Ssssshhhh!
(Well - of course - as you know - if we
had our way here at WHACKO
they'd all be bagged and used for crab
bait)
But we are pleased to
announce.
(as voted by a couple of idiots on the
dock)
Well, it's been quite a few days (by our standards)
since our last epistle (have I got to go to the dictionary again for
you?)
Noun: epistle
1. A
specially long, formal letter
Noun: Epistle
1. A book of
the New Testament written in the form of a letter from an Apostle
and once again there's a bit of catching up to do - and lot's
of photos - as always.
The first one is of a new mystery
UFO
I know - just how crazy am I getting - it's a new
little technicolour fan that just plugs into a USB port and away it
goes. It cost $8 as I was passing thru Paddy's Market the other
day. That super duper mousepad I've got with an illuminated edge,
vinyl mat & 4 USB ports - cost me $15 at Aldi - a few months back - and it's
just excellent - and I'm still using a good old-fashioned
mouse. What with the mobile phone permanently plugged in - the
camera - and various portable drives - I suppose you can relate to having -
small cables and leads - everywhere.
We had a surprise visit from Vicki & Robert
the other day - and had a good catchup.
All of us jumped in the runabout - and took a
spin around the bay
to have a tour of all the other
boats.
This is a sort of 'diagonal' panorama - and
the rail didn't quite align because I changed positions
slightly.
I had a look at it in Photoshop to fix it - but
didn't bother, so we'll just call it a 'custom' design
photographic feature.
OK?
Need I say more?
("Is that the camera again - just wait until I
get my pose right")
Now I know this will come as a great surprise to
you - but we've had more sunsets here
and a couple of times the sun even came up - the
next day too.
looking north across the bay (and that's the
moon)
and this below was the same moment - looking
west
dawn the next morning
TODAY'S LESSON - SCIENCE
101
Remember Laurie from the yacht in the bay?
Well I've mentioned to a few people that he has a business -
called 'The Anode Man'.
And almost universally - everyone says - 'What is an anode?' -
and even those who do know that anodes are used on all boats as 'sacrificial' corrosion
blocks - DO NOT KNOW - that every Hot Water
Tank - also has a long 'sacrificial anode' rod - mounted down the
middle of it.
The purpose of these anodes - whether in blocks, plugs, or rods
- is to simply, corrode and be eaten away - before anything
else - boat ones are made of Zinc and these long Hot Water System ones
- are made of Magnesium. Thesee metals are very low down on the
Periodic Table (remember your High School science) and they are called 'base
metals'.
So that with a boat - if you bolt a block of zinc onto the
steel hull - under the water - any electrolysis, or 'galvanic electric current'
that exists - will eat away the zinc block first - before the ferrous steel of the hull or
rudder. Because Zinc is a lower - baser metal - it will
corrode first - thereby - saving the rest of the boat from decaying away.
Here are some new zinc blocks bolted on to the underwater stern
of a yacht from last week.
It is exactly the same principle, with Hot Water Tanks - in your
house. They are made of steel - and have water in them all the
time. So the manufacturers put a long rod of magnesium - straight
down inside the middle of the tank - just bolted in from the top - and that rod
slowly decays over the years - thereby 'sacrificing' itself and corroding away -
instead of the steel tank. All anodes should be replaced
regularly - and certainly when they are down to about 50% of their
content. As soon as the anode stops working properly - the other
metal will corrode - whether it's on a yacht - or the inside of your water tank
- which will start to rust out.
If the ANODE in your domestic hot water system is changed
every - say 6 years or so - (which is what the manufacturers recommend - but
don't really explain to you) then that hot water system tank - could last 30 -
40 years without a problem.
So Laurie has a good little business where he tries to advertise
this information - and goes around changing the anodes in hot water systems -
all over Sydney - and even to the Blue Mountains.
Here is a photo of hot water tank anodes he brought to
show me the other day.
This bottom anode would have lost so much of it's magnesium
now
that the the steel tank would be starting to corrode.
So there you have it - if you change the anode every 5-6 years
say
the tank will last 'forever' just about
if you don't - you may have to buy an expensive new hot water
system within 10 years.
HERE ENDETH THE SCIENCE
LESSON
And naturally - while I was trying to take the photos of the
anodes on the cushions - and had the camera pointed - little Miss 'Can I
be in the photo?' - just had to stick her head in front.
It's really pathetic - isn't it?
Every time she sees the camera - she's got to get in front of
it.
I really think her dogpaddler 'fame' has gone to her
head.
Well we're all another week older - it's Easter - and a wet
weekend.
What have you been up to?
----- Original Message -----
Sent: Friday, March 21, 2008
12:31 PM
Subject: Ssshh Award - sun
down & up again - he's got big anodes
