire engine.
My other reason, is that I did isolate the HX on our M25 engine in our C30 after it's mount broke from fatigue. I fabricated two support arms out of aluminum and painted them gold to match the engine, so the arms had little- to- no electrical continuity where they contacted the the HX and engine; isolating it to a large degree. I didn't see any change in the rate of the pencil zinc deteriorating.
If your zinc deteriorates quickly, I'm guessing you might be at a dock with shore power and have some stray current? The previous owner of our C36 encountered that and had to change the zinc frequently. We now keep it on a mooring and the zinc lasts the entire 6 month season.
Paul & Wendy Keyser
"First Light"
Rye NH
2005 C36 MKII #2257
Wing, M35B
Hi John,
My boat is in fresh water and my anode lasts for years--same is true for the one on my propeller shaft. I'm mentioning this because it may lend credence to the opinion that it's the water not the engine.
Best,
JD
Thanks for the input. I have since chatted with other owners on the marina where I'm located and they noted that this year in particular was bad for anodes. Apparently the marina is doing a survey to determine the cause.