DIYbanter - View Single Post - I just learned water heaters have an "anode" and its important

dpb

wrote:
....

And I guess that's the real question. How much longer will one get
from a tank if they do check and replace the anode when it's needed?
It would seem to make sense to me too. I started doing it on my
current water heater which is about 6-7 years old now. The original
anode is about 1/2 gone now. While it seems to make sense and I've
seen lots of opinions, I haven't actually seen any tests or studies
done. Has anyone else?

Far too many variables to be able to do any meaningful tests --
differences in tanks, anode design, water, usage, etc., etc., etc., ...

Best one could do would be a test under a given set of controlled
conditions for a given tank design, but that would have virtually no
value outside that test environment...

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