Pencil zinc rage

Checked pencil zincs this past weekend. Snapped two (picture attached). Any tips for:

1. Removing the zinc that is precariously holding on for dear life?
2. Loosening the zinc prior to attempting to loosen the brass cap? WD40?

Ideas I've researched so far are everything from pushing it in and not worrying about it... pushing it in then tearing apart the heat exchanger to remove it...or try to remove it carefully without dropping it into the exchanger with 1) reverse drilling or 2) superglue something to the top of the remaining portion and pull it out.

TIA
-tozz

Maybe you can remove the line & fitting shown in the pic, reach in with a tool or bent bar and nudge the little bugger back out.

Annoying for sure, I've had a few old ones do that. They lay in the bottom of the end cap until I go in there and do a clean out. Likely the OD of the zinc has grown a bit larger with zinc corrosion products, making it tough to pull out.

Tough place to glue. I'd try JB Kwik Weld on end of a chopstick; its more viscous, less chance of running downhill and gluing the zinc into position. Let it set up a bit on the end of the stick first.

We had the same problem with the heat exchanger zincs breaking/wearing off. When we changed to aluminum anodes, we also changed the one on our heat exchanger to ones manufactured by Peformance Metals. They have a wire core and so far I haven’t have any break off when they get changed.

GoneFarrell said:

Maybe you can remove the line & fitting shown in the pic, reach in with a tool or bent bar and nudge the little bugger back out.

Annoying for sure, I've had a few old ones do that. They lay in the bottom of the end cap until I go in there and do a clean out. Likely the OD of the zinc has grown a bit larger with zinc corrosion products, making it tough to pull out.

Tough place to glue. I'd try JB Kwik Weld on end of a chopstick; its more viscous, less chance of running downhill and gluing the zinc into position. Let it set up a bit on the end of the stick first.

Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. I'm hoping that if it drops in I can wait until I do a whole system cleanout to retrieve and it won't restrict flow do badly.

Larry M said:

We had the same problem with the heat exchanger zincs breaking/wearing off. When we changed to aluminum anodes, we also changed the one on our heat exchanger to ones manufactured by Peformance Metals. They have a wire core and so far I haven’t have any break off when they get changed.

Click to expand...

Thanks, as soon as I get these out i'm moving to better engineered zincs like the ones you show here. It's worth the extra money to not have to deal with this.

Whenever I remove a zinc, i always assume that it will have a coating of crud that could cause it to snap off.
The solution is to break it loose, then turn it back a bit, loosen it just a bit further,, then tighten it back, etc, hopefully breaking off the buildup gently as it is removed, rather than just forcing it right off.
It’s a good idea to measure your new zincs length before it’s installed, some 5hat I’ve used for my Cummins B are too long, and had to be trimmed prior to installation.

Not sure what engine you have. From the white paint it looks like a Cummins.

That blue hose and fitting probably doesn't go to the water side as it looks like a transmission oil hose. But that doesn't look like a transmission oil cooler.

But in any case, you can probably remove the end cap and get to the zinc that has fallen off. Depends on what heat exchanger it is and where. Drilling it for an easy out might work.

Once you get it off, here are a few suggestions:

1. Replace your zincs sooner so that they have enough beef left to withstand removal without breaking off.
2. Paint a circle of nail polish around the threads and shoulder of the new zinc. That will prevent it from wasting and should leave enough metal so it won't stay behind.
3. Yours broke off, but many just unscrew. Tighten them up with pliers before installing.

Don't just leave it. It looks like it needs to come out to put a new zinc in place.

David

Larry M said:

We had the same problem with the heat exchanger zincs breaking/wearing off. When we changed to aluminum anodes, we also changed the one on our heat exchanger to ones manufactured by Peformance Metals. They have a wire core and so far I haven’t have any break off when they get changed.

Click to expand...

+1 for Performance Metals aluminum anodes. No more pencil zincs that can unscrew on my boat!

Ted

Are aluminum anodes 'fit' for saltwater usage?
Do the aluminum anodes provide the same level of protection as zinc anodes?

If the break is past the threads can you not just have someone briefly start the engine and let it blow out?

Yes you can use aluminum in either salt or fresh water.

Comodave said:

Yes you can use aluminum in either salt or fresh water.

Click to expand...

Got a name of a supplier?

I get most of my anodes from Boatzincs.com. I think that I am using magnesium engine anodes. The aluminum were not available in my size.

Go to performancemetals.com/collections/pencil-anodes , figure out what you want.
Call go2marine.com and they will special order them for you. Performance Metals is a division of a Canadian anode manufacturer. Go2marine was good price wise when I ordered them in 2017.

Ted

Comodave said:

Yes you can use aluminum in either salt or fresh water.

Click to expand...

Yup! An article from Cruising World by Steve D’Antonio

https://www.cruisingworld.com/how/zinc-and-aluminum-sacrificial-anodes#page-2

This is from Boating Magazine.

Mine often unscrewed from the brass regardless of how well I tightened them.

Removing a stuck but unscrewed zinc was easy with am all thread connecting nut. Simply screw it onto the zinc and wiggle it loose.

djmarchand said:

Paint a circle of nail polish around the threads and shoulder of the new zinc. That will prevent it from wasting and should leave enough metal so it won't stay behind.

Click to expand...

From what I've read, it is not recommended to use teflon tape on the threads, because that is isolating the zinc from the device it's installed in and effectively preventing it from working. It would seem that painting the threads would do the same thing. I suspect that less zinc wastes away because it is not actually doing its job.

Is the circle on the threads small enough that it is only reducing the effectiveness by a smaller amount because only a small portion of the threads are isolated??

I have broken them too, I just push them in, they will just finish rotting away inside. Maybe you can enlarge the opening where the zinc passes through?