hw heater and anode

[mbroer]

i have a 2008 innsbruck tt/park model and when i went to drain the hw tank at the end of the season i found the nut completely rusted. no matter what i used i could not budge it. luckily someone in the park had some specialty tools and was able to remove it. i then found the long anode that was attached to it had worn mostly in 1 place and was worn right down to the core in a 1/8" area. my guess is that it would have broken off in the tank during the winter or early next season. has anyone else experience anything like this rusted nut and/or an anode that had worn like this? thanks for any help/advice anyone can give.

[mbroer]

i have a 2008 innsbruck tt/park model and when i went to drain the hw tank at the end of the season i found the nut completely rusted. no matter what i used i could not budge it. luckily someone in the park had some specialty tools and was able to remove it. i then found the long anode that was attached to it had worn mostly in 1 place and was worn right down to the core in a 1/8" area. my guess is that it would have broken off in the tank during the winter or early next season. has anyone else experience anything like this rusted nut and/or an anode that had worn like this? thanks for any help/advice anyone can give.

[bstark]

Yep, it's normal. You needn't worry about the center rod eroding and breaking off as the rest of the aluminum sacrificial material will start eroding off along the length of that rod and that takes a little time. That process starts close to the nut where the galvanic action is the greatest due to the mass of the tank and the nut's contact with the tank body.

I generally replace mine about every 3 months while wintering in Yuma as the water is full of calcium etc..

Here's a tip though: if the rod is eroding, and you use your electric element in the heater the chances are good that it has had a build up of minerals attach themselves to the electrode, these will subsequently fall off with frequent cycling of hot/cold to gather in the bottom of your tank. leave the tank full of water but give it plenty of time to cool down before undoing the anode rod/drain plug, have your awning hook ready and when you get the plug out, the water glugging out with alternate gulps of intake air is the perfect time to weasel that awning hook into the tank and use it like a rake to stir up the sediment and rake it towards the glugging drain hole. You will be amazed at the crud that comes out of there while doing this. To speed up the flow simply open (lift the little lever) your overpressure vent near the top of the tank to let air in that way, stand back though, especially if wearing expensive shoes.

[jperry29]

bstark had good input. You'll probably need a short, bent sharp object (or a tap) to chase the calcium deposits out of the threads before installing your next anode.

I would also suggest teflon tape wrapped about one and half times around the threads. It will make the next plug removal a lot easier.

[mbroer]

thanks for the info/help. when i saw the anode was worn only in that 1/8" place (it looked like a knife cut), i was concerned. the massive amount of rust on the nut made me even more concerned. i will try the Teflon tape when i put it back in and will flush it with the other recommendation/steps. another great idea

[Jeff_in_The_Dalles]

I've got a product called Tank Saver. It's a long wand angled at the end with shutoff valve that attaches to a garden hose. It really works well at getting the build up out of the bottom of the tank.

I usually put teflon tape on the annode threads, and anti-seize on the tank's threads...

[h2guy]

I realize that this post is nearly two weeks old but I have to add something here.

IF your HWH is a Suburban, DON'T, DON'T put something metal in it to "scrape" it clean.

Suburbans have a porcelin lined tank and the porcelin is VERY easy to scratch/crack off. If you begin to see small blue pieces come out of the drain hole, you've busted through this porcelin and the next step is a rusted through tank.

Affix a bottle brush to something long and use it to carefully brush around the interior, especially on the bottom.

[Dick & Pat]

Great topic!! Learned some things here today.

Thanks everyone