Should I replace this WH Anode?

[ihsolutions]

When I winterized my BH3670, only six months old at the time, I took a picture of the water heater anode. It is pitted but largely still intact. See picture. Is this something I should replace now or will I get another season out of it?

 

[TXBobcat]

Seeing that you already have it out I would replace it. Be sure to take something and clean out the inside bottom of the WH before you install the new Anode.

I check mine every year. Cheap fix.

BC

 

[lmcclure]

You can probably get another season out of it, But I replace mine when they look that way. It's just me and a lot of people will disagree. I take mine out every season when winterizing, and wash out the tank. I agree with TXBOBCAT and if it is out the expense to replace is not that great. Save the old one for backup.

 

[JohnDar]

I'd be curious what you've been putting in that tank to get it to look like that in 6 months. After the second season with ours, it still looks almost new. I think the anode rods run something like $15 for the Suburban.

 

[katkens]

You can get another year out of it , recommended to change when 3/4 has deteriorated. I have also found mine seems to last longer since I started filtering all my water going into the rig and draining tank when not in use........Kenny

http://www.heartlandrvs.com/index.php?p=10

 

[ihsolutions]

JohnDar, we just put in water from the MI state parks mainly, and a few places we go that have full hookups.

I don't drain the tank between trips. So from April to November, the tank holds water, till we winterize it.

I'll probably replace it, I was just curious what most others are doing. I put it back in the (drained) tank for the winter, basically just to keep the tank sealed.

 

[Ray LeTourneau]

I replaced mine yesterday. $11.99 @ Camping World. It was about the same as your's. Last year ours wasn't quite as bad as your's in the picture so I wire brushed it off. I didn't like the looks of that yucky stuff on it. We filter our water regularly and I believe that may help a bit.

 

[SJH]

Yes! For $12 or so why worry about it?

 

[noobee]

You're okay for at least another 6 months. I recommend that you inspect the rod & clean/flush out the tank every 3 months during your RVing season. Use a Water Heater Tank Rinser for the tank flushing.

CS

 

[ChopperBill]

Had some problem with stinking fart smelling hot water at the park here. Cleaned the tank a couple of time but the anode looked better than the one you pulled out. Still had stinky water. Ended up replacing the anode rod and the stink went away.

 

[Westwind]

This is an interesting post - I don't think there is a way you can predict how quickly a rod is going to get used up. The water condition has a lot to do with the speed that the rod gets used up. When we get home from Florida I drain the tank and flush it out but leave it empty. I make sure the switch is off for the heater to ensure that we don't turn the heater on until there is water in it.

 

[4ever]

If the rod still has a lot of life in it you can clean it up by soaking the rod in Vinegar. I suck my down in a vinegar bottle last year over night and it comes out good as new.

Ted

 

[lwmcguir]

When I winterized my BH3670, only six months old at the time, I took a picture of the water heater anode. It is pitted but largely still intact. See picture. Is this something I should replace now or will I get another season out of it?

As long as there is sufficient sacrificial material left on the steel center it has many days of useful life. There is no need to replace the anodes until they are at least 50% consumed.

 

[Birchwood]

We are into our fourth year full time in our Landmark and have replaced the anode once.The rule is if you have in excess
of 30% material remaining on the anode it can still do its job.

 

[pegmikef]

I replaced mine that looked like that after less than a year because it was ugly. . . 10 or 12 bucks at a local rv store. I now drain the hot water heater and clean the anode every time we return from a trip and after a year and a half it still looks new.

 

[lwmcguir]

The anode life depends on the water quality that you have available. Higher TDS water or extremely soft water will consume the anode quicker. They are sacrificial anodes in that they give up electrons to save your water heater shell from corroding.

 

[Rickhansen]

I wouldn't, you can likely get one or two more seasons out of it. There will be nothing left of it but a piece of wire when it is used up. How fast the anode is used is dependent on water quality and use.

 

[Lynn1130]

We have some of the hardest water anywhere and it does not take long for an anode to go bad here. I fill the tanks with soft water from the house line when we camp but even with that I check the anode and usually end up changing it every two years. I never leave water in the heater or lines when storing the trailer. At 110 degrees it grows algae in a hurry and that is ugly in the water heater and lines besides that the only time I left it in the water heater it came out black and smelling like sulfur. Not nice.

 

[mobilcastle]

IMHO magnesium rods are much better than aluminum. Aluminum last longer but not nearly as effective and I also think they have more of an odor to them. I think OE is magnesium. Magnesium rods also cost more.

 

[wdk450]

IMHO magnesium rods are much better than aluminum. Aluminum last longer but not nearly as effective and I also think they have more of an odor to them. I think OE is magnesium. Magnesium rods also cost more.

I Googled and found a neat, comprehensive article on water heater anode rods. Be sure to read the last section on why they prefer magnesium anode rods over aluminum ones.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/Longevity/water-heater-anodes.html