Homemade Anode Rod ? RUST Prevention

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Good evening all,
Well, tomorrow morning I'm going to replace the Anode Rod in my Hot Water Tank.
Should go good, I bought an Electric Impact Wrench and 3/4" NPT Tap.

Question about Anode Rods
I have a piece of Magnesium .850" Dia. x 10" long
My SUMP PUMP is a Submersible with a Cast Iron Base.
It's held up good since 2003 but has some corrosion on the cast iron / that's expected.

I wonder, is there a way I could make an Anode Rod to keep the Sump Pump from rusting ? ? ?
Would I just hang the Magnesium in the sump water ?
Would the Magnesium have to be touching the Cast Iron ?
Would the Magnesium have to be connected by a Ground Wire ?

I have read that Boats use Anode Rods in various forms.
Maybe some boaters here could give me some advise.

Thank you.
 
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Has to be in electrical contact with that which you are trying to protect, AND has to be submerged at teh same time as the problem area on the pump.
 
Leave well enough alone. Your pump is probably rusting from the humidity of a damp basement more than the actual water that surrounds it.

The anode should be bolted firmly to the thing you want to protect it with. I would use zinc over magnesium.
 
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Leave well enough alone. Your pump is probably rusting from the humidity of a damp basement more than the actual water that surrounds it.



Can you possibly be unaware that this makes absolutely no sense?
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Leave well enough alone. Your pump is probably rusting from the humidity of a damp basement more than the actual water that surrounds it.



Can you possibly be unaware that this makes absolutely no sense?


Why not? Not that I'm the world's leading expert on rust but my knowledge leads me to believe rust is caused by moisture/water and oxygen coming in constant with metal. Salt speeds up the process but I'm theory any contact with water and oxygen can make any metal made with iron rust.
 
Originally Posted By: Ducked
Originally Posted By: eljefino
Leave well enough alone. Your pump is probably rusting from the humidity of a damp basement more than the actual water that surrounds it.



Can you possibly be unaware that this makes absolutely no sense?


If he's got actual wet water in the sump for two weeks a year due to flooding but significant humidity year round, and an anode is only effective underwater, it's not a great solution.
 
Rust on the cast iron housing is nothing to worry about. Most important is to be sure there is no muck or debris in the sump pit. You want to keep the impeller from getting something in it.
 
From what I remember about looking at the remains of a sacrificial anode rod that was in a tank too long, there is a steel rod down the center of the zinc rod that provides integrity. Without that steel rod the soft zinc rod would break off from the metal mount way before it was completely consumed.

And the metal of the sacrificial anode rod must be grounded to the tank it is trying to protect.

If you try to use a plain zinc rod without a steel rod down the center that is physically connected to the mount and grounded to the tank, the rod will break off from what ever mount you use way before it is consumed.
 
I had to toss one sump pump because the bolts on it rusted off. So the new one got a coating of grease on the 3 bolts and float rod.
 
A sacrificial metal will protect if it is electrically connected (conductive) with the subject metal in the presence of an electrolyte. These conditions must be met for protection.

Another consideration is that sacrificial metal will only protect the base metal for a finite distance. Otherwise we'd all bolt a few anodes to our cars and call it good for decades of rust-free ownership.
 
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