Should I

is that legit? can you post a pic? any literature?

 

OEM or aftermarket?

 

All that space to make a title and that's what you put. Cool.

But no, keep it. It's totally legit and not an item that suckers buy. Will go along nicely with an EMP protector module.

 

They're scams and the only thing they do is potentially drain your 12V battery(which is already a problem with the Primes). Well, they also drain your wallet because you likely paid a decent amount for a worthless piece of plastic and metal, and you're also paying the interest on it since it's likely part of the loan.

 

interesting, i have never heard of that. must like those plug in mice eradicators that don't work

 

It's based on something used for boat hulls. Big difference in environment though.

 

Yep. Sacrificial anodes. Take a chunk of aluminum, zinc, or magnesium, bond it to the metal you want to protect, then(if not already submerged in saltwater) connect the structure to ground to complete the circuit. The anode corrodes via galvanic reaction instead of the protected metal. Once the anode is destroyed, replace it with a new one. Works on boats, bridges, and other big structures; does not work on cars.


By the way, most people don't know that water heaters also come with replaceable anode rods. Pretty much any water heater can last for many decades as long as you flush it at least once a year from new and regularly check the anodes and replace them when they're used up. Not that anybody actually does those things, of course(including me - lol).

But if your water heater is several years old and was never regularly flushed, DO NOT start flushing it now. There can be a bunch of sediment and debris at the bottom of the tank that's the only thing holding the water in. Flush that debris away and the newly exposed metal can quickly corrode and start leaking.

It's kind of like having an old automatic transmission that's never had its fluid changed. The suspended particulates in the old fluid are the only things allowing the friction plates to keep working. Flushing that out with clean fluid leaves you with a non-functional transmission.

 

i wish i had, ours just flooded the basement

 

Oh, I don't know... Have you tried putting your car in the ocean to see?

 

That describes the "sacrificial anode" kind of cathodic protection, where the protective current flows just because of the voltage difference on the galvanic series between the steel you want to protect and Al/Zn/Mg. What you've built is a DC battery, which eventually poops out as the anode gets eaten away.

There are also impressed-current cathodic protection systems, where a DC power supply is used along with anodes of a durable material that isn't eaten away. The DC power supply is what makes the current flow.

They're used a lot to protect underground tanks and pipelines. The anodes are buried near the pipe or tank, so there is a voltage gradient through the soil between the anodes and the structure.



Not sure how you'd make that work with a car.

For a car in a stationary application it could be easy enough.....



If you're serious about an impressed-current cathodic protection system, there are official ways of testing it to be sure it is doing what you want.

Interestingly, this auto product's web site does have a link to a patent. Also interestingly, the web site gives installation instructions that seem to pertain to something not at all like what the patent describes. (The patent describes odd spring-loaded moving electrodes used to inductively couple a current, and some kind of conductive body sealant. The installation instructions talk about to gray wires you screw to your sheet metal.)

I've changed mine once, but need to do it again ... it was kind of gnarly when I checked it last, and I just put it back because I was having trouble finding the same replacement part number again.

And I've only just now seen that, yes, you can also get impressed-current water heater anodes.

Might seem pricey compared to a cheap passive rod, but if I price in my time trying to source the right passive rod again, the price difference doesn't seem so bad.

 

is the photo of your Prius with the cable hanging out…is that the battery tender? Are you able to close the trunk fully like that?