Anode's Rapid Demise

Did you ever notice that when the anode conversations come up you never hear about the anode replacements in their homes?

SDcampowneroperator wrote:

Properly tightened mechanical pipe joints will have conductivity through the sealant. Easy to check with the ohms setting on your multimeter. 1 probe on tank, the other on anode. you will read infinity well before sufficient torque to seal.

I think this is a typo. The reading would be zero (or near zero) for electrical connectivity, and infinity for an open circuit. You'd presumably see a low ohms reading as the anode gets tightened into position and metal to metal contact is made.

Guidance for sealing with pfte white tape is 1 1/2 wrap for 1/4" pipe, 1/2 wrap more for each larger size pipe. So , 1/2" is 2, 3/4 2 1/2 etc. Sacrificial anodes are 3/4"
Properly tightened mechanical pipe joints will have conductivity through the sealant. Easy to check with the ohms setting on your multimeter. 1 probe on tank, the other on anode. you will read infinity well before sufficient torque to seal.

Thanks for the tips guys... I pretty much know all that, but glad you quoted it and pointed it out to me anyway... :)

Mitch

MitchF150 wrote:
My 19 Rockwood has an anode rod in the hot water tank.. My 03 Prowler did not..

I never had an issue with that 03 hot water tank in the 16 years I owned that trailer..

Now, I gotta check the **** thing and then buy a new one every year or so if I use magnesium or use aluminum and then risk the whole hot water tank going bad... Great... Wish I had an Atwood in the Rockwood... :)

Mitch

Should be draining/flushing tank at least once a year.
Gotta remove anode rod to do that so it's not like you have to do an extra step.

Anode Rod is necessary to be sacrifical so that the STEEL tank doesn't rust away.
Suburban uses a STEEL tank that is sprayed with a glass lining....but glass lining does NOT fully cover every nook/crannie inside the tank and does have cracks hence the NEED for the sacrifice of the anode rod.
Atwood uses an aluminum tank that has a zinc cladding on interior of tank that acts as the anode rod ----

Per Atwood:

"Atwood water heater tanks are constructed of a high strength aluminum.
The interior of the tank consists of a .0015 thickness of type 7072
aluminum (pure aluminum and zinc) that is fused to the core during the
rolling process. This material protects the tanks from the effects of heavy metals and salts found in waters throughout the country.
It is anodic to these heavy metals and acts much like an anode in a steel glass lined tank except it will last much longer.
Aftermarket Anode Rods are not required and should not be used and will void warranty."

The anode is SUPPOSED to corrode away. That is how it protects the tank. If it is going away "too fast" that is proof that the water is, um, how to say this, "highly corrosive."

The purpose of a water softener is supposed to be to remove calcium and magnesium ions, which make the water hard. In practice, in most places, the main purpose of a water softener is to separate customers from their money. In any case, the presence of a magnesium anode will undo some of what a water softener does. But only if the water is highly corrosive. But if that is so, you very definitely want that anode present -- unless, of course, you WANT to have to replace the water heater frequently.

If your water heater and anode are on a different water supply than your neighbor, your experience can't be compared to his, any more than you can compare apples to roller skates.

MitchF150 wrote:
My 19 Rockwood has an anode rod in the hot water tank.. My 03 Prowler did not..

I never had an issue with that 03 hot water tank in the 16 years I owned that trailer..

Now, I gotta check the **** thing and then buy a new one every year or so if I use magnesium or use aluminum and then risk the whole hot water tank going bad... Great... Wish I had an Atwood in the Rockwood... :)

Mitch

If you had an Atwood water heater it doesn't need a rod.

chevman

My 19 Rockwood has an anode rod in the hot water tank.. My 03 Prowler did not..

I never had an issue with that 03 hot water tank in the 16 years I owned that trailer..

Now, I gotta check the **** thing and then buy a new one every year or so if I use magnesium or use aluminum and then risk the whole hot water tank going bad... Great... Wish I had an Atwood in the Rockwood... :)

Mitch

I've used both aluminum and magnesium in the same tank, and the magnesium disappears much, much faster than the aluminum. The aluminum one lasted over 7 years, the magnesium is about shot in less than 2 years.

Cummins12V98 wrote:
Mine pictured basically with a "rash" is Magnesium.

"A filter will do nothing to preserve an anode rod."

This makes no sense to me. Guess I don't understand? My water is good, Anode looks good. His water has been made to be good, Anode is bad.

Everything you want to know about anode rods.

When you say "good" the next question is good for what. Some of the best tasting drinking water may consume an anode rod very fast, It is all about the materials dissolved in the water, and they cannot be removed with conventional filtration. Read up on it with the link above.