Element port punchouts... What am I looking at here???

JesseK

New Member
Messages
1
Reaction score
0
Points
1
Location
Vermont
So I just bought a new AO Smith 55 gallon electric water heater from Lowes, with the intention of replacing it's standard elements with a pair of Dernord 240V/2500W Foldback elements.

After removing the original elements I inspected both element ports with a flashlight and noticed inside the tank both holes had a jagged edged metal flap holding on to the inside, perpendicular to the tank wall. I was able to remove both of them with a finger as they were barely hanging on by very little metal. They appear to have been punched inward as part of the manufacturing process. This seems very sloppy to me, and to leave bare metal exposed to begin rusting.

They are only 0.35mm thick. Tell me that's not the thickness of my inner tanks walls?!? They are coated with a glossy grey finish on one side(inner side I think), and a matte grey finish on the other side.


So I'm hoping they are just some remnant of how they attach the element ports, and not samples of my tanks interior. Water heater tanks are at least a mm or two thick right???


IMG_2200.JPG
IMG_2201.JPG
 
Last edited:
Back
Top