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Water Heater Anode

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trivetman
trivetman Posts: 264
in Domestic Hot Water

i replaced this anode after 18 months thinking the metal had been completely replaced by some sort of mineral/sediment.


after replacing i took a hammer to the crust and found the metal is somewhat intact under 1/8 inch of crust. Do these things still protect like they’re supposed if completely encased in sediment? Just curious for next time I open it up to check on it.


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Comments

  • Jamie Hall
    Jamie Hall Posts: 27,893

    Yes — the sediment isn't waterproof! And certainly not negative ion or electron proof — and that's what the game really is.

    Br. Jamie, osb
    Building superintendent/caretaker, 7200 sq. ft. historic house museum with dependencies in New England
  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Posts: 4,203

    Hi, That could be a passivated rod. When the water is pretty clean, the anode can coat over like that. So, if the water has low TDS, I'd consider a powered anode.

    Yours, Larry

    kcopp
  • trivetman
    trivetman Posts: 264

    passivated eh? I learn something new every time I post on this forum!


    I don’t think it’s particularly soft water. Philadelphia suburban tap water. No softener. Tds somewhere around 250 last I checked.

    ill look at the powered anodes next time i am going to flush it and take a look inside. I assume the new rod I just put in will do the job for a while.

  • Larry Weingarten
    Larry Weingarten Posts: 4,203

    Hi, As long as you used a magnesuim anode with no resistor built in, it should be doing some good. 250 TDS should give sufficient conductivity. 👍

    Yours, Larry

    trivetman

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