I'm a newbie as well and I was wondering if all campers have this? I can't find one. Only plug I have is to drain tank. Just a plastic plug with nothing on it. What's the deal? The camper is a 2011 Coachman Freedom Express
Jason1Pa, Not to worry, you have an Atwood WH and the ones with the Anode are Suburbans. The Atwood WH have an aluminum tank, so nothing to corrode, the Suburbans have a steel tank and the anode is sacrificed to save the steel tank from corroding and ultimately failing. FYI, you can install an anode rod into the drain plug hole on an Atwood WH, but I don't see where the chemical reaction would ever corrode the rod, since the tank metal is aluminum and there is not enough other metals in the system to react with the zinc anode rod.
Good Camping .. Swampy
__________________ Jim (Swampy), Susie, Jimmy & The Chihuahua Crew
2008 Chevy Silverado LS, 4.3L, V6, 2WD, 3.23:1
2014 287 BHBE; 1981 JayRaven: Predator 3500i - Call Home Pearl River, Louisiana. on The Honey Island Swamp https://www.forestriverforums.com/at...pic81807_1.gif
Soft water is water without many minerals in it. Therefore, it "loves" or attracts minerals if exposed to them. This could mean that it will leach metal that it comes into contact with. It is almost like distilled water. Without minerals, soft water will not usually conduct an electrical current very well. That is why we put distilled water in batteries - to keep them from shorting out through the water inside
Soft water is water without many minerals in it. Therefore, it "loves" or attracts minerals if exposed to them. This could mean that it will leach metal that it comes into contact with. It is almost like distilled water. Without minerals, soft water will not usually conduct an electrical current very well. That is why we put distilled water in batteries - to keep them from shorting out through the water inside
Makes sense.
I thought perhaps references in the various postings I have read about "soft" water being bad for anodes was a reference to artificially "softened" water. I still have not found a good scientific discussion online of the issues. Beyond my liberal arts degrees, that is for sure.
We have had our trailer since September so I do not worry too much, but I do plan to check the anode soon.
Our well water which goes into the fresh water tank is supposedly very "soft" (naturally so). It tastes great, like mountain spring water.
Then, there is campground water....
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RBDTx
2020 Rockwood Mini Lite 2109s
2019 Toyota Tundra TRD Pro
While winterizing our 4 month old 2020 Rockwood 2506s this is the condition of the Rod from the Water Heater. How can this degrade so quickly with only a total of 12 days of use?
That actually isn't that bad, can get at least a couple more seasons out of it. Just for the record it is all about the water quality going in, areas with hard water have a bigger issue.
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Dan-Retired California Firefighter/EMT
Shawn-Musician/Entrepreneur/Wine Expert
and Zoe the Wonder Dog(R.I.P.)
2016 PrimeTime TracerAIR 255, pushing a 2014 Ford F150 SCREW XTR 4x4 3.5 Ecoboost w/Max Tow Package
4pt Equal-i-zer WDH and 1828lbs of payload capacity
Years ago I worked on a tug boat that had a GM 2-71 powered generator. It had 3 rods in the raw water cooling system that were usually gone at the end of 7 days. Salt water is a wonderful thing.
The rod in my water tank is usually half gone at the end of the season.
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Trudi: My Partner in Crime. R.I.P. 6/19
2018 Silverado Double Cab Z71
2018 FR Flagstaff Micro Lite 21DS
I have a 2019, which I've used mostly on gas, and it looks worse than that. They are cheap, so just replace when it's shot. Should be good for another year.
Just remember to set bypass valves before you open the low point drains.....If not all that crud will be sucked back into the inside plumbing
Thanks Jim! You just explained how anode rod grit was contaminating my water system. After having to remove the toilet twice due to anode grit plugging the inlet line, I installed filters on both the inlet and outlet side of the water heater. Now I know to follow your procedure before draining.
While winterizing our 4 month old 2020 Rockwood 2506s this is the condition of the Rod from the Water Heater. How can this degrade so quickly with only a total of 12 days of use?
Water quality and usage will cause this BUT its better than eating up tank.
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2023 Aurora 26BHS
Who went in the way before you, to search you out a place to pitch your tents in, in fire by night, to shew you by what way ye should go, and in a cloud by day.
So I pulled my anode out to winterize, it did not have much on it at all! It's 3 years old. First time I have emptied the water heater. But I did notice there was a lot of white(ish) stuff and sand in the bottom of the water heater, which I flushed out. Any opinions on this?
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2018 Ram 3500 SRW diesel 4x4 long bed Laramie
2020 Jayco Eagle HT 274CKDS
So I pulled my anode out to winterize, it did not have much on it at all! It's 3 years old. First time I have emptied the water heater. But I did notice there was a lot of white(ish) stuff and sand in the bottom of the water heater, which I flushed out. Any opinions on this?
All sounds normal. Although you should probably empty your tank and inspect your anode rod more often than every 3 years.
We keep water in our trailer during the off season because of the power outages that we deal with, we loose power, we have know well, so we use the trailer to take a shower. So I flush the WH tank and change the rod about every three years and it is about half gone. Different water will act different on the rod.
There's nothing wrong with it. Here is mine, after 3 seasons (163 days camping). I think it is holding up well, because only filtered water enters my water heater. And I only drain it when winterizing.
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'19 Chevy Colorado Z71 4x4 Crew Cab
'17 Salem Cruise Lite 232RBXL
Mickey the Rescue Project Schnauzer
Days Camped: '17-39, '18-61, '19-64, '20-38
As others have said, it's quite normal to see this amount of rod missing. I had a trailer for 15 years and it had about 25% left when it was passed on.
Since you have noticed this in your trailer, have you ever checked the rod in your house water heater? I change mine every 5 years and it was down to less than 25% each time. Got 20 years out of it and replaced it only because I felt it was time. Home Depot offers a water heater with double the warranty. The difference you ask? It has two anode rods. Not worth the $100+ for the warranty when rods can be replaced for a lot less. If you don't see the rod stub on top of your HWH, it might be incorporated into your dip tube on the inlet side.
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