Pencil Zinc

[Vic Suben]

 :sleepy:When replacing the pencil zinc in the heat exchanger, should the threads of the brass holder be wrapped with Teflon (plumber's) tape?

Vic

[Stu Jackson]

No.  You want the best electrical contact between the threads.

[scotty]

I put mine on with a little extra "omph".  When I don't, I've found that it is un-screwed when I replace it!

[Kevin Henderson]

Nope.... Metal to metal   

[Ron Hill]

Vic : You have to have metal to metal contact for an anode to work.

Make sure the female threads on the brass holder are clean and also make sure the female threads on the Heat Exchanger that the holder screw into are clean.   I found the best tool to use is a "battery terminal brush tool".  The tapered metal wire brush is easy to insert into the female threads, turn a couple of times and any junk is cleaned off. 

A few thoughts

[Les Luzar]

Ron,
Thanks for that advice on the battery terminal brush. I never really cleaned out the female threads on the heat exchanger before replacing the zinc. I just used my pinkie finger to make sure the threads were clean. But now I am going to take that old battery cleaning brush in my garage to the boat and use it as you suggest. I never work on my house or car anyway. There is no time left after I finish working on my boat!