On Tue, 13 Feb 2007 14:20:15 -0500, "Zephyr" Someguy@an email
address.com wrote:


"George" wrote in message
.. .
(7-yr old 40-gal gas heater)

Our hot water got suddenly very 'rusty' two days ago. Cold water is
clear. I flushed the tank several times, and it still comes out dirty.
The company says to replace the anode rod. The question is, how?

It's threaded into the top of the tank. I've soaked around the head
with PB Blaster, but I doubt that's getting to the threads. Right now,
I'm using a 1/2" breaker bar with an extension pipe, and getting
nothing. I'm reluctant to use heat (acetylene), because, while the
insulation doesn't sustain combustion, it does sort of burn a little.

Any experience/suggestions would be appreciated. In particular, would
it be OK to use heat?

Thanks,
George

Can't really comment on the heat / no heat option sorry, but, here are my 2
cents on the whole scenario

I don't know how much torque you are putting on the heater, but I found that
having someone there to help hold the heater in place when trying to break
the threads free was a wise idea. You could rip the heater right off its
moorings if you tried hard enough.

I threaded a piece of 3/4" black pipe into the T&P outlet, and use that
to brace against.

all that a side, I don't see how replacing the anode is going to fix your
rust problem. The anode is there to prevent rust, the rod itself ( with
the exception of a wire down the inside of the anode material) doesn't
really rust but more just disintegrates. If you have rust in the heater, a
new anode may slow down the development of more rust, but, you still have
rust there. And if you have rust in the tank, that means that some part of
the tank is no longer as strong as it once was.

There's a lot I don't know about this. It's odd that the rust (if
that's what it is) showed up so abruptly. The mfr's warranty support
insists that the rod will fix it. The rod is only $20; so, other than
the difficulty of getting it out, I'm willing to try.

I'm now considering taking the top of the shell off. That would let me
pull the insulation out of the way, and then I could go with the torch.

G