F. ELECTRIC ISOLATION AND PROPER GROUNDING TO PREVENT ELECTROLYSIS CORROSION During the fall of 2015, research was completed that showed proper electrical isolation is critical for preventing undirected current corrosion in a GARN® installation. Up until that point, anode rods were supplied with GARN® units because they were a simple solution to deal with the possibility of undirected current corrosion. This technique is known as passive cathodic protection . But anode rods meeting specifications for use in GARN® units are no longer available, so such as solution is no longer possible. The approach now being taken is to electrically isolate the GARN ® unit from any ground path. This is done by evaluating various ground pathways and ensuring that the GARN ® unit is not electrically connected to such pathways. UNDIRECTED CURRENT - TERMINOLOGY The terms stray voltage , electrolysis, and undirected current all describe the same concept in the context of a GARN® unit. We will use the term undirected current because we believe it is the most accurate term. Undirected current is electric current that inappropriately "leaks" through the GARN® unit to an electrical ground. CORROSION FROM UNDIRECTED CURRENT All corrosion occurs by an oxidation process. An oxidation process involves the movement of electrons between chemical elements. Electric current is a measurement of the amount of moving electrons. Therefore, corrosion and electric current are fundamentally linked together. Undirected current can amplify corrosive effects of galvanic corrosion or it can, by itself, generate corrosive effects, both of which can affect a GARN® unit. In almost all cases, if undirected current affects an installation, diagnosis and troubleshooting by a qualified electrician is generally required to find the root cause and correct it.
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GARN® WHS 1000 and WHS 2000 Manual | © HY-C® Company LLC | October 2024
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