Sac anode, zinc in pool ok?

[Pemolis]

Now that I have the swg working I am looking to bond my pump, heater, filter and swg. I am probably buying some marine anodes (because why pay 80 dollars for something that’s 3 bucks), but I have a question.

obviously as the zinc degrades it gets put into the water, is this safe/ok. Do I have to somehow remove the zinc?

i partially know this answer already as I am replacing the anode in my water heater (and I drink that), just thoughts on the poolside. Thanks.

 

[mknauss]

I would suggest using the Search function in the upper right of the webpage. Not alot of need for a sacrificial anode in a pool. But there are those that have them.

Take care.

 

[JoyfulNoise]

What are you trying to protect?

The sacrificial anode products sold for pools are ridiculous. There isn't one bit of practical engineering logic to them and, in my mind, they are little more than "magical beans". There is a right way to do sacrificial anodes and a wrong way to do them; the products sold for pools are the wrong way.

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, as for "bonding" your pool equipment should already be properly bonded or else it is an electrocution hazard to swimmer. Electrical pool bonding is a very specific concept in pool safety and it has nothing to do with sacrificial anodes. There should be a bare #8 copper bonding wire that connects your pool shell & water, decking and any metallic objects near the pool (rails, ladders, etc) with the pool pump, heater, any electrical panel you have near the pool equipment and the SWG.

If the above is not the case for your equipment, then no one should be putting any part of their body into the pool until bonding is correctly installed.

 

[Pemolis]

What are you trying to protect?

The sacrificial anode products sold for pools are ridiculous. There isn't one bit of practical engineering logic to them and, in my mind, they are little more than "magical beans". There is a right way to do sacrificial anodes and a wrong way to do them; the products sold for pools are the wrong way.

- - - Updated - - -

By the way, as for "bonding" your pool equipment should already be properly bonded or else it is an electrocution hazard to swimmer. Electrical pool bonding is a very specific concept in pool safety and it has nothing to do with sacrificial anodes. There should be a bare #8 copper bonding wire that connects your pool shell & water, decking and any metallic objects near the pool (rails, ladders, etc) with the pool pump, heater, any electrical panel you have near the pool equipment and the SWG.

If the above is not the case for your equipment, then no one should be putting any part of their body into the pool until bonding is correctly installed.

I think you might have panic'd a bit. I am looking to protect the pump, heater, swg, filter. Basically everything that is in my pool pad. There's no steps, bars, etc in the pool. I'll pick the brain of my local pool person (She is a pool builder and should be familiar with this, if she isn't I'd be shocked). Was reading Juggernaut1103's post regarding his 70's pool and how he was about to basically demolish his yard to find this copper piece.

 

[JamesW]

Is there a bond wire at your equipment pad?

 

[domct203]

Concern over an electrocution hazard is not ‘panic’, it’s true concern over the safety of you and the swimmers in your pool. Bonding is not to protect the pump, heater, SWG & Filter, it is to protect the swimmers.

IMHO- skip the anode.

Is the pool shell, decking & water already properly bonded?

 

[Swampwoman]

Pemolis, forgive me if I'm being obtuse, but didn't the installer(s) bond the equipment at the time of install? Or did you self-install the swg and are now looking to connect it to the rest of your equipment because you didn't do that at the time of installation?

If you self-installed and did not bond, please take seriously the risk of stray current and remedy promptly.

To your original question...I use an inline zinc anode that is plumbed en route as the water flows into my heater. It has a bonding wire that is attached to the equipment bonding wire.

Many reputable members here believe that anodes-as-executed in the pool world are nothing more than a panacea, which may well be the case. One of the issues is the size of anode to surface and the pathway. Other issues come from differences in the way anode protection is used industrially for steel structures where it is blurred in moist soil.

If you refer to HVAC and marine knowledge on galvanic corrosion and methods, you begin to see where an inline anode connected to the bonding grid and located near the most vulnerable/valuable metal (heat exchanger) then pool anodes may begin to theoretically make sense.

All I know for sure is that the zinc DOES corrode. What I don't know is whether something else less noble would be corroding instead were it not there. Eg. My heat exchanger. If you're going to use an anode, I would suggest that the highest likelihood of it protecting a heater is to plumb it inline close to the heater and attach to the bonding grid.

In a perfect world, heat exchangers in a swg would be made of titanium since the swg plate is made of titanium and that way the exchanger would not be less noble on the galvanic scale. The industry has actually come out with same this year, hopefully based on real data not just a marketing ploy...but of course, the jury is out on that too

Just so you know, because you mentioned your hot water heater, THAT anode is magnesium, which is only recommended for freshwater -- it would corrode too quickly in brine/saltwater. Marine aluminum anodes are equally unsuited for pools, according to the literature. Which leaves you with zinc.

Zinc, in my tentative opinion, can combine with other materials to scale in certain conditions involving sequestrants, flow, high heat etc., but otherwise does not (again in my limited experience, which is kinda complicated) stain.

 

[Pemolis]

Is there a bonding lug near the pool equipment, not that I can find. It’s bonded (it wouldn’t have passed code otherwise).

 

[JamesW]

Do you have a picture of the system?

 

[JoyfulNoise]

Is there a bonding lug near the pool equipment, not that I can find. It’s bonded (it wouldn’t have passed code otherwise).

As JamesW says, a picture would greatly help.

The easiest way to see the bonding wire is typically on the back of the pool pump. By code, all pool pumps must be bonded to the equipotential grid and there is a specific lug on the back of the pump where you should see a bare copper wire attached to.

 

[Pemolis]

I’ll post some photos once it’s light out.

 

[PoolguyinCT]

I think you might have panic'd a bit. I am looking to protect the pump, heater, swg, filter. Basically everything that is in my pool pad. There's no steps, bars, etc in the pool. I'll pick the brain of my local pool person (She is a pool builder and should be familiar with this, if she isn't I'd be shocked). Was reading Juggernaut1103's post regarding his 70's pool and how he was about to basically demolish his yard to find this copper piece.

"...She is a pool builder and should be familiar with this, if she isn't I'd be shocked..."

Figuratively & literally...

 

[Swampwoman]

This is what you're looking for, a #8 copper wire I believe.

Back of pump location - in this case equipment is inside, bond wire comes into pool house through wall, connects to pump


General connection scheme - kinda messy in my case but works Out of shot is the heater and swg...bonding lug on heater is on side, for swg, comes down out of box. Shown connected to inline anode (top left.)

 

[Catanzaro]

Zinc, in my tentative opinion, can combine with other materials to scale in certain conditions involving sequestrants, flow, high heat etc., but otherwise does not (again in my limited experience, which is kinda complicated) stain.

This is one of the underlying reasons why I added a Sacrificial Zinc Anode at the pump, and not in the pool as suggested by Chem Geek. This is all due to an issue I had with the screws at the light niche. In addition, the heat pump now drops water by the zinc anode buried in the soil, making my life easier during real hot long dry conditions. My experience has been positive. The dripping rust on the screw heads stopped immediately, after installing the anode.

Zinc Anode

Sequence of chemicals and possibly any effects on what happened to screws at light.