Anyone ever replaced a water heater anode rod?

[DrPizza]

Pray tell us why and I bet it's not because what you think.

Well, for starters, if you ever sell the home (*cough cough*), if an inspector catches it, that plumbing's getting replaced.

 

[alkemyst]

Well, for starters, if you ever sell the home (*cough cough*), if an inspector catches it, that plumbing's getting replaced.

Thank Reagan, but it's a simple fix.

 

[OlafSicky]

Just go tank less and be done with it.

 

[alkemyst]

My electric bill is $25-30 lower each month. My gas bill went up $4-5/month.

I paid like $800 for an 8gpm unit and have it set to 110 degrees. I don't run out of hot water....

I installed gas pipe, moved copper pipe, and put in a filtration system. A total of $1150-1200 with a $300 tax rebate coming.. 10 feet of floor space gained. (3x3)

Not enough for multiple showers in the morning. Esp if you are north of the snow line.

edit: you are southeast. Still 4 showers in the morning would suck that unit cold.

 

[alkemyst]

Just go tank less and be done with it.

A real tankless replacement for even some that needs a 60 gallon tank gets expensive.

It's like saying just get an M3 to replace your Kia.

 

[bryanl]

I'm wondering about my heater which is 10 years old and has a non-replaceable anode. (It says on the heater label: "fitted with a non-replaceable anode")

The heater itself is made of glass coated copper, so I suppose it should be reasonably resistant to corrosion, but it only had a 5 year warranty, so the manufacturer clearly didn't expect it to stand up long term.

My water is extremely soft and extremely pure. Draining the heater every couple of years, I just get about a teaspoon of fine sediment; no scale or anything like that, and the heating elements were clean when I changed them.

There are anodes that screw into the hot water fitting and are compatible with any water heater, provided an electric heating element doesn't block it, but I don't know if a copper tank is compatible with conventional magnesium or aluminum anodes.

 

[Colt45]

I thought this was a troll thread for a few seconds, then I realised there are places that don't have gas heated everything... :awe:

I ain't never seen an electric water heater.

 

[boomerang]

Whoever told you to remove the anode rod is an idiot. That smell is caused by bacteria living in your water and eating the magnesium or aluminum that is in most anode rods and turn it into hydrogen sulfide.

To kill the bacteria, remove the pressure from your tank and dump in a quart or 2 of hydrogen peroxide for a bit. Then, turn back on the water and let it run from all the faucets. This should kill most of the bacteria, at least if you don't let the tank sit for a while unused.

Then, use a zinc anode rod because the bacteria have a much harder time living off it. If even that doesn't work (which it won't if you soften your water before putting it into the hot water tank) then you can use a powered anode rod. It performs the same function as a sacrificial anode rod (voltage) except is not sacrificial. If the tank goes unused for a lot of time (such as in a summer cabin) then you can make it easier to add peroxide, such as a T fitting like this.

There is a reason that taking out the anode rod voids the warranty, and why you are on your 3rd water heater. This isn't magic, and anode rods aren't there to make your water smelly. Stop removing the anode rod because then your tank gets eaten instead of the rod and you go through waterheaters like water.

This has been Evadman's tip of the day for November 12th, 2013.

Interesting post.

Dump Hydrogen Peroxide into what tank? I assume you mean the hot water heater itself as getting it into the holding tank would be a near impossible chore. Where does the bacteria come from? If I install a new hot water heater, is it full of bacteria initially? Or, is it in the water coming out of the ground? If out of the ground, what good does putting in hydrogen peroxide do other that a one time fix? I am on my third hot water heater. All have started to produce stinky water on day two after their installation. Assuming the bacteria theory is correct, It seems unlikely to be an an issue that spans across three hot water heaters. It must therefore be a problem with the water. A one time shot of hydrogen peroxide is not a fix, it's a temporary fix and a waste of time.

Additionally, when my home was first built and the well was dug, chlorine was put down the casing. That is not a long term fix, that is done to negate any bacteria introduced during the process of putting in the well. I have had the drop pipe and the pump replaced once since moving in and after that chlorine was once again put down the well. For the same reason and with the same short term results.

You've made some assumptions on the replacement of my hot water heaters. They are wrong and I will now explain.

My first HWH was from when the house was newly built in 1987. In the second year of residence, natural gas became available. It was cheaper to replace the HWH that used Propane that to retrofit it for NG. Water heater number two was installed.

About 8 years ago, we were going to be away from home for an extended period of time. Knowing that the second HWH was getting pretty old, I replaced it with a new one. Preventative maintenance, some form of mild paranoia or intuition drove that decision. I don't know what the right answer is. But I wanted the humidifier to run while we were gone so turning off the water was not an option. I did not want to take the chance of a very old HWH leaking while we were gone, so it was replaced. It lasted a good long time. The new one, the current one, is HWH number three.

All three produced stinky water within 24 hours of their installation. All three then had the anode rods removed. None have failed due to corrosion.

On a related note, when I replace my water softener 10 or so years ago I had the full gamut of tests done on the water. It came through with flying colors from the perspective of harmful bacteria, nitrates and the like.

Bacteria? Maybe. But maybe not.

 

[Scarpozzi]

Not enough for multiple showers in the morning. Esp if you are north of the snow line.

edit: you are southeast. Still 4 showers in the morning would suck that unit cold.

I don't understand what you're saying. Most showers run 2gpm with shower heads.... This unit easily heats water from 50 degrees up to 110...or 120.....or 140 (if you flip a dip switch and buy a commercial controller). It has a condensing gas burner in it that is 98% efficient. It will run out of hot water only when you fail to pay the gas bill....or if you surpass the limits of the heater specifications....unless you're talking about 4 showers running at once. In that case, my water lines aren't large enough to support that many showers at once anyhow.

The heater is 130,000 BTUs and because of this, I ran a 3/4" gas line to it to get the gas volume needed. My water lines for the house, however, are only 1/2" copper. One of these days, I may pull the copper out and replace it with 3/4" pex because I would like to have more volume....possibly, then I may need to adjust the pressure on the lines to make the heater more efficient....

As stated though, a typical shower only uses 2gpm. If you check the charts for these things, the unit ratings will change based on where you live and the differential of the temp of the water going in versus what you set it to going out. If you're going from 50 degree water to 120 degree water, that's a 70 degree differential. There are charts from all manufacturers that will explain the efficiency of units and how many gallons per minute a heater can produce at X degrees rise. So you may have a unit sized for 8-9gpm, but after a 70 degree rise, it may only produce 5gpm... You just have to size the heater appropriately or get models that can be daisy-chained. (commercial hotels do this all the time these days)

 

[Scarpozzi]

Interesting post. I have some questions.

Dump Hydrogen Peroxide into what tank?

Over what period of time have I replaced my water heaters and more importantly, why?

You've made some assumptions. I'd like to hear the background for them.

Here's a quote about bacteria:
Bacterial Risks

The most hazardous bacteria found in water heaters is Legionella pneumophila, known to be the source of Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal lung infection often misdiagnosed as common pneumonia. Trace amounts of this bacteria are often present in municipal water supplies but do not thrive in the cold temperatures. Once inside a hot water heater, however, Legionella bacteria multiplies and is conveyed through the household plumbing, where it may be inhaled in the aerosol mist that accompanies showering, bathing or even washing dishes in a sink. Very young children and elderly people are particularly at risk.


You can turn your water heater up to 120 degrees or higher, but when the temp falls below (as when the tank isn't full and is making new hot water) and is in the 95-115 degree range, bacteria will grow and multiply.

I've never heard of anyone adding peroxide to a tank, but he's probably suggesting you pour it in the opening after removing the top anode. Unfortunately, bacteria likes to hide. Allowing the tank to get to a full 120-125 would likely aide in killing any bacteria as long as it doesn't get in your pipe system.... This is another "pro" to going tankless.

 

[boomerang]

Here's a quote about bacteria:
Bacterial Risks

The most hazardous bacteria found in water heaters is Legionella pneumophila, known to be the source of Legionnaires' disease, a potentially fatal lung infection often misdiagnosed as common pneumonia. Trace amounts of this bacteria are often present in municipal water supplies but do not thrive in the cold temperatures. Once inside a hot water heater, however, Legionella bacteria multiplies and is conveyed through the household plumbing, where it may be inhaled in the aerosol mist that accompanies showering, bathing or even washing dishes in a sink. Very young children and elderly people are particularly at risk.


You can turn your water heater up to 120 degrees or higher, but when the temp falls below (as when the tank isn't full and is making new hot water) and is in the 95-115 degree range, bacteria will grow and multiply.

I've never heard of anyone adding peroxide to a tank, but he's probably suggesting you pour it in the opening after removing the top anode. Unfortunately, bacteria likes to hide. Allowing the tank to get to a full 120-125 would likely aide in killing any bacteria as long as it doesn't get in your pipe system.... This is another "pro" to going tankless.

Instead of waiting for answers, I have done extensive editing to the post you quoted.

 

[Scarpozzi]

I'd say the bad smell from the water heater in the first day or two has to do with the tank first getting "flushed" of its factory smell. Think of it as outgassing. If you ever buy a new oven, they kind of do the same thing the first week or two of use. If your water doesn't normally have that smell, I wouldn't expect it to be caused by your well water.

I've actually drained a few water heaters before. They ended up having calcium deposits (white chunks of stuff) on the anodes. When I drained the tanks, quite a bit of this stuff got flushed out of the bottom... It's very common and that stuff did have an odor to it that I couldn't detect in my tap water. I have a few water filters in the line so I'm not too worried about it. My water looks clear in a glass and doesn't have anything floating in it larger than 5 microns...

I was just posting the bacterial risk quotes after I researched tankless water heaters last Winter when I had my leaking tank. Typically, the bacteria that I quoted info about comes through the water supply....and it's typically more of a risk when dealing with older buildings. If it were to be introduced to your system, it would only be more of a risk if the temps were right for it to multiply. Not so much a risk for lower (cold water) or higher temps. It's just when your tank isn't scorching the nasties that things can breed....or go tankless and don't give them a chance to breed.