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crazyro's avatar
crazyro
Explorer
Mar 24, 2017

TERRIBLE anode rod shape!

(edited to add pic of heating element and blurb)

I am starting to wonder if the previous owner did any maintenance to some of the parts of this travel trailer. It's in excellent condition overall, but I'm finding little things here and there that make me scratch my head. I ordered a new anode rod and this is what I found in my water heater tank. I am thinking a good flush is way overdue...

So, uh, I'm assuming the terrible condition the heating element is in would be why I kept tripping the breaker...





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  • Lynnmor wrote:
    Guy Roan wrote:
    Lynnmor wrote:
    I think that most never check the anode. Just bring up the subject at a campfire and you will get some puzzled looks. Now how many here replace the anode rod in their home water heater?


    That is because there is none to replace.

    Guy


    In the home or RV? I have both.


    Buy a residential water heater with 6 yr guarantee and it will have an anode rod.
    Buy one with a 10 yr guarantee and it will have a Longer, or bigger, or Extra anode rod

    RV water heater...Suburban uses an anode rod because of steel tank that is glass-lined----just like a residential one

    Atwood uses an aluminum alloy clad tank. No anode rod
  • Guy Roan wrote:
    Lynnmor wrote:
    I think that most never check the anode. Just bring up the subject at a campfire and you will get some puzzled looks. Now how many here replace the anode rod in their home water heater?


    That is because there is none to replace.

    Guy


    In the home or RV? I have both.
  • Lynnmor wrote:
    I think that most never check the anode. Just bring up the subject at a campfire and you will get some puzzled looks. Now how many here replace the anode rod in their home water heater?


    That is because there is none to replace.

    Guy
  • An anode rod is not needed in some water heaters. But it that heater HAS an anode rod, it needs one. I can all but guarantee that they wouldn't have spent the money on placing one if it wasn't necessary.

    True enough, many people do not know about them and do not understand how or why anode rods need to be maintained. They are a sacrificial lamb, so to speak. Their purpose is to prevent corrosion of the tank itself (or perhaps the electric heating element), and they do that by being eaten up instead of the tank being eaten up. When they eventually are used up, the tank then begins to degrade and will eventually start leaking as holes form.

    For what it's worth, it looks like your electric heating element is damaged, and THAT is probably why you kept tripping the breaker.
  • I think that most never check the anode. Just bring up the subject at a campfire and you will get some puzzled looks. Now how many here replace the anode rod in their home water heater?
  • Mine does not even have an anode rod. I never noticed any difference.