Better pencil zinc?

[SV__Grace]

90% of the time the zinc breaks off upon removal (or has broken before being removed) of my Beta engine and generator (both use the same 3/4 inch pencil zinc).

Is there a better pencil zinc that isn't so dang fragile?

I get my pencil zincs from boatzincs.com. You would think such a short 3/4 inch zinc would be less fragile than a long one.

I saw a CF post from 2018 with a photo of a wire reinforced pencil zinc from boatzincs.com that looks great, but boatzincs.com don't show that as an option- all "zinc-only" items have the same specs.

Any recommendations?

[BlueH2Obound]

Have you ensured that the zincs you are using are not too long? If the contact the housing on the end, especially a curved housing, they will fracture and break off, either as they wear, or when you attempt to remove them.

[SV__Grace]

3/4 inch is manufacturers specs. I've had both heat exchangers apart and there is plenty of room. Thanks for the heads up though!

Originally Posted by BlueH2Obound

Have you ensured that the zincs you are using are not too long? If the contact the housing on the end, especially a curved housing, they will fracture and break off, either as they wear, or when you attempt to remove them.

[SV__Grace]

Update- contacted boatzincs.com who says they only sell wire reinforced zincs for their magnesium versions, which are freshwater only.

I found a source for wire reinforced zincs here, but they don't sell the pencil zinc by itself (only with brass plug) and don't have one that fits Beta engines.

I also found that some Aluminum anodes are wire reinforced, and a source for anode-only, which is also good for salt water (some say is better than zinc) but none sized for the Beta engine.

When searching the wire reinforced anodes are also referred to as "steel core."

Let me know if you have better luck!