Anodes

[redfastlad]

For some time i have been thinking about replacing the anodes on my 57ft n boat but even at 3.5 yrs old they appear good for a couple of years more! so can anyone tell me how long they will last? next i could import anodes but at a hell of a lot better price than the ones in the chandlery so is there a market out there for anodes? i await your comments please.

[Liam]

I'm not sure about whether there's a market for anodes or not, it depends on the market I suppose.

 

The old boat my parents had for 5 years didn't have the anodes replaced in the time they owned it. They had been replaced fairly recently before they got the boat and they were still pretty much full when they sold it.

[Keeping Up]

Our boat is built from very good quality steel but even so I was surprised to find that the anodes lasted for 14 years. They were doing their job OK (gradually wearing away, and the hull not showing any signs of corrosion) it's just that it seems there wasn't a lot for them to do. The new ones seem to be corroding away equally slowly.

 

Allan

[Big Steve]

I was under the impression that anodes were cheap, local marina charges £27 fitted. You have to get the boat out of the water. You must have to be able to get them really cheap to make it worthwhile importing them.

[chris w]

If you have a regular shore-mains connection, get a galvanic isolator and your anodes will last even longer.

 

Come on guys we haven't discussed GIs for a couple of weeks now.

 

Chris

[Liam]

Steve,

 

I'm not sure what size anodes you're talking about but a few weeks ago my boat was out in the dry dock and I had to replace the anodes.. I got 4 x 1.5KG ones (£16.90 each) with my boat only being 30ft and my parents bought 4 x 2.8KG ones at £29.70 each.

 

A small price to pay really when they seem to last as long as they do... especially Allan's at 14 years.

[Postcode]

If you have a regular shore-mains connection, get a galvanic isolator and your anodes will last even longer.

 

Come on guys we haven't discussed GIs for a couple of weeks now.

 

Chris

 

Anodes last much longer with a couple of good coats of bitumen

[ChrisPy]

if anodes last so long why don't we just build shells from magnesium?

[Liam]

if anodes last so long why don't we just build shells from magnesium?

And have anodes made of steel?

[Big Steve]

if anodes last so long why don't we just build shells from magnesium?

 

Magnesium's what they put in flash bulbs, you get one hell of a flash if you stubbed your fag out in the wrong place!

[pagan witch]

Magnesium's what they put in flash bulbs, you get one hell of a flash if you stubbed your fag out in the wrong place!

 

That's a tad worrying as I read a good (but now old) book called 'Chickenhawk' written by an ex USA chooper pilot about his Vietnam experiences. I'm sure he says that they make helicopters out of it.

 

I do recall from my long gone science lessons that it does take a bit of setting off though.

[DHutch]

You can make stuff from magnium alloy, as a alternative to aluminum alloy.

- Ive got a minidisk player that has a magnisum chassis/body to it, so im sure it is used in hellecopters somwhere.

- Its not massivly stong tho, and bloody expesive compaired to steel, you do get aluminum narrowboat tho.... anythings possable!

 

But yeah, we've proberbly only changed our anodes three times in 15 years. Better safe than sorry for £40 every five years if you ask me.

 

 

Daniel

[Guest]

At whatpoint shouldan anode be replaced? ie at what percentage depletion?

[John Orentas]

At whatpoint shouldan anode be replaced? ie at what percentage depletion?

 

 

The usual procedure you don't replace them but add new ones alongside, get the last bit of use from the originals.

[ChrisPy]

At whatpoint shouldan anode be replaced? ie at what percentage depletion?

they carry on working until they are totally depleted - a bit like me

[WJM]

There is a thread somewhere else in this section on this - my anodes had to be replaced after two years on a new 57' narrowboat. I have never really understood why they went so quick, the boat is not on an electric shore line.

[DHutch]

Diffrent steel in the hull, diffrent waters, colour of you hair. It all affects things diffrently.

[cugsey]

The usual procedure you don't replace them but add new ones alongside, get the last bit of use from the originals.

thank the good lord real advice at last

 

thank you john o

[chris w]

There is a thread somewhere else in this section on this - my anodes had to be replaced after two years on a new 57' narrowboat. I have never really understood why they went so quick, the boat is not on an electric shore line.

 

 

Have the builders maybe (incorrectly) wired the hull so that they are using the hull itself as a return path on one or more circuits? That would cause some fast corrosion.

 

Chris

[soffy]

Being a bit girlie I know the anodes are the silvery things stuck on the hull but when I ask mon Capitiane he gets all techinical and could some one please explain in girlie language just what anodes do we have to get some new ones next time we do our bottom .....

I was under the impression that anodes were cheap, local marina charges £27 fitted. You have to get the boat out of the water. You must have to be able to get them really cheap to make it worthwhile importing them.

blimey where did you get them that cheap !!!!!

[Liam]

Instead of the bottom of the boat being eaten away, the anodes are instead. It's easier (and cheaper) to replace your anodes every couple of years than it is to replace your (boats) bottom

[ChrisPy]

Being a bit girlie I know the anodes are the silvery things stuck on the hull but when I ask mon Capitiane he gets all techinical and could some one please explain in girlie language just what anodes do we have to get some new ones next time we do our bottom ..... :oblimey where did you get them that cheap !!!!!

they lay down their lives and sacrifice themselves so your precious body doesn't waste away. OK?

[Machpoint005]

Instead of the bottom of the boat being eaten away, the anodes are instead. It's easier (and cheaper) to replace your anodes every couple of years than it is to replace your (boats) bottom

If the boat's coming out for blacking every couple of years, the anodes can be replaced (or rather, added to) as necessary. The answer to the OP's question, though, is 'it depends...' ...on the chemicals in the water, the electrical activity on your boat or from neighbours, the temperature, the quality of the steel, the degree of protection... but as Liam says, better and far cheaper to lose anode material than hull material!

 

Ian