Two Week-Old Zinc

[nhschneider]

The zinc on the left was new when I installed it two weeks ago and since then, we’ve put 66.7 hours on the engine. This has been a constant issue with this engine since I installed it 10 years and 4,000 hours ago.

In the last eight years, we have spent very little time in marinas and a statistically insignificant amount of time with our inverter-charger turned on so I don’t think it’s a stray AC current problem. We run our engine at 1,400 RPM and at that speed the water pump">raw water pump is producing one liter per second. Is it possible that that much water flowing past the zinc could make it desolve so quickly? After all, the zinc is only an inch long.

Anyway, after ten years I’m mad as hell and I’m not going to take it any longer.

My best wishes to all for a fabulous holiday season and a happy, healthy and successful New Year.

Fair winds and calm seas.

[Lepke]

You got an electrical problem. How long do your other zincs last? Maybe try aluminum.
Mine last several years, at least 1500+ engine hours.
Something is grounded wrong, a 12v device wired backwards, etc.

[belizesailor]

Originally Posted by Lepke

You got an electrical problem. How long do your other zincs last? Maybe try aluminum.
Mine last several years, at least 1500+ engine hours.
Something is grounded wrong, a 12v device wired backwards, etc.

+1 You've got an electrical problem. I would isolate that before swapping zinc materials, which may just mask the problem and not provide as effective protection.

[Compass790]

Another vote for electrical problem. Can see why you mad as hell especially if you buying gold yanmar or volvo pencil zincs. We buy zinc rod & make our own, it's way cheaper.
But... fix the problem first