Beta Wasting Anode

[Jayayecee]

Our Beta engine has a wasting anode which we had completely forgotten about. Cant believe that has never happened before On withdrawing the bolt the zinc cylinder has completely disappeared. Must have all dissolved away I think. However the replacement one will not go in. Could the zinc cylinder have fallen off and still be in there? Its been two years. And anyway how essential is this? I have not seen one before.

 

[Moonbeam]

If the original anode has wasted away to nothing... then the anode is pretty essential.

 

[WoodyP]

It's possible, but the anode degrades over time and usually leaves a small stub in the bolt. Could you remove the flexible hose and poke your finger in to see if there's anything in the way. Or just poke a bit of wire in the hole.

 

[Daydream believer]

The manual recommends cleaning the heat exchanger every year. So clearly you have not done this.
I am guilty of the same thing & when my engine got a bit hot when towing some mooring tackle last year I decided to investigate.
I removed the end cap shown in your picture & the dross from the disolved anode had blocked 1/3 of the small tubes.
I had great difficulty getting the cap off the other end so pocked a welding rod down each hole in turn from one end. Then suddenly the other cap just dropped off. That was after I had tried all methods unsuccessfully to pull it.

I suggest that you buy a set of sealing rings & an anode from Beta. Remove the end caps. Then using a welding rod ( break the outer covering off by taping it on a fim surface) poke the tubes through then replace the caps, using the correct new seals. Then put in the new anode. Check it annually.

 

[Poecheng]

There are a couple of bronze bolts for one of the HE caps that have a service life of about 10 years and so worth sorting them out if you are near or past that time. Not much money to replace them.

 

[BabaYaga]

There are a couple of bronze bolts for one of the HE caps that have a service life of about 10 years and so worth sorting them out if you are near or past that time. Not much money to replace them.

Beta changed the design of the heat exchanger around 2011 IIRC. The bronze bolts go with the older single bolt end caps, it seems the OP has the newer design with three bolt end caps.

 

[Wansworth]

I had a boat with the anode well hidden and difficult to get to……..you have no excuse,get the manual out and see what else you have missed

 

[TwoFish]

Beta changed the design of the heat exchanger around 2011 IIRC. The bronze bolts go with the older single bolt end caps, it seems the OP has the newer design with three bolt end caps.

I think that photo may be from an online copy of a Beta manual, so not necessarily the OP's actual engine.
I'm very glad we took our Beta heat exchanger apart and cleaned and descaled it though, as I was surprised by how much scale and gunk had accumulated in there.

Beta heat exchanger cleaning thrread here:

cleaning beta heat exchanger stack - easy or not?

 

[FinesseChris]

I think that photo may be from an online copy of a Beta manual, so not necessarily the OP's actual engine.
I'm very glad we took our Beta heat exchanger apart and cleaned and descaled it though, as I was surprised by how much scale and gunk had accumulated in there.

Beta heat exchanger cleaning thrread here:

cleaning beta heat exchanger stack - easy or not?

Dismantling, cleaning and mantling the heat exchanger was for us a straightforward process. just make sure you have the replacement O rings: there are two sorts, 2-bolt and 3-bolt. Cleaning solved overheat issue for us.

 

[WoodyP]

Don't overtighten the bronze bolts. They shear.

 

[Pete735]

Mines a 2011 Beta 20 and has the single bolt end cap. The anode completely disappears every season too but it's never clogged up the heat exchanger, I do remove and clean the heat exchanger annually though. I find a brazing rod is ideal for the tubes. For my engine there are 2 options for the O rings as well, a thick and thin version, mine has the thin O rings and I ended buying both types initially as Beta were/are unable to tell you which style is fitted. Fortunately the O Rings are cheap enough.

 

[Thistle]

However the replacement one will not go in. Could the zinc cylinder have fallen off and still be in there?

Curiously, I did this job on my Beta 10 just yesterday. When I took the aft end off the heat exchanger, there was a 1cm * 1cm * 1cm lump of very corroded anode lying there. If similar has happened with you, that may well be why the new one is not going in.

Now looking forward, as always, to replacing everything while ensuring that the o-rings are properly seated while working blind with insufficient hand room. Happy days!

 

[jdc]

If the original anode has wasted away to nothing... then the anode is pretty essential.

I'm not so sure. You need two dissimilar metals in contact to have electrolysis, and the zinc certainly provides one of them, but if it was omitted what remaining two metals would there be? The heat exchanger is connected to the rest of the system by rubber pipes.

Besides, the zinc anode has tiny surface area and volume compared to the bronze tubes, so it will certainly dissolve away fast, but I very much doubt its beneficent effect would ever reach the far end of the stack, so what is it protecting exactly? The yard which services my engine (beta 50) left it out for 10 years saying that's pointless, and when I inspected it myself this last winter the heat exchanger tubes and end-caps looked good as new.

 

[Tranona]

I'm not so sure. You need two dissimilar metals in contact to have electrolysis, and the zinc certainly provides one of them, but if it was omitted what remaining two metals would there be? The heat exchanger is connected to the rest of the system by rubber pipes.

Besides, the zinc anode has tiny surface area and volume compared to the bronze tubes, so it will certainly dissolve away fast, but I very much doubt its beneficent effect would ever reach the far end of the stack, so what is it protecting exactly? The yard which services my engine (beta 50) left it out for 10 years saying that's pointless, and when I inspected it myself this last winter the heat exchanger tubes and end-caps looked good as new.

It is the aluminium housing that goes - and is very expensive. Not worth the risk. The fact that they waste is a good indication there is some galvanic action, however small.

 

[bluerm166]

I believe that you need to clean the spaces between the tubes for proper interchange as well as the tubes themselves.These engines can get through two anodes per season.
A replacement exchanger assembly is I believe £600 quid so follow the manual on this.

 

[jdc]

What connection is there between the housing and the tubes? Only if there is a link between the salt and fresh, in which case you've bigger problems...

 

[englishrobs]

Curiously, I did this job on my Beta 10 just yesterday. When I took the aft end off the heat exchanger, there was a 1cm * 1cm * 1cm lump of very corroded anode lying there. If similar has happened with you, that may well be why the new one is not going in.

Now looking forward, as always, to replacing everything while ensuring that the o-rings are properly seated while working blind with insufficient hand room. Happy days!

I feel your pain. Just been struggling with mine. Got some spares on order from beta who as ever are super helpful. Got my head stuck so far into the engine compartment at the weekend I wondered if I was ever going to get back out!

 

[doug748]

I would certainly replace the anode sharpish and check it every year, as pointed out above, the thing is there to protect the aluminium housing.
All is not lost, if your engine is a few years old, they tend to only go through an anode every couple of years but a new engine can use them very quickly. This probably reflects the raw state of the new internal surfaces - at least I think so, till I am told better.

Someone once posted a photo of a totally wrecked housing where the bronze end caps had been in direct contact, this user error is largely eliminated with the 3 bolt design.

I would disconnect the hose remove the end cap completely ( you will probably find the remains of the old anode in there) and test fit the anode on the bench - as the last thing you want to be doing is cross threading it. You can then remove and clean the heat exchanger gubbins, it may be clean as a whistle but removing it is good practice as it can get jammed if left year on year.

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