Tomorrow morning I plan to replace the anode rod in my Water heater. (floor, Home Depot)
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The current rod is about 6 years old and I already anticipate needing a lot of leverage to get it removed... Unfortunately, it is in my attic and there is nothing to hold the tank in place. I may have to build a little framing around the tank to keep it from spinning as I try to torque the bolt while also trying NOT to fall through the attic access port which is directly adjacent to the tank.
My question is, has anyone ever actually damaged their tank while trying to torque out the rod?
Some people might be afraid of contaminating the tank, but it is only hot water and will never be drank so I am not opposed to using a little PB Blaster on the head.
If you have any advice on this job, I'd appreciate hearing.
My question is.. Where did you actually find an anode?
It's something I plan to do in a few years after replacing my HWH about 2 years ago.. But I've never seen one in Home Depot or Lowe's or anywhere. I figured worst case I'd order it from the manufacturer.
My question is.. Where did you actually find an anode?
It's something I plan to do in a few years after replacing my HWH about 2 years ago.. But I've never seen one in Home Depot or Lowe's or anywhere. I figured worst case I'd order it from the manufacturer.
I got mine shortly after replacing the prior failed heater.
I removed one from a failed water heater just to take a look at it. I had to use a 4' piece of pipe to get enough leverage to unscrew it. The top of the tank dented when I twisted it out. I got it out, but I'm not sure a new one would go in. The top of the tank was pretty messed up.
The anode rod was toast by the way.
Penetrating oil probably isn't a bad idea- drowned it; and let it sit overnight.
Use a 1/2" breaker bar and a 4' cheater pipe- leverage is your friend. If two people can get around the heater you should be able to break it loose while the other holds the W/H in place.
Have only done it once in FL- it was 8yo. The anode wasn't shot- but was non-effective because of calcium.
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Quote:
Originally Posted by blktoptrvl
The current rod is about 6 years old and I already anticipate needing a lot of leverage to get it removed... Unfortunately, it is in my attic and there is nothing to hold the tank in place. I may have to build a little framing around the tank to keep it from spinning as I try to torque the bolt while also trying NOT to fall through the attic access port which is directly adjacent to the tank.
My question is, has anyone ever actually damaged their tank while trying to torque out the rod?
Some people might be afraid of contaminating the tank, but it is only hot water and will never be drank so I am not opposed to using a little PB Blaster on the head.
If you have any advice on this job, I'd appreciate hearing.
If the threads are frozen or very tight, yes, you may have a problem getting that item out of the fitting on top of your water heater.
See if you can find a proper socket wrench and then use an impact wrench, set to the lowest setting.
Once the threads break loose you can just rotate the rod and remove it !
Not quite on topic but anyway ...
I have never understood the way some people think when they put things together.
Why would you put a water heater which can go bad and develop bad leaks, in an attic ?
that is like asking for trouble. (kudos to MrRational)
The other thing is that I have seen homes where the hot water heater is all the way on the other side of the house, where most of the hot water is being used ?
Another idiotic way I have seen is that the water lines were inside the concrete slab, the house was built on ...
To top off the "what some idiots have done" is what I saw in the condo a friend bought in Escondido, Ca.
The water heater was 50 plus feet away from the house, inside a small storage shed.
The water lines were running above ground (against a fence) and totally NOT insulated !
My question is, has anyone ever actually damaged their tank while trying to torque out the rod?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Barking Spider
I removed one from a failed water heater just to take a look at it. I had to use a 4' piece of pipe to get enough leverage to unscrew it. The top of the tank dented when I twisted it out. I got it out, but I'm not sure a new one would go in. The top of the tank was pretty messed up.
The anode rod was toast by the way.
Thanks, had this been an installed heater, do you think the dent would have affected it's function?
Just like "irman" mentioned earlier above, I had used my electric impact wrench to loosen my two year old WH's anode rod.
It was the second time I used my no-name brand electric impact wrench in 12 years since buying it. The first was to loosen lug nuts of my Camry wheels which is what I had purchased it for.
Make sure you use the 6 point socket of correct size. Its 1-1/16" the right size?
Manually opening did not work for me. I was afraid it would turn the whole WH
After reading this thread, it explains why most people don't change the anode rod or drain the tank. The whole thing is poorly designed and as noted above, poorly placed in the house.
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