Water Heater Sediment Question
I winterized my TH this week and was pretty surprised at the amount of sediment in the water heater. The drain is slightly above the bottom of the heater so the sediment tends to stay in the bottom af...
Forum Discussion
myredracer wrote:Escargot wrote:
The "stuff" is the WH is degraded / dissolved bits from the anode rod.
Would the zinc actually drop to the bottom or would it get dissolved into the water and flow out the tank? I also seem to recall whitish looking deposits on the anode rod. Maybe that's what drops to the bottom? I have no idea, just curious.
Regardless, it sounds like if you have a Suburban WH, it's a good idea to flush it out at least annually.
RV anode rods are made of aluminum or magnesium. Marine anodes may still be zinc but haven't seen one for RV water heaters.
Aluminum attracts calcium.....which can build up on rod and also be in the bottom of tank and collect on electric element, along with other minerals.
As the rod dissolves it is carried away in solution in the water....yep you drink it, bath with it, wash your dishes with it just like you do at home......home water heater have anode rods also.
