Anode rod question

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Dehler

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Hi,

I was wondering if you could help me out with a simple question. I have a large water heater (60gal) and it appears to have a 54" anode rod. I was able to remove the old one by cutting it in half and pulling out the two pieces.. However my ceiling is too short to get a new 54" rod in.. I did already get a new 44" rod and was able to trim it to 40" and get it in.

My question is this a bad thing to do, having a free 14 inches at the bottom? other then having a shorter anode life? I could get a 54" fliexible (4 parts) one but they're much more expensive.

Thanks!
 

Reach4

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You are OK. Next time you can consider buying a segmented anode, or even a powered anode if you get sulfur smells in the hot water.

Don't use nearly as much force when screwing the anode back in. I used about 10 ft-lb I estimate, and I just checked for leaks periodically. No leaks. I use teflon tape. While it is important that there be electrical contact on the threads, it turns out that the teflon is easily sliced by the threads and gives good electrical contact contact. You could check with an ohmmeter, but it is very unlikely that you would not have a good contact.
 

Dehler

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Thanks! No sulphur smell, just been 7 years since it was changed.. I was surprise that the old one had as much meat left on it as it did, was still quite corroded though. I put teflon tape on it as well, but only the top half of the threads, leaving the bottom few as contacts
 

Dj2

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Eastman Plumbing Co makes these flexible (4 section) anodes, they are 42" in total and are easy to insert in low ceiling condition.
 
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