What’Sec The Existent Divergence?

Aluminum together with magnesium anode rods are more than reactive than water heater metallic. Magnesium is more reactive than aluminum. Thus aluminum is expert for difficult water. Magnesium is skilful for soft water to go on upwards with the many corrosive elements. But, magnesium rods do non final as long and ask more than frequent replacement.

Difference Between Aluminum as well as Magnesium Anode Rods: Overview

Both aluminum and magnesium anode rods supply the function of preventing your water heater from becoming rusted as well as corroded. Their specific properties assist them attract the reactive elements from the H2O that campaign corrosion, in addition to the rod itself becomes corroded equally opposed to the actual tank.

Their almost distinguishing difference comes from how they role. Where aluminum rods are much slower at doing their jobs, magnesium ones are a lot more reactive too therefore perform a lot faster to attract the corrosive elements.

Another of import difference is that magnesium rods actually furnish sure health benefits to the user, equally magnesium is super of import for a diversity of bodily processes. Aluminum rods, on the other manus, do non make this.

Aluminum Anode Rods

Relevant Characteristics of Aluminum

Aluminum makes a wonderful fabric for the manufacturing of anode rods as its characteristics are perfect for its function.

Aluminum is more reactive to corrosive materials than steel (what water heater tanks are typically made from), which way anode rods made of this fabric will preferentially corrode in one case it has come up into contact amongst corrosive elements in the water.

Aluminum too has a high reactivity to hot water, which makes it suitable for role inward a H2O heater tank every bit once the H2O has heated, the anode rod volition perform faster too more than efficiently.

Design of Aluminum Anode Rods

Aluminum anode rods are widely used because of their specific blueprint. For example, this metal is extremely light too capable of bending quite easily. This flexibility makes it easier to manufacture as well as install, as well as its light weight means it is easy and cost-effective to transport.

The metal’second flexibility allows for customized rods to be made to suit all shapes and sizes of water heater tanks.

Some anode rods are not only comprised of aluminum. You tin can get the pick of purchasing an aluminum/zinc combination rod, which has bulk aluminum, a small-scale percentage of zinc, together with and then an fifty-fifty smaller percentage of trace metals. The combination of these metals provides the benefit of reducing odors from your water tank.

Ability to Handle Hard Water

These types of rods are best suited for H2O that has a higher pH level too is by and large quite difficult. Aluminum rods withstand harder H2O a lot improve than rods made of other metals. Since aluminum rods are less reactive than magnesium, they detect the remainder betwixt lasting longer inward water together with still preferentially corroding instead of the tank. However, this is alone applicable when there are moderate amounts of corrosive elements.

Average Lifespan of Anode Rod

Depending on only how difficult your H2O is in addition to the overall character of it, your anode rod will terminal you a maximum of five years. If y'all take more often than not difficult H2O, in addition to therefore accept to make role of a water softener, then your anode rod will accept a shorter life span equally the softener will increment the corrosion of the rod.

Too much water softening tin can cut the lifespan of the rod to less than a year!

You will be able to determine when it is time to supplant your anode rod when the inner tubing becomes quite exposed; a few holes are normal in addition to indicative that the rod is performing good, but when a large part of the within cable becomes visible, yous are at take a chance of damage to the tank of your H2O heater.

Cost of Aluminum Rods

Aluminum rods are ofttimes the outset choice for people every bit they are the lowest-priced metal rods of the options available. Aluminum is the nigh widespread metal on the planet, and so the abundance of availability makes them super affordable.

You tin can discover one of these rods for around $15, together with they are readily available to purchase from nigh domicile-expert stores and fifty-fifty online.

Health Benefits of Aluminum

While magnesium does provide people alongside a variety of health benefits as you volition read farther down, aluminum itself is known to live of import in the food preservation procedure too has even been used in the formation of medications and vaccines.

Aluminum sulfates that are establish in H2O assistance inward the water purification procedure.

Magnesium Anode Rods

Relevant Characteristics of Magnesium

Magnesium is a suitable metal to purpose for the manufacturing of an anode rod equally it has certain characteristics that assist in the process of sacrificial corrosion.

Magnesium is highly reactive to corrosive elements, more than than steel in addition to more than aluminum, which makes it really suitable for its part on an anode rod.

Magnesium likewise releases more electrons than aluminum does, which is why it plant and so effectively every bit the electrons are needed for the electrochemical procedure to go on to permit for the corrosion to have home on the rod too non on the H2O heater itself.

Design of Magnesium Anode Rods

Magnesium anode rods are generally quite lite, making them convenient to transport.

These rods are non ordinarily but made of 1 metal merely are as well comprised of other trace metals, although the master metal component is magnesium.

Ability to Handle Hard Water

Unlike aluminum rods, magnesium anode rods should non be placed in water heaters that receive difficult H2O. Magnesium rods are unable to withstand the issue of minerals inwards the H2O, together with the corrosion process volition live accelerated significantly.

Your anode rod volition then become covered inwards limescale or corroded to the betoken where it tin no longer role efficiently, together with if left unreplaced for likewise long, volition drive your water heater tank to go rusted quite apace.

However, this real feature is what makes magnesium anode rods better equipped for soft H2O. Soft water contains high numbers of corrosive elements—likewise many for the less reactive aluminum rod to go along upward with. The magnesium rods are so reactive that they will live able to go along upwardly with these large amounts of corrosive elements. This has durability repercussions equally yous tin can imagine.

Average Lifespan of Anode Rod

Despite its benefits, magnesium anode rods tend to last for a shorter menses of time than aluminum rods.

The difference is non likewise meaning every bit research shows that these rods tin besides final upward to v years, but it all depends on the lineament of the water that runs through your H2O heater. It is mutual for i to take to supercede their magnesium rod after just 12 months.

Water with a lot of minerals or that is real hard, will campaign the anode rod to corrode a lot faster than meliorate character H2O. Magnesium rods are less durable when it comes to hard H2O, and so the same amount of hard H2O that will accept a few years to corrode an aluminum rod volition accept significantly less time to corrode a magnesium anode rod.

Cost of Magnesium Rods

Magnesium rods are not as cheap equally aluminum rods, merely they won’t necessarily interruption the depository financial institution either. Depending on the size of your H2O heater, in addition to hence the required size of the anode rod, y'all can wait to pay a minimum of $30 for a magnesium anode rod.

Health Benefits

Magnesium anode rods are sometimes chosen as they accept the added pro of providing the user alongside health benefits. Research has shown that magnesium is important for providing humans amongst energy, assisting inward the product of poly peptide inward the torso too equally inwards the cause of muscles.

Adding magnesium to the H2O via the anode rod allows the human being torso to role optimally as this food is vital for a number of chemical processes.

Table of Differences Between Aluminum in addition to Magnesium Rods

Aluminum Anode Rods	Magnesium Anode Rods
Better suited for difficult H2O	Better suited for soft water
Has a longer lifespan equally it takes longer to corrode	Will non last as long every bit an aluminum rod every bit corrosion occurs faster
More affordable than a magnesium rod	More expensive than aluminum rods
Does not render whatever other benefits to the user	The dissolved magnesium in the H2O tin furnish the user alongside a diverseness of health benefits.

Should I Use an Aluminium or Magnesium Anode Rod?

The selection of which anode rod yous should purpose comes down ultimately to the type of water that flows through your family.

Aluminum anode rods are ameliorate suited for houses that endure from difficult H2O, whereas magnesium anode rods function best in softer or softened water. However, if yous live in an surface area where your H2O is non that hard nor that soft, then the selection is yours.

Your determination can live made based on your budget too how long yous are willing to await before needing to supervene upon the anode rod.

If y'all are struggling alongside smelly good water, and then neither magnesium nor aluminum anode rods is going to live your best option. Rather get for a zinc alloy rod.

Of class, yous could e'er get amongst a H2O heater that does non ask an anode rod; not all of them do.