Vetus bow thruster anodes fresh water........
frenchship
Member Posts: 1,079 ✭✭✭
Hi,
My Vetus bow thruster came with a Zinc anode, the boat is in fresh water. Call Vetus no Magnesuim or Aluminium anodes are available. Anybody in the same situation..... here is a picture of the anode after two season in fresh water. Any suggestions
Hi,
My Vetus bow thruster came with a Zinc anode, the boat is in fresh water. Call Vetus no Magnesuim or Aluminium anodes are available. Anybody in the same situation..... here is a picture of the anode after two season in fresh water. Any suggestions
My Vetus bow thruster came with a Zinc anode, the boat is in fresh water. Call Vetus no Magnesuim or Aluminium anodes are available. Anybody in the same situation..... here is a picture of the anode after two season in fresh water. Any suggestions
Hi,My Vetus bow thruster came with a Zinc anode, the boat is in fresh water. Call Vetus no Magnesuim or Aluminium anodes are available. Anybody in the same situation..... here is a picture of the anode after two season in fresh water. Any suggestions
Comments
I have spoken with Vetus and Lewmar and am awaiting a call back from Side Thruster. So far I have received some very interesting comments from them! I would NOT assume that you are okay with zinc anodes in fresh water for your thrusters. More tomorrow.
BTW if you are using Zinc anodes on your drives in fresh water, apart from being a big gambler, you have voided warranty corrosion from Mercruiser and Volvo Penta. Using Aluminum in fresh water is also not advised but I'm not sure if it voids warranty. My guess would be that it does - particularly if you slip in a marina with shorepower.
The rules to avoid damaging corrosion are simple: Galvanic isolator + Zinc for salt water, Aluminum for brackish water and Magnesium for fresh water.
I have recently had a P.M. from a forum member and several friends ask about thrusters.
First, I have never owned a boat with a thruster. However, I have used plenty of them.
As you guys know for boats 40 feet and under my ONLY recommendation would be Axius. For 40 to 50 feet I would recommend AXIUS if the boat had pods. From 40 feet up in size (no pods) I like the Dock Assist System that co-ordinates front and rear thrusters.
I docked a 55 foot diesel dive boat 15 years ago in 6 foot swells after the captain fell down a walkway and broke his leg. Scared the crap out of me but with the big diesel props tapped slightly into reverse and the Dock Assist fore and aft thrusters I got the boat docked.
Okay, on with the questions - because I have never owned a boat with a thruster(s) I made calls to representatives of three well-known brands: Vetus, Lewmar and IMTRA (Side Power).
One question was: what anodes should I use?
I won't quote names of guys here who offered advice that might come back on them as they did not think they would be quoted on an International boating forum.
Vetus. They do not have oem anodes purpose built for brackish or fresh water, only Zinc anodes. The technical expert said the were designed in Holland and despite requests (North America) for anode choices they have declined. He knew exactly what the concern was. The same concerns we have discussed here many, many times. He said he had heard that some aftermarket companies has '"splashed" a Vetus anode mold (made a mold of the Vetus zinc anode) and offered it for sale in other metals but had not seen any personally. He said if it were his boat that he would coat the metal parts with a high quality primer and then a bonded prop paint. I asked if there had been corrosion warranty claims, he said he could not discuss that.
Lewmar: The technical expert I spoke with said Lewmar only offered Zinc anodes. He said the thrusters were engineered in Britain and guessed that there was not enough market demand there for aluminum or magnesium anodes. He too said he would coat the metal parts. He said his friend boats in the Chesapeak (sp?)area and has protected his metal thruster parts with coatings. I asked if there had ever been warranty claims for corrosion and he said he was not able to discuss that.
IMTRA (Side Power): By FAR the most knowledgeable guys I spoke with. I spoke with Steve. He gave me permission to use his name. He is just now sending me the technical specifications for their engineered metal composite anodes. He tried earlier today and when the e.mail did not go through he telephoned me back to check my e.mail address. How's that for SERVICE. He said their anode would perform in salt and fresh water and had been designed for that. They hold patents on the metal composites they use in the anode. If used and replaced as specified there would be 100% warranty coverage. He said he had never heard of a warranty claim for corrosion damage but would check for me. He said apart from blatant abuse we stand 100% behind our product.
So - if you don't have a thruster yet I would certainly look at IMTRA. If you do and it doesn't have the ability to accept an anode or you can only find Zinc anodes I would look at the thruster parts and if I thought I saw signs of corrosion I'd use coatings.
If I had some spare time I'd hunt the internet for the proper anode for my area and I would, for darn sure, ask the guys who supplied and installed my thruster where to get the proper anode and if they covered corrosion damage.
The technical data sheet arrived from IMTRA (Side Power). Their anodes are lighter (easier on the thruster) and will work in any water. They have 5% zinc and a variety of other metals like iridium.
I have a friend that has a machine shop I talked to him about machining a mag anode, the question is does anybody have any idea of the type of magnesium to use.......
thanks again
Paul
Tap a couple of holes in the face of the existing anode and attach a piece of magnesium.
Buy a piece of magnesium round stock and cut it to fit (but first verify any special precautions when machining magnesium).
Attach a separate magnesium anode close to the bow thruster.
@BMXZ...thank you!