SoundGuy wrote:
SidecarFlip wrote:
In my humble opinion, the best way to remove the sediment (from the sacrificial anode rod) in a Suburban HWH is through the anode rod port with a jet stream of water from a garden hose stream concentrator (or your pressure washer) stuck in the anode rod port.
Better yet, get an Atwood HWH with no anode rod.
Best way to flush out any water heater tank, Suburban or Atwood, is to use an RV water heater tank rinser like this.
To the OP - use that water pressure relief valve and chances are pretty good you'll never get it to properly reseal without leaking. :M Leave it alone, relive pressure in the system by simply opening a couple of faucets. That said, why remove the anode rod so often anyway? - just leave it as is for the season, then drain & flush the tank when you're winterizing the rest of the trailer.
Actually, the 'relief valve' at the top of the HWH is a T&P valve (temperature and Pressure) same one that comes on every residential HWH heater / tank sold in the United states and available at any box store like Lowes or Home Despot. No difference at all. If it leaks, replace it. They cost about 10 bucks every day. You should occasionally open it to clear the seat and make sure it's operating as designed.
Far as the anode rod is concerned, the life of the sacrifical magnesum alloy will depend on the mineral content of the water you use in your camper. In my case, I can 'eat up' a rod in a couple months so I don't agree with going all season. That depends entirely on the water you use. I always carry an extra rod in the camper.
For the last couple years, instead of using the Camco tank flusher, I've been using the low pressure nozzle on my pressure washer to flush mine with. Gets all the debris out of the bottom of the tank, quickly.
