Magnesium or Aluminum Anode Rod?
We are getting a portable water softener & conditioner for our fifth wheel? Since it uses salt, I was wondering if anyone had any insight on which type of anode rod to use in our water heater?
Forum Discussion
Noel wrote:
As I recall, salt brine is not used to soften the water. There are plastic pellets in the softener that are charged either positive or negative and when your hard water runs thru the pellets, hardness ions sre attached to the pellets.
The brine is then backwashed to neutralize the pellets and then flushed with fresh water.
The salt brine ends up being salt (sodium chloride), Magnesium chloride (another salt) and Calcium Chloride (another salt). The sodium ions from the salt attach to the pellets. as hard water passes over the pellets, Calcium and Magnesium from the water (what makes it "hard") are attracted to the pellets and attach to them. In the process the sodium ions on the pellets are released and now are in the water. (or potasium ions, if you use potasium chloride instead of Sodium Chloride)
Water sodium content is related to how "hard" the water is to start with and how "soft" it is in the end. the bigger the difference, the higher the sodium content.
