Author Topic: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater  (Read 2238 times)

zoro

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Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« on: July 28, 2017, 06:16:20 PM »
talking to landlords over the years i have yet to find one who has a program of regular maintenance on their water heaters to replace the sacrifice rods.
this costs about $17 per heater and if you do it regularly it is a really quick thing to do (about 20 minutes). i have had a lot of old tanks in rental property over the last 25 years
i have never had to replace a water heater / or had a leak in a water heater and i had some really old tanks.
i do them every 5 years, and i think the ROI is really high on the investment. 
does anyone else do this?

Roots&Wings

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #1 on: July 30, 2017, 06:19:34 AM »
I'd never even heard of this, but a quick search shows that replacing the anode rod can indeed significantly extend life of a water heater, thanks for mentioning this! I've not turned off the water/gas lines to the water heater before or partially drained it, and need to locate a 1"1/16 ratchet wrench to unscrew the rod. Any tips or recommended videos that you've used?

zoro

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #2 on: July 30, 2017, 04:46:28 PM »
it is a pretty straightforward process. if the tank is old and it hasnt been done for a while it can be a problem as they can stick. i use techniques from working on old cars to free them - PB blaster on 24 hrs before i try, if that doesnt work a bit of heat from a blow torch. it is easier with two people one to hold the tank to make sure it doesnt move, and the other to use a long handled wrench to disconnect.  Bradford White water heaters are a total  pain as they have cheapened out and made the anode rod the hot water supply pipe also, so you have to disconnect the hot and depending on your setup it may take some plumbing work to get it out.

When i put the new one in i use spark plug anti seize on them (the stuff you use when you loosen and tighten high mileage platinum plugs to make sure they dont fuse to the cylinder head)

Also when you see how gnarly the old one is and how much aluminum has gone into your hot water, I stumped up the extra $10 for the Magnesium ones (yes even for the tenants) it has two benefits -  the electric potential (EV) of magnesium is much higher than Al , and is even more protective, and I like the idea of magnesium in my water better than aluminium

the guy in the video does a pretty good job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIpJDHco7hc

CrashnBurn

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #3 on: July 30, 2017, 05:05:42 PM »
it is a pretty straightforward process. if the tank is old and it hasnt been done for a while it can be a problem as they can stick. i use techniques from working on old cars to free them - PB blaster on 24 hrs before i try, if that doesnt work a bit of heat from a blow torch. it is easier with two people one to hold the tank to make sure it doesnt move, and the other to use a long handled wrench to disconnect.  Bradford White water heaters are a total  pain as they have cheapened out and made the anode rod the hot water supply pipe also, so you have to disconnect the hot and depending on your setup it may take some plumbing work to get it out.

When i put the new one in i use spark plug anti seize on them (the stuff you use when you loosen and tighten high mileage platinum plugs to make sure they dont fuse to the cylinder head)

Also when you see how gnarly the old one is and how much aluminum has gone into your hot water, I stumped up the extra $10 for the Magnesium ones (yes even for the tenants) it has two benefits -  the electric potential (EV) of magnesium is much higher than Al , and is even more protective, and I like the idea of magnesium in my water better than aluminium

the guy in the video does a pretty good job https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kIpJDHco7hc

This goes under "today I learned!"

Roots&Wings

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #4 on: July 31, 2017, 06:26:38 AM »
Awesome, thank you for the tips! Where do you usually buy the replacement anode rod for $17? The cheapest one at Lowes here seems to be $45.

zoro

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #5 on: July 31, 2017, 06:45:21 AM »
home depot has them for $17
 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Camco-3-4-in-14-NPT-x-42-in-Long-Aluminum-Anode-Rod-11582/204219878?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA-D26P-WaterHeaters%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqvvLBRDIARIsAMYuvBEpJwpNCyuwlbhYv89c7wiVTRT2c7nPbP6mLXPCISZifG8vJ_l-7YUaAvK0EALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CNioodLFs9UCFc-4swod91MM1w

like i said though i pay a few more bucks and buy the magnesium ones.  i should also mention that if someone has installed your heater with no clearance i.e. so you cant pull a 42 inch rod out of the tank, you can pull the original half way and cut or snap it (as it will be corroded) and then replace it with a chain or segmented  anode rod these are a bit more expensive, but solve the problem of a tank in a tight space

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Blue-Lightning-Rod-42-in-Hex-Plug-Style-Segmented-Aluminum-Anode-Rod-1027400/205644801?cm_mmc=Shopping%7cTHD%7cG%7c0%7cG-VF-PLA-D26P-WaterHeaters%7c&gclid=Cj0KCQjwqvvLBRDIARIsAMYuvBFQK9k-JIC7m7dMa9WaiIxN-5UcnIrNoYAf9xwqtKcadQuSSgm6X9kaAumtEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds&dclid=CIGez6XGs9UCFSa2swodMIIDPQ

Roots&Wings

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Re: Sacrifice Rods Water Heater
« Reply #6 on: July 31, 2017, 10:24:18 AM »
Thanks again for the product links and helpful info.