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I just learned water heaters have an "anode" and its important

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I just learned water heaters have an "anode" and its important davidlaska 06-08-2007
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Posted by peter on June 25, 2007, 9:28 am
> Thank you very much for the perfect link, now I know what a worn out
> anode looks like, the key to my problem. There was an old water
> heater I pulled an anode from, the water heater was old, but never
> used.

If you can pull out your anode you're lucky. For some reason, my water
heater was installed such that the incoming pipes block access to the anode.



Posted by on June 12, 2007, 12:02 am
On Sat, 9 Jun 2007 12:16:35 -0700, "Ook" <Ook Don't send me any
freakin' spam at zootal dot com delete the Don't send me any freakin'
spam> wrote:

>
>> davidlaska wrote:
>>> I just got a used water heater (consumer electric) and I replaced the
>>> bottom element that burned out because the sediment had collected
>>> enough to cover it. Well, since it was outside, I flushed it all out.
>>> Then I read about the most important factor of a water heaters life in
>>> the anode. I shined a light inside and saw a long rod that looked
>>> like in was suck in the ocean for years, with so much buildup that it
>>> looked bumpy. I took it out and it is a aluminum version, How do I
>>> clean it? lime away and some scraping? My labor is cheaper that
>>> buying new parts or heaters.
>>>
>>
>> Labor can't replace material. Its called a "sacrificial" anode for a good
>> reason. See here:
>>
<http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/water-heater-anodes.html>
>>
>> --
>> Grandpa
>
>Why do they call it an anode?
>

They were invented back in the days they used vacuum tubes, and these
tubes also had an anode. If they added a cathode, that would be one
hell of a tube. If it's an electric water heater, you already have
the filament (the heating elements). Maybe in the future they will
develop a transistorized water heater that also serves as the cpu for
your 100,000 mhz computer. (which is needed to run MS Vista).


Posted by PaPaPeng on June 10, 2007, 7:33 pm

>Labor can't replace material. Its called a "sacrificial" anode for a
>good reason. See here:
><http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/water-heater-anodes.html>


Thanks for the link. My water heater looks new and hasn't given me
any problems although its almost 30 years old.. The last time I
checked was more than 10 years ago and other than vacuuming up a few
rust scales next to the burners I haven't had to do anything since.
The anode must have been exhausted by now. I'll change it. Maybe it
will do something about the hardwater problem I do have.

Posted by Bob F on June 8, 2007, 1:15 pm

>I just got a used water heater (consumer electric) and I replaced the
> bottom element that burned out because the sediment had collected
> enough to cover it. Well, since it was outside, I flushed it all
> out.
> Then I read about the most important factor of a water heaters life
> in
> the anode. I shined a light inside and saw a long rod that looked
> like in was suck in the ocean for years, with so much buildup that
> it
> looked bumpy. I took it out and it is a aluminum version, How do I
> clean it? lime away and some scraping? My labor is cheaper that
> buying new parts or heaters.
>

Replace it.

Bob



Posted by Andrew Duane on June 8, 2007, 1:24 pm
Here's a silly followup question.

Do gas water heaters have an anode too, or just electric?

>
>
> >I just got a used water heater (consumer electric) and I replaced the
> > bottom element that burned out because the sediment had collected
> > enough to cover it. Well, since it was outside, I flushed it all
> > out.
> > Then I read about the most important factor of a water heaters life
> > in
> > the anode. I shined a light inside and saw a long rod that looked
> > like in was suck in the ocean for years, with so much buildup that
> > it
> > looked bumpy. I took it out and it is a aluminum version, How do I
> > clean it? lime away and some scraping? My labor is cheaper that
> > buying new parts or heaters.
>
> Replace it.
>
> Bob



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