[mbene]

Originally Posted by lawgolfer

If you want a water heater to be both efficient and long-lasting, there are three things you must do.

1. Install a water softener. This prevents the build up of calcium in the tank as well in the lines and the faucets. Adding a softener even years after the original construction will, over time, help to remove the calcium which has built up over the years.

2. Drain and flush the water heater yearly. Attach a good garden hose to the hose bib at the bottom of the tank. Run the hose out to the gutter, and open the hose bib. If you've never done this, you will be shocked at the discharge from the tank. Unfortunately, if you have not done this yearly, there will be a substantial build-up at the bottom of the tank which will be as hard as stone. If so, you are paying a lot for extra gas to heat the water.

3. Regularly replace the sacrificial anode in the water tank. Probably not one in a thousand homeowners know this or, if they do know of it, don't bother doing it. The anode is a rod of aluminum or magnesium, an inch in diameter and the length of a broomstick that is placed inside the tank. On most tanks, it will be attached to the 3rd, large hex-head bolt on the top of the tank around or between the inlet and outlet pipes. If there is not a 3rd hex-head on the top of your tank, it will be integral with the pipe for the hot water outlet.

This anode is "sacrificial" as it is being slowly destroyed by the minor electrical current that is present in all water systems. Because the anode is aluminum or magnesium, the current will corrode and destroy the anode instead of corroding (rusting) the cast iron or steel of the walls of the tank. Without the anode, the walls of the tank will corrode and, eventually, will develop a leak.

For anyone who is a sailor, the anode in a water heater is the equivalent of the "zincs" in a boat, and you know how necessary it is to regularly replace those.

Replacing the anode can be a do-it-yourself project. However, it is not easy and is messy. If the anode is the hex-head, you will need a large socket and a long, strong, "breaker" bar. First use lots and lots of WD 40 or penetrating oil and, if necessary, heat the hex-head with a propane torch. If the anode is part of the hot water outlet it is best to hire a plumber as it is very easy to twist off the top of the outlet pipe, which will, likely, cost you a new tank. I've changed both types of anodes myself, but will never do so again.

The anode should be replaced at least every 5 years. Because the rate of corrosion of the anode will vary greatly, it is a good idea to do the first replacement at three years. If you find the anode is not completely destroyed at three years, do the next replacement at four years. Use a felt-tip pen to mark the date on the outside of the tank when you replace the anode so you will know when the next replacement is due.

If the anode in your heater has never been replaced, do it now. Even though you may have a lot of corrosion in your tank, replacing the anode now will stop the tank from corroding further.

Aannnddd none of this matters if your insurance company is going to make you replace your water heater after ten years anyway.

[Proplusplumbingllc]

Originally Posted by Carla B

I thought it was my husband talking as I read your reply. "If the water heater fails and leaks, it will just go out the garage." Fifteen years old and counting; same with air conditioner, same with appliances. I hope they don't all go at once.

Just had someone replace a unit with us that was 20 years old! Still running but in bad shape. Here if you need us 352-427-0337 - Loren