Difficulty finding the proper anode for a galv well water storage tank

[AZbrian]

Hi Folks,
We have a shared well with a 5K gallon galvanized above ground storage tank. The well manager bought the wrong anode rod which was for a water heater. I've googled and googled and can't find the type of anode rod we have in their now. Anyway the type that was previously in there was suspended by a wire which was screwed into the top of the tank. It's completely deteriorated and the inside of the tank has a lot of rust. The tank was replaced 10 years ago and replacing the anode rod was overlooked. Does anyone have a source for the type of anode rod we need and what material? Any time I google I get water heater anodes. I'm not even sure what material to get. If I have to use a water heater one can I just use some copper wire to suspend it down to the water level? Sorry but I'm completely new to this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Brian

 

[AZbrian]

Anyone?

 

[GReynolds929]

I have no experience in this area. Sorry.

 

[JEG in Raleigh]

Hi Folks,
We have a shared well with a 5K gallon galvanized above ground storage tank. The well manager bought the wrong anode rod which was for a water heater. I've googled and googled and can't find the type of anode rod we have in their now. Anyway the type that was previously in there was suspended by a wire which was screwed into the top of the tank. It's completely deteriorated and the inside of the tank has a lot of rust. The tank was replaced 10 years ago and replacing the anode rod was overlooked. Does anyone have a source for the type of anode rod we need and what material? Any time I google I get water heater anodes. I'm not even sure what material to get. If I have to use a water heater one can I just use some copper wire to suspend it down to the water level? Sorry but I'm completely new to this. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

-Brian

I'm a homeowner, so no expert here. Bear with me for a minute.....For the past couple of months, I've been using an AI search tool called Perplexity, that I read about in the New York Times. I have found it very useful in providing information AND directing me to links that result in my finding accurate answers to my questions. I don't depend on the answers it provides itself, but what is different about this AI tool from Chat GPT is that it provides the links to the sources of the information it is providing to you. So.....I plugged in the following question: WHAT ANNODE SHOULD I USE FOR A 5000 GALLON GALVANIZED WATER STORAGE TANK. THIS IS NOT A WATER HEATER AND A WATER HEATER ANNODE IS NOT RELEVANT TO WHAT I NEED. This is one of the links it provided to that question: https://cathwell.com/industries/storage-tanks/iccp-for-storage-tanks/#. Maybe contact this company and explain what you're dealing with and they may be able to help you.

 

[Mitchell-DIY-Guy]

I'm a homeowner, so no expert here. Bear with me for a minute.....For the past couple of months, I've been using an AI search tool called Perplexity, that I read about in the New York Times. I have found it very useful in providing information AND directing me to links that result in my finding accurate answers to my questions. I don't depend on the answers it provides itself, but what is different about this AI tool from Chat GPT is that it provides the links to the sources of the information it is providing to you. So.....I plugged in the following question: WHAT ANNODE SHOULD I USE FOR A 5000 GALLON GALVANIZED WATER STORAGE TANK. THIS IS NOT A WATER HEATER AND A WATER HEATER ANNODE IS NOT RELEVANT TO WHAT I NEED. This is one of the links it provided to that question: https://cathwell.com/industries/storage-tanks/iccp-for-storage-tanks/#. Maybe contact this company and explain what you're dealing with and they may be able to help you.

The zinc anodes cast onto a stainless steel wire are pretty similar if not identical except in size to those replacement anodes for hot water tanks. I have replaced a couple and they looked pretty similar, except they were magnesium, not zinc, but they were cast onto a stainless steel cable. In one case I needed to cut off about 4 inches of the last chunk of magnesium so it did not rest on the bottom of the tank.

The other thing that that website showed were backfill bags. Things like this are generally used as sacrificial anodes for steel high tension line towers. You surely don’t want those rusting away.

The entire concept is quite simple. You provide something that is sacrificial. Zinc and magnesium will corrode much quicker than steel. So provide zinc and magnesium or similar, and electrically, attach it to the steel item that you want to protect. It’s also the concept behind zinc rich painting primer.

 

[Valveman]

Sorry, no experience either. But I stopped using galvanized pipe in favor of plastic many years ago, and would do the same with a storage tank.