Anode Rod

[gbaldwin]

Anyone ever heard of FR product that did not have anode rode in water heater? A plastice plug for draining HW tank but no A rod?

[Iwritecode]

Yep, you have an Atwood water heater. Perfectly normal.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

Anyone ever heard of FR product that did not have anode rode in water heater? A plastice plug for draining HW tank but no A rod?

Certainly... many. Atwood heaters generally don’t; Suburban heaters generally do. Now that was before the names got confused!!

[Flybob]

Many Atwood owners replace the nylon plug with a valve which makes draining very simple.

[gbaldwin]

Thanks All. I was checking mine yesterday which is 2 years old and a neighboring camper came over to observe what I was doing. Had a new (used) TT and was concerned that he knew nothing about an anode rod change. Wwe noticed that plastic plug and he was conceerned that previous owner might have replaced anode with plug for some reason. I didnt know. But the plug was smaller than the anode threads in mine. Wasnt sure. But now we know! Thanks

[5picker]

Originally Posted by gbaldwin

Thanks All. I was checking mine yesterday which is 2 years old and a neighboring camper came over to observe what I was doing. Had a new (used) TT and was concerned that he knew nothing about an anode rod change. Wwe noticed that plastic plug and he was conceerned that previous owner might have replaced anode with plug for some reason. I didnt know. But the plug was smaller than the anode threads in mine. Wasnt sure. But now we know! Thanks

I've had Atwood water heaters that had the 3/4" NPT plug (same size as Suburban port) and one with a 1/2" NPT plug.

I had to be careful and use a 6 point socket on the nylon plugs as the corners would round off easily using a 12 point socket.

[cavie]

Atwood heaters are made of Aluminum. No need for an anode rod. Suburban's are steel. Anode rod needed. So I've been told.

[TheWolfPaq82]

I was fortunate with our old Jayco with the Atwood. The first trip out I found a brass or copper plug laying on the ground at the campsite. I replaced the plastic plug which already had the edges tore up and kept the plastic one as a spare in my tool box.

[retiredcamper47]

There is a tool for removing the plastic plug from the water heater. It looks like a "T handle" with a tapered, barbed end. They are used on inground sprinkler systems. It works like a easy-out.


Bob

[Iwritecode]

Originally Posted by retiredcamper47

There is a tool for removing the plastic plug from the water heater. It looks like a "T handle" with a tapered, barbed end. They are used on inground sprinkler systems. It works like a easy-out.


Bob

I regular socket works just fine.

[nomad297]

Originally Posted by TheWolfPaq82

I was fortunate with our old Jayco with the Atwood. The first trip out I found a brass or copper plug laying on the ground at the campsite. I replaced the plastic plug which already had the edges tore up and kept the plastic one as a spare in my tool box.

The original plug is plastic for a good reason. By using a brass plug, you are defeating one of the best things about having an Atwood water heater, which is all aluminum. The brass plug, being of dissimilar metal to the Atwood water heater tank, will cause galvanic corrosion/bimetallic corrosion which will shorten the life of the tank and, quite possibly, “weld” itself to the threads of the water heater and the plug, making it impossible to drain the tank.

You might say you have had no problems using the brass plug, but you really can’t know how much damage this is doing until it is too late.

Just something for you to think about — the presence of plastic isn’t always a sign of cutting corners and saving costs. Sometimes it is a sign of a manufacturer actually knowing what they are doing and saving you money.

Bruce