Electric Anode rods

mattmia2

the rod on my old tank was just what looked like about 18" of calcium around the wire core.

hunter29

ok, yes I have a heat exchanger, also I should have noted I pulled that rod to install an aluminum rod. A short time later I reinstalled this rod, not sure that matters???

This photo is of the top. What do you guys suggest? I would prefer to avoid a powered rod for now if possible.

I don't have any data on my water. It is filtered three times and then a large carbon block. After that a water softener.

hunter29

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854165#Comment_1854165

AIOh MgOH. ???

mattmia2

aluminum hydroxide or magnesium hydroxide depending on what the rod is made out of. They aren't super soluble and make kind of a slimy goo.

hunter29

Thanks

hunter29

So I'm reading this coating is likely Calcium carbonate. But can't find out why it forms or how to deal with it.

If I were to install a powered rod would this still happen?

Am I going to have to remove and clean the rod on a regular basis regardless of what I install?

mattmia2

If the calcium carbonate is conductive it shouldn't affect operation. The platinum is probably to discourage it from bonding to the anode.

hunter29

Platinum ? Well it doesn't seem to be working.

mattmia2

The powered anode is platinum, or at least the corro proctec one is. I suspect that is why it is so expensive.

hunter29

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854191#Comment_1854191

Ah , I understand now , however they list as Titanium.

Either way better..

mattmia2

maybe it is titanium. i knew it was some expensive low reactivity metal.

ethicalpaul

That one and the off brands all say titanium

hunter29

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1854182#Comment_1854182

Bumping this, I am wondering about this resister issue. Can one be purchased without a resister?

Can't find any info about it.

hunter29

Larry Weingarten

Hi, It's mostly Rheem and it's sub-brands that use the resistor. It looks like the anode you used does have a weld bump on top. However, all of that teflon tape might be interfering with a good electrical connection between anode and tank. When you install a new magnesium (not aluminum) rod, try putting a volt-ohm meter in the one ohm setting and see if you have good continuity between the hex head and the tank.

Here's the bump I look for.

Yours, Larry

hunter29

The tape looks worse than it is, I should remove that upper part.

Good point thou, I did not think about that. I will check it.

hunter29

I can't take a ohm reading but I do have continuity, checked in a few places around the heater.

But that doesn't mean It did before.

Guess that's all we can discuss, I'll likely order a powered rod next week and be done with this.

Thanks everyone for all of your help!!!

Intplm.

A good idea. And when your older tank finally leaks, I can't think of any reason you wouldn't be able to swap out the powered rod from the old to the new. It should be a good investment.

hunter29

Should be, I just hope I don't make that move soon, lol

hunter29

Just to be sure, it is safe to put hydrogen peroxide in the tank while using a powered anode ?

Not that I should need to anymore. Just thought I would ask.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, It shouldn't be needed. They are two ways to get rid of the rotten egg odor. After the powered anode is installed, the odor should leave. To your question, I've never heard of both being used at the same time, but see no problem doing it. Drug store peroxide is 3% with the remaining part being water. Mixing one or two pints into 40 gallons of water gives a much weaker solution. I'm not imagining any risk, but if your water heater begins glowing in the dark, please do take pictures! 🤠

Yours, Larry

hunter29

LOL.. thanks Larry

Hutt

Location with many water heaters, and with water that's corrosive when softened, would a powered anode rod protect the water heaters from corrosion?

Tank lifetimes are short with standard anode rods

Larry Weingarten

Hi, So much depends on the quality and conductivity of the water. Salt-softened water can feel soft, but with all of the salt is far more conductive and has greater total dissolved solids in it. I've seen anodes completely consumed in six months in over-softened water. Not softening and simply using a powered anode in hard water will give good protection. You can still use a powered anode in softened water, it's just that with the very conductive water, the anode might be putting out more current than is needed. I'm on the edge of guessing here, so discussing this with a powered rod manufacturer might be a good move. I'll add that tank longevity doesn't have to be shortened by overly conductive water, but you will need to be replacing anodes far more often.

Yours, Larry

mattmia2

Oh, so that is what the anode with the resistor is for.

Larry Weingarten

Hi and yes, @mattmia2 . But it's sort of a bean-counter's guess. How can the manufacturer know in anything other than a very general way what water the heater will see? Powered rods cost more, but might be a better one-size-fits-all solution. 😎

Yours, Larry

hunter29

How do you over soften water?

mattmia2

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1855772#Comment_1855772

they probably figure less protection in water with fewer ions and still having some rod in 8 or 10 years in water with more ions is better than having the rod gone in 3 years in water with more ions.

jpm659er

it sounds like you may have already fixed the problem by turning up the temperature.
I have a client that has country home that gets intermittent use. A contractor replaced the water heater due to odor. The odor did not go away. After turning up the temperature to 140 it took care of the odor problem. I learned that there is a heat resistance bacteria in well water that takes 138° to kill it!

Larry Weingarten

Hi, About over-softening, it's common for softening folks to suggest softening down to zero grains of calcium and magnesium hardness in the water. You should leave 60-120 ppm, or roughly 3 to 6 grains of these minerals in the water to protect the piping.

Yours, Larry

Hutt

I should a water sample report to a water treatment guy regarding it being corrosive, and he noted its alkalinity and PH was high

hunter29

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1855801#Comment_1855801

Thanks but how do you over soften?

Larry Weingarten

Hi, I understand softeners can be made to regenerate more or less, through various mechanisms. To me, over-softened is having less than 60 ppm of calcium/magnesium hardness in the water. This is from a National Association of Corrosion Engineers publication long ago. So, it boils down to how the softener is set.

About corrosive water and pH, I would have thought that low pH, or acidic would be worse and low alkalinity would be "hungry" water. Some amount of hardness in the water is protective of metal parts. I'm probably oversimplifying. 😏

Yours, Larry

hunter29

I suppose loading up the resin with more salt may do it, if that's possible, I'll have to look into it..

mattmia2

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1855867#Comment_1855867

the salt removes the other minerals from the resin. if the resin is completely regenerated it will have its full softening power. ideally you'd probably partially bypass the softener and fully regenerate the resin but getting that bypass to be consistent under all flow conditions might be difficult.

hunter29

A better way to put it is the salt trades places with the minerals both during regeneration and softening process.