How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of
similar age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so
much that it would indicate that it had been without protection for any
length of time. So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if
indicated, and keep on using it if I can, being a cheap
bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a
beefier 3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or
slightly more than average strength can actually break the tank by doing
this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is
hopefully the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace
of mind, although you just know that now that I've said that the other
T&P valve will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve



"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:
get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve



"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel





--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate





Steve Barker wrote:
get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate





Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -


You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Nov 28, 7:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Excellent! I always like to have my fall back plan figured out if
jobs like that go wrong.

My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Harry K

perhaps rent an electric one then.


s


"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...
I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the impact,
but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

reminds me of a funny i did once upon a time. i had the manifold off of a
small block chevy and managed to break a t-stat bolt off. I proceeded to
drill that sucker all the way through and put a nut on the bottom side. I
wish i could have been there for the next som-beach that had to take that
bolt out. I laughed for years over that.

s


"Harry K" wrote in message
...

My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Harry K

On Nov 29, 11:10 am, Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 7:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:





Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Excellent! I always like to have my fall back plan figured out if
jobs like that go wrong.

Yeah, that was "call plumber and tell him to come install new water
heater." Credit card was at the ready. I just figured that that was
what was going to happen anyway if I didn't inspect the anode, as it
was old enough it couldn't be trusted without inspection.


My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Funny you should use that example. I spent a fun afternoon one day
drilling the water manifold mounting bolts out of the front of a
Studebaker V-8 after attempting to snug one up to stop a slow leak and
finding out that the PO had replaced them all with Grade 2
hardware... at least four of them busted while attempting to remove
the water manifold to drill out the first one. I had to pull the fan,
shroud, and radiator and then climb in and sit on the front fender
while using a 1/2" hand drill. I don't like EZ-outs, I just drilled
to the threads and busted the swarf out with a tap. Amazingly enough
I didn't have to use a single helicoil. (pats self on back.) Good
times.

nate

On Nov 29, 2:45 pm, "Steve Barker" wrote:
reminds me of a funny i did once upon a time. i had the manifold off of a
small block chevy and managed to break a t-stat bolt off. I proceeded to
drill that sucker all the way through and put a nut on the bottom side. I
wish i could have been there for the next som-beach that had to take that
bolt out. I laughed for years over that.

s

"Harry K" wrote in message

...





My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Harry K- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Heck, if I put a nut on the underside I probably would have forgotton
about it *myself* the next time I tried to take it apart. ;-)

On Nov 29, 2:48 pm, N8N wrote:
On Nov 29, 11:10 am, Harry K wrote:





On Nov 28, 7:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequotedtext -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Excellent! I always like to have my fall back plan figured out if
jobs like that go wrong.

Yeah, that was "call plumber and tell him to come install new water
heater." Credit card was at the ready. I just figured that that was
what was going to happen anyway if I didn't inspect the anode, as it
was old enough it couldn't be trusted without inspection.



My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Funny you should use that example. I spent a fun afternoon one day
drilling the water manifold mounting bolts out of the front of a
Studebaker V-8 after attempting to snug one up to stop a slow leak and
finding out that the PO had replaced them all with Grade 2
hardware... at least four of them busted while attempting to remove
the water manifold to drill out the first one. I had to pull the fan,
shroud, and radiator and then climb in and sit on the front fender
while using a 1/2" hand drill. I don't like EZ-outs, I just drilled
to the threads and busted the swarf out with a tap. Amazingly enough
I didn't have to use a single helicoil. (pats self on back.) Good
times.

nate

Forgot to mention, that same engine ended up getting replaced with a
fresh rebuilt Avanti engine (because I could, and the extra HP/torque
was too tempting to resist.) Buddy of mine attempted to swap it into
a '51 Stude sedan, and it promptly threw a rod. I'd been driving it
at (nonspecific high speed) the morning before it was pulled! whew!

nate

On Nov 28, 10:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:
Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

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- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
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- Show quoted text -

nice, but I have a question..what kept the whole tank from turning?

thats the nice thing about an impact wrench, the reaction force is
absorbed by the inertia..

Mark

On Nov 29, 3:00 pm, Mark wrote:
On Nov 28, 10:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:





Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequoted text -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
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- Show quoted text -

nice, but I have a question..what kept the whole tank from turning?

SWMBO holding onto the pipes


thats the nice thing about an impact wrench, the reaction force is
absorbed by the inertia..

Indeed... well perhaps the money not spent on a new water heater can
go into the "buy my a$$ an air compressor" fund

nate

On Nov 29, 11:50 am, DerbyDad03 wrote:
On Nov 29, 2:45 pm, "Steve Barker" wrote:





reminds me of a funny i did once upon a time. i had the manifold off of a
small block chevy and managed to break a t-stat bolt off. I proceeded to
drill that sucker all the way through and put a nut on the bottom side. I
wish i could have been there for the next som-beach that had to take that
bolt out. I laughed for years over that.

s

"Harry K" wrote in message

...

My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Harry K- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Heck, if I put a nut on the underside I probably would have forgotton
about it *myself* the next time I tried to take it apart. ;-)- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Ah yes. I totally replaced the plumbing in the basement in this old
house. Somehow managed to get the hot and cold lines reversed going
to the wash tub (one of those old granit jobs). Told myself "no
problem, I'll remember adn I am the only one who will use it" Nope.
After dipping my hand into a HOT stream of water twice, I reworked it
to be standard.

Harry K

On Nov 29, 11:48 am, N8N wrote:
On Nov 29, 11:10 am, Harry K wrote:





On Nov 28, 7:23 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

Harry K wrote:
On Nov 28, 6:19 pm, Nate Nagel wrote:

I agree with your comments, however I'd have to spin not only the
impact, but an air compressor, hose, portable tank, etc. by the finance
department... I can see it now "you just want that so you can use it on
your silly old car" (um, yeah? so? G)

nate

Steve Barker wrote:

get you a 1/2" pneumatic impact. yes, like the ones to take wheels off and
on. Turn the air down low (about 50 psi) and use a 6 point socket. Start
a rat a tatting on it, slowly turning up the air inthe process. It'll come
out. I woudn't worry about the tank bung itself. It's probably one of the
thickest parts of the tank.

steve

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message
...

How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of similar
age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so much that it
would indicate that it had been without protection for any length of time.
So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if indicated, and keep
on using it if I can, being a cheap bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a beefier
3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or slightly more
than average strength can actually break the tank by doing this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is hopefully
the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace of mind,
although you just know that now that I've said that the other T&P valve
will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequotedtext -

- Show quoted text -

You could try the old manual impact method. With both hands put all
the torque you dare on the breaker and with the third hand use a big
hammer on the breaker. Can be done 2 handed but not as effective

Harry K

eh, it's done. I just posted in case someone was going to say something
like "more than 400 ft-lb and you'll spin the bung right out" and since
I didn't get any of those replies, I had at it. Enlisted the girlie to
hang onto the pipes while I reefed on it, took a decent sized grunt on
my new breaker bar with a 30" piece of pipe slid over it (oops, I just
voided my warranty, didn't I?) and busted it loose. Anode looked a
little worse than the other one but still didn't indicate that it'd
stopped protecting the tank, so I just slid in a new one, did a little
cheap ******* happy dance, and turned on the water for another 15 years
or so

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel-Hidequoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Excellent! I always like to have my fall back plan figured out if
jobs like that go wrong.

Yeah, that was "call plumber and tell him to come install new water
heater." Credit card was at the ready. I just figured that that was
what was going to happen anyway if I didn't inspect the anode, as it
was old enough it couldn't be trusted without inspection.



My worst panic was the day I twisted off one of the bolts holding the
thermostat while installing a freshly completely overhauled motor in
my PU. (1962 Chev 6) Only thin original left on it was the block/
camshaft and crank. Carefully drilled dead center for an easy out and
busted the drill bit off in the hole just as I was finishing. Much
fun with a dental pick before I got that out of there.

Funny you should use that example. I spent a fun afternoon one day
drilling the water manifold mounting bolts out of the front of a
Studebaker V-8 after attempting to snug one up to stop a slow leak and
finding out that the PO had replaced them all with Grade 2
hardware... at least four of them busted while attempting to remove
the water manifold to drill out the first one. I had to pull the fan,
shroud, and radiator and then climb in and sit on the front fender
while using a 1/2" hand drill. I don't like EZ-outs, I just drilled
to the threads and busted the swarf out with a tap. Amazingly enough
I didn't have to use a single helicoil. (pats self on back.) Good
times.

nate- Hide quoted text -

- Show quoted text -

Another low point in my nut-n-bolting. Again it was a water pump. My
mom blew hers on a 58 Mercury with full load of all options - it was
an old car by then. No, sweat just tow it home, park and go to it.
Amazing amound of stuff has to come off that beast to get at the WP.
It was the last thing still on the block just before removal.

Replaced, replace this, replace that, etc and an hour later all that
remained was the Power Steering pump. Ooops. The first thing to
remove on one of those is that which involves down the line removing
the tighttening arm - just about the last item. Yep, I had forgotten
it.

Oh yes, back to that 62 chev PU. It went through the Mt St Helens ash
cloud. When I decided it needed a rebuild was looking back up a
mountain road and seeing a blue cloud down the entire grade. I was
used to stopping at the bottom and adding a quart but that was
embarrassing. Turned out to be bad decision to rebuild instead of a
short block though. About a month after the rebuild it cracked in the
cam gallery. I found out that my specific run was noted for that.
Another block, another bore job and I wound up putting around 2500
into a rig that was only worth about $900.

Harry K

On Nov 30, 8:43 am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
For removing the anode, I'd give er full power, Captain!

Replacing anode, clean the external and internal threads with a wire brush.
I'd use teflon tape, followed by a coating of Rectorseal #5 on the threads
to seal. And then be concerned with torque.

I suppose the teflon tape will be cut through enough the the threads
so that there will still be an electrical connection between the anode
and the case of the water heater..correct? It needs that to work.

Mark

Both tanks appear to have been installed circa 1990. The anodes
needed replacing, but weren't so bad that the tanks would have been
attacked, so I caught them in time. Damn previous owners

nate

On Nov 30, 8:44 am, "Stormin Mormon"
wrote:
The anode just provides metal to corrode, in order to help keep the tank
from corroding. What makes you think that your anode needs replacing?

--

Christopher A. Young;
.
.

"Nate Nagel" wrote in message

...
How much torque can one apply to a fitting, say an anode screwed into a
hot water tank, before getting into the area where one needs to be
concerned about the integrity of the tank itself?

I suspect that it's new water heater time, or close to it, but I was
pleasantly surprised when I removed the anode from another tank of
similar age (in the same house) and found it well corroded but not so
much that it would indicate that it had been without protection for any
length of time. So I'd prefer to simply inspect this one, replace if
indicated, and keep on using it if I can, being a cheap
bas^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^H^Hfrugal person.

I had a 18" long, 1/2" drive breaker bar on it and it was flexing to the
point where I was concerned about snapping the bar. (I may or may not
have been using an unapproved extension on said bar...) I have a
beefier 3/4" drive bar but I'm wondering if a person of average or
slightly more than average strength can actually break the tank by doing
this.

I've been pretty lucky so far, I've R&R'd two drain spigots, one T&P
valve, and one anode without busting anything, as well as R&Ring the
spigot and anode on a one year old tank in the garage. This is
hopefully the last part I need to break loose to provide me with peace
of mind, although you just know that now that I've said that the other
T&P valve will fail

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.http://members.cox.net/njnagel

Stormin Mormon wrote:
My memory is probably wrong, but I remember that the anode is a more
reactive metal. So, the electrical connection is irrelevant.

Someone correct me, if my memory is failing.


I believe that it does need to be electrically connected to the tank to
properly protect it... something with the movement of electrons or
something like that. However pipe dope or pipe tape won't interfere
with that, the threads will cut through in places enough to make good
contact.

nate

--
replace "roosters" with "cox" to reply.
http://members.cox.net/njnagel

On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:08:55 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

Both tanks appear to have been installed circa 1990. The anodes
needed replacing, but weren't so bad that the tanks would have been
attacked, so I caught them in time. Damn previous owners

nate

When factoring the replacement of anode into your decisions, you need
to factor in the efficiency of the new water heater vs the old water
heater.

I suspect the new water heater would pay for itself in a couple of
years and also give you more hot water faster.




......

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:11:53 -0600, Duff wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:08:55 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

Both tanks appear to have been installed circa 1990. The anodes
needed replacing, but weren't so bad that the tanks would have been
attacked, so I caught them in time. Damn previous owners

nate

When factoring the replacement of anode into your decisions, you need
to factor in the efficiency of the new water heater vs the old water
heater.

I suspect the new water heater would pay for itself in a couple of
years and also give you more hot water faster.

I suspect that today's water heaters are no more efficient. Do you think the
trend towards greater efficiency can go on indefinately? If the water heater
hasn't started to rust, just replace the damn anode. Any slight energy savings
will never repay the cost of a new water heater.

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:27:03 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:11:53 -0600, Duff wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:08:55 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

Both tanks appear to have been installed circa 1990. The anodes
needed replacing, but weren't so bad that the tanks would have been
attacked, so I caught them in time. Damn previous owners

nate

When factoring the replacement of anode into your decisions, you need
to factor in the efficiency of the new water heater vs the old water
heater.

I suspect the new water heater would pay for itself in a couple of
years and also give you more hot water faster.

I suspect that today's water heaters are no more efficient. Do you think the
trend towards greater efficiency can go on indefinately? If the water heater
hasn't started to rust, just replace the damn anode. Any slight energy savings
will never repay the cost of a new water heater.

I suspect you are dead wrong on this.

On Sun, 02 Dec 2007 13:32:21 -0600, Duff wrote:
On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 22:27:03 -0000, AZ Nomad
wrote:

On Sat, 01 Dec 2007 15:11:53 -0600, Duff wrote:
On Fri, 30 Nov 2007 14:08:55 -0800 (PST), N8N
wrote:

Both tanks appear to have been installed circa 1990. The anodes
needed replacing, but weren't so bad that the tanks would have been
attacked, so I caught them in time. Damn previous owners

nate

When factoring the replacement of anode into your decisions, you need
to factor in the efficiency of the new water heater vs the old water
heater.

I suspect the new water heater would pay for itself in a couple of
years and also give you more hot water faster.

I suspect that today's water heaters are no more efficient. Do you think the
trend towards greater efficiency can go on indefinately? If the water heater
hasn't started to rust, just replace the damn anode. Any slight energy savings
will never repay the cost of a new water heater.

I suspect you are dead wrong on this.

oh of course, they're up to 2523% efficient now.