A. O. Smith water heater anode rod and warranty question
 

Hi,
I have an A.O. Smith FGR 50 water heater that is starting to leak.

We bought the house new in 11/2000 and the tank warranty is 6 years so
it looks like that is ok. Close, but ok. But as I read the owners
manual I noticed it mentioned 'Anode Rod Maintenance' and there is a
sentence that reads 'Failure to inspect and/or replace the anode rod
will result in voiding the warranty'.

So of course now that I have a leak I'm thinking it might be a good
time to find the anode rod on this water heater. Unfortunately the
diagram on the page 'Getting to know your water heater' doesn't look
quite like mine. The diagram arrow labeled 'anode' points to a place
on the top that looks like a fitting of some sort but my water heater
doesn't appear to have any separate anode rod opening there or anywhere
else on the top. I searched elsewhere in this forum about it and it
sounds like some are not readily accessible. The TP valve was
installed coming out of the top and next to that opening is a factory
looking sticker that says 'Relief Valve'. Also, on the side of the
tank there is an opening and raised letters next to it say 'Relief
Valve' also. The one on the side has a galvanized plug in it.

Does anybody know where the anode rod on my water heater is? could it
be somehow in combination with the TP valve? I noticed another post in
this forum mentioned
http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pag...ium-Anode.html
so I figured maybe there may be something like that where the TP valve
comes out.

Thanks