Proven performance

Volvo Penta marine anodes

Taking one for the team. Volvo Penta’s genuine marine anodes are specially designed, tested, and manufactured to ensure a perfect fit for your application and the protection of your Volvo Penta product.

Proven protection

Marine anodes explained

Marine anodes are made to sacrifice themselves in order to protect your drive and propeller from galvanic corrosion – an electrochemical process that occurs when two metals are electrically connected. If it’s left without action, it quickly destroys underwater metals.

Safeguarding

How marine anodes work

Marine anodes are made of a less noble metal than, for example, propellers, drives, metal struts, or rudders. This causes them to oxidize faster by attracting electrons in the seawater that would otherwise destroy the underwater metals they protect.

Turn to the experts

Installation & Replacement

We recommend using an authorized Volvo Penta dealer to install your marine anodes, which include the benefit of a 2-year warranty. When winterizing your inboard or during the off-season, anodes should be inspected and replaced when eroded to half their original size.

Which type of anode?

Different water environments different anodes

In salt and brackish water, Volvo Penta recommends aluminum anodes. If these are not available, zinc can be used. Aluminum and zinc anodes are not recommended in fresh water due to the increased risk of shifting to more noble potentials by passivating surface films, particularly at low anode current densities, stopping them from working properly.

In fresh water, we recommend magnesium anodes since the electrical conductivity is much lower than in salt and brackish water. Magnesium anodes should not be used in salt or brackish water due to the risk of overprotection and extremely high anode consumption.

Anodes and water types

Salt water

Aluminium *

Brackish water

Aluminium *

Fresh water

Magnesium *

* select zinc anode if aluminum anode is not provided for your product

Caring for the environment

Aluminum anodes are generally less toxic for marine organisms, which is particularly important in marinas where concentrations increase and the reason why legislation regarding zinc anodes is discussed in many places. For example, authorities and organizations in the US are recommending the use of aluminum instead of zinc based on environmental considerations.

Small amounts of zinc are essential for the human body, but in higher concentrations, zinc is toxic to the environment. Zinc anodes usually contain a certain amount of an activator to prevent passivation in certain conditions. For this purpose, many manufacturers of zinc anodes use small amounts of cadmium, which is very toxic.

Volvo Penta’s aluminum anodes are cadmium-free. Instead, indium is used as an activator.

Aluminum anodes

For decades, zinc anodes have been recommended as the best choice for saltwater applications. However, the alloys have developed over the years. The aluminum anodes that Volvo Penta offers today are more efficient than zinc and are recommended for both salt and brackish water. In the offshore, pipeline, and shipping industries, aluminum anodes have almost completely replaced zinc for saltwater applications.

Aluminum anodes have a higher drive voltage than zinc, resulting in a 30% higher corrosion protection capacity – while lasting up to 40% longer in salt water. And even though the density of aluminum is almost 1/3 of zinc, the current capacity per unit volume is still higher. This means that an aluminum anode of the same size will last longer, saving you both time and cost.

Volvo Penta has invested intensively in manufacturing processes for aluminum alloys and quality control systems, resulting in a high degree of purity of the alloy. Extensive laboratory and field tests in various water environments have been performed with consistent results that verify the advantages of using Volvo Penta aluminum anodes over zinc anodes in salt and brackish water.

Order & protect

Safeguard your investment

Order marine anodes and other parts for your marine application from the Volvo Penta Shop.

Volvo Penta shop

Effective and reliable

Constant corrosion protection for saltwater boating

Our Active Corrosion System makes boat maintenance easier than ever by protecting your boat’s drive from saltwater corrosion without the need for sacrificial anodes.

Active Corrosion Protection

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