Water Heater Anode Rod deteriorating

[jwfrede]

Originally Posted by Jt1087

Hi all,

I have a 2021 forest river fsx Salem 179dbx bought in March this year. I went to winterize it today and when taking the water heater anode plug out of the hot water tank to drain it and it looked degraded - like it had calcium build up - I took a photo and posted below. Anyone heard of it before or what might cause it other than maybe just hard water ? Can I just replace it with a new one or is there potentially an underlying issue to sort out as well?

Thanks in advance for any help !

Mine looked the same the first fall after I bought it when I took it out to drain the water heater for winterizing. That was 4 years ago. Still looks pretty much the same

[Scrapper]

Originally Posted by jwfrede

Mine looked the same the first fall after I bought it when I took it out to drain the water heater for winterizing. That was 4 years ago. Still looks pretty much the same

The rate of deterioration depends on what minerals and ph your water has and at what concentrations. My tt has been sitting on the same site for 7 years and the anode still looks better than OP's

[D W]

Originally Posted by cardwellmarty

Have you ever had that to happen? Mine always wears more at the threads, some times to the point l have been concerned with it, l change mine probably sooner than l shoud, especially when it wears at the threads.

Never had it happen to me, but a friend had it happen. Took him about an hour with at least 2 different magnetic probes. The steel rod rusted off jagged so there wasn't a flat surface to put the magnetic tip on. After a lot of cussing he finally got it out. The rod still had close to 50% of pitted aluminum left on it. That's a little hole to work through with a probe trying to find the end of the rod while shining a light in there. It's dark inside that tank. Like working blind.

[cardwellmarty]

Originally Posted by D W

Never had it happen to me, but a friend had it happen. Took him about an hour with at least 2 different magnetic probes. The steel rod rusted off jagged so there wasn't a flat surface to put the magnetic tip on. After a lot of cussing he finally got it out. The rod still had close to 50% of pitted aluminum left on it. That's a little hole to work through with a probe trying to find the end of the rod while shining a light in there. It's dark inside that tank. Like working blind.

I bet it was a trick to get out, that why if the anode rod gets thin at the threaded end l change it , lol, better than fighting with it fishing it out of the tank.

[Larry-NC]

Originally Posted by Scrapper

The rate of deterioration depends on what minerals and ph your water has and at what concentrations. My tt has been sitting on the same site for 7 years and the anode still looks better than OP's

Mine, too. It has been sitting on the same site, year-round, since 2008. It has water in the heater for 8 months of the year, winterized December through March. The original rod still has full diameter with just some surface roughness.

The campground has well water in tidewater Virginia, about 35 miles inland from Virginia Beach. It must be very non-corrosive water.

[ObiRich]

There's lots of life left in that rod. You could use a brush and knock some of that sediment off, but the rod itself is in great shape.

[MisterVick]

I probably replace my anode rod ahead of most, but they are so cheap and the water quality where I leave my RV in its mooch dock is from a well and pretty hard and "gypie" (lots of gypsum in the area), even with filters installed.

So I figure since anode rods are also called "sacrificial," then I'm going to sacrifice a rod sooner and hopefully forego water heater problems or water quality issues as well.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Jt1087

Thanks all - super helpful. Am new to rv’s ... so much to learn !

Here is another item you should be taking care of on at least an annual basis as far as that anode rod is concerned.

Those white flakes fall off that rod and to the bottom of the Water Heater. They then get sucked up into the water system eventually to clog up the faucet aerators. In severe cases they can clog entire water lines.

Each year when you remove the anode use a tool like this to flush the debris from the bottom of your WH. It will save a bit of grief later.

https://www.etrailer.com/Accessories...hoC9hYQAvD_BwE

[Thomas ho]

when i pull my anode rod i scrape off the corrosion, and sand down the rod. keeps the particles from building up in tank bttom. hook a small tube to shop vac VIA duct tae and vacuum out the particles. lubing the threads of rod with what ever lube suits you on top of teflon tape gets the threads conditioned ad easier to reinstall rod after a few removals. water sours so i drain mine often.

[DouglasReid]

Originally Posted by Thomas ho

when i pull my anode rod i scrape off the corrosion, and sand down the rod. keeps the particles from building up in tank bttom. hook a small tube to shop vac VIA duct tae and vacuum out the particles. lubing the threads of rod with what ever lube suits you on top of teflon tape gets the threads conditioned ad easier to reinstall rod after a few removals. water sours so i drain mine often.

Vacuuming the WH will work just as well as flushing.

[5picker]

Originally Posted by D W

X2. I noticed in the OP's pic that deterioration is more pronounced near the threads, almost down to the "wire". It is certainly doing it's job. What you don't want to happen is the rod breaking off and falling into the tank. You'll play hell trying to get it out if that happens.

Originally Posted by cardwellmarty

Have you ever had that to happen? Mine always wears more at the threads, some times to the point l have been concerned with it, l change mine probably sooner than l shoud, especially when it wears at the threads.

It deteriorates more near the threads because it is trying to protect that big steel bung it screws into. Since the rest of the tank is porcelain lined (and not bare steel unless some has chipped off) the anode works feverishly near the steel bung.

[frankhaas]

Originally Posted by Jt1087

Hi all,

I have a 2021 forest river fsx Salem 179dbx bought in March this year. I went to winterize it today and when taking the water heater anode plug out of the hot water tank to drain it and it looked degraded - like it had calcium build up - I took a photo and posted below. Anyone heard of it before or what might cause it other than maybe just hard water ? Can I just replace it with a new one or is there potentially an underlying issue to sort out as well?

Thanks in advance for any help !

Filter your water intake.

[Lins]

Originally Posted by D W

Never had it happen to me, but a friend had it happen. Took him about an hour with at least 2 different magnetic probes. The steel rod rusted off jagged so there wasn't a flat surface to put the magnetic tip on. After a lot of cussing he finally got it out. The rod still had close to 50% of pitted aluminum left on it. That's a little hole to work through with a probe trying to find the end of the rod while shining a light in there. It's dark inside that tank. Like working blind.

Ours broke off this fall when I was winterizing, and it was probably only 25% worn. Thankfully it was already out of the tank, but it only took a light accidental bump. It was likely original (2007) so it didn't owe me anything.

[Mr. Dan]

Originally Posted by frankhaas

Filter your water intake.

Filtering water doesn't help in my case. Always filter; always have sacrificial action.

[Trainaddict]

Sir,
I have a Forest River Windjammer, I have done a bit of research on this and here’s what I did. My anode rode looked very similar to your picture. The info following I received when talking to a Forest River tech. Rep. I bought a 2pk of the anode rod through amazon. I also bought the heater element. I put the old anode rod back in, I filled the 6 gallon HW tank With 4 gallons of white vinegar and 1 gallon of water and let it set for 4 days. I was told you can turn on the HW sys and leave it on about 8-12 hours and it will quicken the process, but I just let it sit for a few days. Then drain it, blow it dry with air, then the HW tank will be cleaned and sanitized. Make sure your valves are in the winterized position. After I drained my tank the old anode rod was pretty much gone, But I already bought a new one. I also looked at the heating element and the vinegar solution had no effect on it, I bought a new one of those as well. Now when I dewinterize it next year, I will rinse it out again a few times and put the new anode rod and element in it. I was also told that if you have a steel HW tank the magnesium anode rod is necessary. Hope this helps Rick
2015 Forest River Windjammer 3025W