Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

LouB wrote:

(...)

Thanks to both of you.

You are welcome, Lou.

--Winston

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

JIMMIE wrote:
On Aug 19, 6:29 pm, Salmon Egg wrote:
Does it make practical sense to preemptively replace anodes in working
water heaters in order to extend their lives? Is it better to just wait
until leaking begins?

Bill

--
Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!

When I was a kid I needed an anode rod for a science experiment. Well
I went down to the local hardware store and while they had some the
guy there said I could save some money by scavaging for what I needed
at the dump. When I got there they had a section of the dump with them
piled up. I pulled a dozen of the things and there wasnt enough
degradation of any of them to mention.

Jimmie

That's odd.

Could you see rust on the bottom of the tanks?

--Winston

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:19:08 -0700, Salmon Egg wrote:

If it were an easy job, I would have no problem. It is not.

You never know until you size it up?

My 16 year-old gas AO Smith yielded the anode w/o much trouble, no special
tools. Anode had about 60% left. It'll come off again in a couple years.

I would look the heater over carefully. If it looks too long-in-the-tooth,
leave it alone. If it looks good and solid, I'd squirt some thread-
loosener on the nut and very carefully try to break it.

New anode is $30-40. New heater is (what?) about $350?

P

"Law Without Equity Is No Law At All. It Is A Form Of Jungle Rule."

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Puddin' Man wrote:
On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:19:08 -0700, Salmon Egg wrote:

If it were an easy job, I would have no problem. It is not.

You never know until you size it up?

My 16 year-old gas AO Smith yielded the anode w/o much trouble, no special
tools. Anode had about 60% left. It'll come off again in a couple years.

I would look the heater over carefully. If it looks too long-in-the-tooth,
leave it alone. If it looks good and solid, I'd squirt some thread-
loosener on the nut and very carefully try to break it.

New anode is $30-40. New heater is (what?) about $350?

More than that, around here. At least for gas ones - electrics might
run about that.

nate


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

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Nate Nagel wrote:
Puddin' Man wrote:
On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 23:19:08 -0700, Salmon Egg
wrote:
If it were an easy job, I would have no problem. It is not.

You never know until you size it up?

My 16 year-old gas AO Smith yielded the anode w/o much trouble, no
special tools. Anode had about 60% left. It'll come off again in a
couple years. I would look the heater over carefully. If it looks too
long-in-the-tooth, leave it alone. If it looks good and solid, I'd
squirt some thread- loosener on the nut and very carefully try to break it.

New anode is $30-40. New heater is (what?) about $350?

More than that, around here. At least for gas ones - electrics might
run about that.

Especially if your dealing with a direct vent or power vent model.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Winston wrote:
wrote:
On Aug 20, 1:36 pm, Winston wrote:
LouB wrote:
Winston wrote:
I say, don't drain the heater,
Good, we can agree on something. :)
and leave the anode alone. Life's too short to worry about
milking an extra year or two out of a lowly water heater.
How about an extra decade or two? Is that worth 15 minutes a
year? --Winston
Why not drain the water?
Lou
I don't see a reason to do it.

Draining it periodically is supposed to remove some of the sediment
that collects at the bottom of tank and that inhibits heat
transfer. You can replace the cheap plastic valve with a real one
when installing a new tank.

There is a large area at the bottom of the tank to collect
sediment. Much of the heat exchange occurs further up
in the tank anyway:

http://www.homerepairforum.com/image...TAWAY_w550.JPG

The risk of sediment causing a leak in that valve is
really too great for my taste. It seems reasonable
that it is a 'single use' part.

Just replace the plastic valve with a good full flow ball valve and you won't
have to worry about it. Do it early in the heater's life to make sure it's easy.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Winston wrote:
Smitty Two wrote:
In article ,
Winston wrote:

How about an extra decade or two? Is that worth 15 minutes a year?

Sure. Please cite a credible study showing that changing the anode
extends WH life by a decade or two.

A quick Google reveals nothing along those lines.

However, _Your Mobile Home: Energy and Repair Guide for Manufactured
Housing By John T. Krigger, Marty Lord, Bob Starkey_
states that a properly maintained tank should last
"at least 30 years". Note that they don't put
an upper limit on longevity.

I've never had to replace a hot water heater that I've
maintained.

What is the most popular failure mechanism for a
water heater? Leaks. How do leaks start?
When corrosion converts exposed portions of the
tank to oxide because the electrolytic protection
has failed.

If the electrolytic protection never fails, what
is to prevent a tank from lasting a very long
time?

Exactly. If it doesn't corrode, you just replace failed parts, and it keeps
going.

How long probably depends on your water. Hard water will introduce more failure
modes.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Roger Shoaf wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Aug 20, 8:19?am, wrote:

DONT open plastic tank drain valves, they have ONLY one purpose to
drain tank atr end of life!!

Nonsense. I've used them multiple times without problems.


Replace with full port ball valve.

Excellent suggestion anyway.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

JIMMIE wrote:
On Aug 19, 6:29 pm, Salmon Egg wrote:
Does it make practical sense to preemptively replace anodes in
working water heaters in order to extend their lives? Is it better
to just wait until leaking begins?

Bill

--
Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!

When I was a kid I needed an anode rod for a science experiment. Well
I went down to the local hardware store and while they had some the
guy there said I could save some money by scavaging for what I needed
at the dump. When I got there they had a section of the dump with them
piled up. I pulled a dozen of the things and there wasnt enough
degradation of any of them to mention.

That's all those people that replace the tank because it's old, not because it
needs to be replaced.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

In article
,
Smitty Two wrote:

In article ,
Winston wrote:

How about an extra decade or two? Is that worth 15 minutes a year?

Sure. Please cite a credible study showing that changing the anode
extends WH life by a decade or two.

Theoretically, there is no question that a new sacrificial anode will
reduce corrosion of steel or the like. Galvanizing zinc protects the
underlying steel. Getting a new anode is like regalvanizing,

Unfortunately, my limited experience has shown me that plumbing does not
always follow theory. There always seems to be a gatcha or two lurking.

Bill

--
Private Profit; Public Poop! Avoid collateral windfall!

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:29:18 -0700, Salmon Egg
wrote:

Does it make practical sense to preemptively replace anodes in working
water heaters in order to extend their lives? Is it better to just wait
until leaking begins?

Bill


I think water heater anodes are best left alone. But I do give the
tank an occasional 5-gallon flush. Supposedly a manufacturer
recommended an expansion tank to extend tank life.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Phisherman wrote:
On Wed, 19 Aug 2009 15:29:18 -0700, Salmon Egg
wrote:

Does it make practical sense to preemptively replace anodes in
working water heaters in order to extend their lives? Is it better
to just wait until leaking begins?

Bill


I think water heater anodes are best left alone. But I do give the
tank an occasional 5-gallon flush. Supposedly a manufacturer
recommended an expansion tank to extend tank life.

If you don't have a pressure regulator or anti-backflow device, the expansion
tank is a waste. Unless you turn off the water but leave the tank on, and have a
tank thermostat failure.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

"Bob F" wrote in message

How on earth are you going to "booger a thread"? These are pipe threads.
Not exactly fragile things.


Now that's funny ! ! !

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Roger Shoaf wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Aug 20, 8:19?am, wrote:

DONT open plastic tank drain valves, they have ONLY one purpose to
drain tank atr end of life!!

Nonsense. I've used them multiple times without problems.


Do a search on the history in this newsgroup and see how many posts deal
with broke drain valves on water heaters. One of the biggest problems with
valves is non use and they get corroded and cannot turn or will not seal
when closed. While at it, check for the posts about washing machine valves
that don't close too.

I just heard a story this morning about a job gone wrong. A crane and crew
called in to replace some equipment. Crew was told, everything is ready,
you just have to turn the air off. Well, the air valve has not been turned
in years. It was a five hour project getting it turned off.

Replacing anode rods in water heaters?
 

Ed Pawlowski wrote:
"Bob F" wrote in message
...
Roger Shoaf wrote:
"bob haller" wrote in message
...
On Aug 20, 8:19?am, wrote:

DONT open plastic tank drain valves, they have ONLY one purpose to
drain tank atr end of life!!

Nonsense. I've used them multiple times without problems.


Do a search on the history in this newsgroup and see how many posts
deal with broke drain valves on water heaters. One of the biggest
problems with valves is non use and they get corroded and cannot turn
or will not seal when closed. While at it, check for the posts about
washing machine valves that don't close too.

I just heard a story this morning about a job gone wrong. A crane
and crew called in to replace some equipment. Crew was told,
everything is ready, you just have to turn the air off. Well, the
air valve has not been turned in years. It was a five hour project
getting it turned off.

But
I don't wait for years before using the valve. Maybe that's the difference.