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Jerry Peters Jerry Peters is offline
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Default Can and LED floodlight possibly be as bright as a real floodlight?

In sci.electronics.repair Jeff Liebermann wrote:
On Tue, 14 Oct 2014 20:32:01 -0700, John Robertson
wrote:

Of course you should change your anode every few years - assuming you
can extract it. The house we bought last summer has a replaceable anode
but I can't unscrew it. The tank will fail in a year or two, but then
I'm looking for one with a replaceable anode and do a bi-annual change.


I learned a few lessons trying to extract the anode rod from the old
tank. With the tank empty, a long handled "torque amplifier" did a
great job of twisting the water heater jacket into a simulated
pretzel. I didn't know I was that strong. It might have survived if
it had water inside and I didn't put my foot on the jacket when
applying brute force. Learn by Destroying(tm).


Same method I used, except the heater had 40 gallons of water in it.
It didn't move, but eventually the anode rod cap did.


When I mentioned the problem to a plumber, he indicated that it was a
common problem, and that an electric or pneumatic impact wrench works
much better. I didn't have a reason to try it, so I don't know if
that's really a good idea. Also, when I installed the 2nd anode rod,
I smeared it with some edible grease. Insulating it with Teflon tape
doesn't seem like a good idea. In a year or two, try the impact
wrench.


Seriously? You think the teflon tape will insulate it? Pipe threads
are designed for an interference fit, the pipe threads will cut
through the tape with ease. The tape is just to fill the gap between
the male & female threads.


I found some instructions on how to remove the rod, which recommends
WD-40 and an impact wrench. Getting the WD-40 out of the water is
going to be interesting since it's not water soluble.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html

In my derangement, I didn't have enough clearance above the water
heater to insert or remove the rod. They make anodes that are on a
chain to make it possible to replace them without proper clearance,
but I didn't buy one of those. So, I tipped over the water heater,
inserted the 2nd rod, tipped it back up, and continued the
installation. When it's time to replace either rod, I'll need to
drain the heater, disconnect everything, tip it over again, and
extract the rods. Not fun, bad planning, etc.


Just bend the rods when you remove them, they're either magnesium or
aluminum alloy on a wire. Replace with the bendable variety.


I'm not sure of the exact anode replacement interval. The previous
water heater lasted about 15 years before the lime accumulation killed
the lower heater element. I assume the lifetime is affected by
whatever is in the water. Inspecting the anode rod would be helpful,
but if it's stuck or difficult to remove, that might be difficult.


Inspect the rods every year or two, when you start to see mostly wire
it's time for replacement.


Good luck and how did we get from LED lighting to water heaters?