Pretty quiet in here... what are you working on? (10 Viewers)

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ace10 said:
Timely topic... I replaced the anode rod in my water heater today. Shoulda been done many years ago. There was literally nothing connected to the cap.
State (AO Smith) buries the access to the rod under 2-3" of solid foam. What a pain in the ass to get it cleaned through a small port out so no debris falls into the tank.

If you haven't replaced yours in the past couple of years, get on it.
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Yup. Been there. I attempted to replace mine with one of those electric ones. Says it cuts down on that sulfur smell for us well peeps. I do treat my system with a little bleach now and then too. Cleaned out the hole and got ready. Had a 1/2' drive on that baby with a pipe on the end. My dad (75) holding onto the water heater and still never broke loose. Kept moving the water heater and then broke the ratchet. So the new rod still sits there waiting for the next attempt. Afraid I will just rip the top of the water heater off. Really hate to put an impact on it :)
 
BullRunOverland said:
Yup. Been there. I attempted to replace mine with one of those electric ones. Says it cuts down on that sulfur smell for us well peeps. I do treat my system with a little bleach now and then too. Cleaned out the hole and got ready. Had a 1/2' drive on that baby with a pipe on the end. My dad (75) holding onto the water heater and still never broke loose. Kept moving the water heater and then broke the ratchet. So the new rod still sits there waiting for the next attempt. Afraid I will just rip the top of the water heater off. Really hate to put an impact on it :)
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I'm pretty sure I heard my water heater giggle when I tried to get the cap off with an 18" breaker.

Went straight for the Makita ugga dugga after that. Spun out with no problem. Threads were actually very clean.
 
Are anode rods industry standard or do I need to figure out the right one for my specific AO water heater?
 
There are 2 types the standard rods and ones that are part of the hot water outlet. And there are 2 types magnesium ( I think) and Aluminum. Aluminum is standard.
I just replaced mine and had to return the standard one to get the one that is part of the hot water outlet. Lowes sells both of them.
 
Working specifying this stuff, you can order a water heater with a 10 year warranty (just a letter change in the model code). All these have is a better/larger anode.

The whole tanks failing thing is a scam of planned obsolesce and low first cost trap that everything is nowadays. Starting in the 40s through the 60s or 70s, water heaters were sold with Monel tanks which is a copper nickel alloy that doesn't corrode even in salt water and is still used today in demanding applications. That would at least double your cost but then they could very easily last 50+ years without an anode if made from this stuff.

en.wikipedia.org

Monel - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
 
The old stuff for the win! Last year, we installed a gas tankless water heater at the lake house. The existing tank was confirmed by the manufacturer as having a 1979 production date. There was a box of old thermostats and heating elements from it over the years on a high shelf in the crawlspace where it lives. When I opened up the electrical cover on top of it to see if I could get some more life from it, it was packed full of mud from being submerged in at least one flood over the years. That part still worked fine! Pretty sure it was a RUUD.
 
my Rheem 50 gal natural gas water heater is from 1994, from before i owned this house. heard that part about the warranty being tied to the life of the anode so ordered up a replacement anode in 2017. i bought the thickest magnesium one i could; 0.9 in.

one thing to pay attention to is ceiling height. i bought a one piece rod, so needed the clearance to slide the whole 44" in rod straight from overhead. but they also make rods in section, like nunchuks.

i made of the mistake of draining the tank first, but then the whole tank wanted to move. so filled it back up. trying to hold the tank while also yanking on a breaker bar was a no go. 1/2 cordless impact broke it free. the rod was pretty far gone, but i got it out in one piece. i'm assuming it was the original rod. also replaced the plastic drain with a proper 1/4 turn shut off while i was in there.

sounds like its time to replace it again!
 
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I check my anode annually and replace it as necessary. It's 28 years old this month.

There are three types available - magnesium, aluminum, and zinc/aluminum blend. Typically the magnesium rods are used in areas with soft water as they corrode easily. Aluminum rods are used in areas with hard water as they hold up better to the minerals and sediments dissolved in the water. The blend type of rods are mainly aluminum-based with about 10 percent zinc. The zinc is added to alleviate water with sulfurous odors, preventing that noxious rotten-egg smell.

An impact wrench makes short work of removing them. That's typically what I use. Trying to do it manually tends to want to move the whole water heater instead of just breaking the anode loose.
 
Had some rattling after the summer/fall trips...was looking at suspension, but finally got wise to these...definitely past their useful life expectancy! Guessing a couple of upward knocks with evidence of a bent lip on the tailpipe didn't help... o_O

 
Changed out the rear heater hoses because one of them started to leak. Didn’t make too big of a mess either ! :)

IMG_8303.jpeg


IMG_8301.jpeg
 
CrabCake said:
Had some rattling after the summer/fall trips...was looking at suspension, but finally got wise to these...definitely past their useful life expectancy! Guessing a couple of upward knocks with evidence of a bent lip on the tailpipe didn't help... o_O

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Nice find!
 
Couple of Christmas goodies from my wish list... ;)

Nice fat adjustable front Panhard bar from Dobinsons to re-center my front axle:



And a cart for the welder plus a new workbench for the end of the garage...



My electrician son is going to hook me up with some real power to get the most out of the 240v/30a welder and plasma cutter...⚡⚡⚡
 
And I got the steering gear box out today to send off to Red Head Steering Gears for a rebuild. I prepared for a bloodbath of ATF but I got lucky and barely made a mess. Lucky me! 🤓

IMG_8306.jpeg


IMG_8307.jpeg
 
kevin in okinawa said:
And I got the steering gear box out today to send off to Red Head Steering Gears for a rebuild. I prepared for a bloodbath of ATF but I got lucky and barely made a mess. Lucky me! 🤓

View attachment 3520040

View attachment 3520041
Click to expand...
Excellent...I have the 105 Sector kit for mine, still debating on trying the rebuild myself or not. There are some good threads and I am pretty confident with the skills and tools needed. I also have the Delta brace kit for the frame to weld on...no cracks yet, but I'm pushing mine further than the PO did by far, so I think it's inevitable.
 
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