When metal sits in water, it rusts and will sooner or later corrode down to nothing. We know the common truth of nature. This might spell doom for water heaters and steel interiors, but it doesn’t, thanks to the use of anode rods, which are also known as sacrificial anodes.
This straightforward but ingenious equipment “throws themselves around the sword” to ensure that water heaters can survive and keep operating for many years.
Sacrificial anodes are long cylinders of aluminum or even magnesium attached to a steel wire core. While it really is true that all metals rust in water, several metals corrode at different rates, which is assists sacrificial anodes protect the steel inside of water heater tanks.
Aluminum and magnesium are more reactive than steel, which is why anodes built from them will rust away completely before any rust occurs in the tank. As long as anode rods are replaced regularly (once six inches in the core wire have been exposed by corrosion, a fresh one is required), a water heater tank’s lifetime might be prolonged indefinitely.
Several sacrificial anodes are attached to the top area of water heater tanks, while others are inserted through hot-water outlets as part of a larger pipe assembly. Water heaters manufactured for house usage often contain each type, both designed from the same metal to ensure the right operation.
What does the anode rod do in a water heater?
Water heater companies developed an amazing concept when creating the methods that heat water: the anode rod. You observe, without this part, a water heater will rapidly succumb to corrosion and rust and need replacing after just several years.
There is just 1 concern with the rod: It is not made to last as long as the water heater. Consequently, proper water heater repair needs to involve consistently looking at the rod and changing it as needed. Tankless water heaters never have anode rods, but common tank-style heaters should have.
Powered Water Heater Anodes
If utilized in conjunction with soft water, sacrificial anodes might cause corrosion quicker than usual. They might have to be changed regularly, probably every 6 months if the water is incredibly soft.
The finest solution to prevent this problem is a powered anode water heater attached to an electrical socket and functions to prevent corrosion inside water heaters by giving a small, continuous electric current.
Powered anodes also are suggested when odor-causing germs infect a water heater tank and send harmful fumes running up water pipes. However, special sacrificial anodes created from zinc oxide and aluminum also are perfect for counteracting this kind of issue.
Whilst sacrificial anodes price around $45 and $75, powered anodes usually have a price somewhere north of $200. Certainly, a powered anode doesn’t need to change every 1-3 years the way the typical sacrificial anode does. How to change the water heater anode rod :
- Turn off the heater.
- Make the water supply off.
- The recommendation is to drain few gallons from the drain valve at the base from the water heater.
- Drain the heater utilizing the garden hose and path to the open drain. Open a nearby hot water tap to vent the heater for draining. Drain to the point under the outlet connection nipple.
- Close drain spigot and take away the hose pipe.
- Take away the water heater anode rod utilizing the proper tool.
