Barnacles on my anode, but no erosion -- why?
I pulled the anode on my water heater -- the rod itself was perfectly intact, no erosion at all in the past year. But the rod had quite a few white barnacles. I s****ed them off easily with a knife....
Forum Discussion
Old-Biscuit wrote:
You are using an aluminum anode rod which has a tendency to collect 'stuff' and does not dissolve as easily when water quality is good
Magnesium is the alternative......it is higher on Galvanic Scale but will not last as long.
Course if the aluminum is lasting toooooooo long is it really doing any protection???
X2
somewhere on suburban instructions they say to start with the magnesium one and if it doesn't last a year then go to alum. (found it, and just passing it along. Nothing dated that I see, so I have no idea how old this info is or correct)
"Anode Rod Facts
Everything you wanted to know about anodes rods…
Self sacrificing anode rods are placed inside water heater tanks to
protect the tank from electrolysis, not to purify the water.
Anode rod life is affected by the makeup of the water. Softer water or
water with lower resistance causes the anode to self sacrifice faster.
Suburban offers 2 types of anode rod material, magnesium
(standard) and aluminum (optional).
Anode rods should last at least a year. If the magnesium rod does not
last a year, you should switch to the aluminum rod which is harder
and does not self sacrifice as fast as magnesium.
A byproduct of the anode rod self sacrificing is hydrogen gas.
If there is high amounts of sulfur in the water, the hydrogen gas will
mix with the sulfur to create hydrogen sulfide (rotten egg smell). You
may want to use the aluminum rod to reduce the amount of hydrogen
gas produced.
The rotten egg smell can also be created by dead microorganisms in
the water. Adding a small amount of chlorine to the fresh water
system will kill these microorganisms.
Anode rods effectiveness is not reduced by using Teflon tape to seal
the threads. You should always use a thread sealant approved for
potable water.
Removing the anode rod to install an optional electric element voids
the Suburban limited warranty.
