Water heater drain question

[Reach4]

They sell little wands to help wash stuff out.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Camco-RV-Water-Heater-Tank-Rinser-11691/205808422

There are some small pressure washers that can draw water from a bucket. I have wondered if one of those could have a small enough head on it to go thru the drain. Let it spill out to a tub. Suck water from the tub (off of the bottom) and run water back in.

 

[thefisch]

They sell little wands to help wash stuff out.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Camco-RV-Water-Heater-Tank-Rinser-11691/205808422

There are some small pressure washers that can draw water from a bucket. I have wondered if one of those could have a small enough head on it to go thru the drain. Let it spill out to a tub. Suck water from the tub (off of the bottom) and run water back in.

That's a need idea. I could see rinsing it from the top by removing the anode or hot water line too. I will continue to monitor the level of cloudy rusty water I see.

 

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[thefisch]

Just a follow up on this water heater. Over the last 15 months I have flushed the heater several times always finding some degree of rust color in the water. It would all come out in the first a gallon or so and then run clear. In the last six months, it seemed the amount of rust sediment increased somewhat but still within the first gallon or two. Once I actually did notice some rust colored hot water come out in the tub after the water heater sat unused for a week while on vacation (water and burner off).

Fast forward to last week and I noticed signs that the heater has started leaking - small amount of water on the ground, insulation is wet in places. Drain valve, pressure relief and piping are dry so it must be the tank. I guess the damage already done after the original anode was eaten up was too much. Time was not on my side.

Working on getting a replacement lined up. Once the old one is out, I plan to check the anode rod to see how it fared after 15 months so I have a good sense of the replacement schedule needed for the new water heater.

Might look into one of the powered anode rods for the new heater. Not dealing with a smell issue, but if my softened city water is eating anodes every two years or so then it might be worth the convenience over the long haul.

 

[thefisch]

So much for checking the anode rod put in 15 months ago during removal. All that came out was the plug with nothing on it but some corrosion. And I don't think the rest of the rod fell off during removal as there was no clanging or other sound from the near empty heater. It probably fell off months ago and was offering zero protection after that. So much for preventive maintenance!

 

[Aaroninnh]

So much for checking the anode rod put in 15 months ago during removal. All that came out was the plug with nothing on it but some corrosion. And I don't think the rest of the rod fell off during removal as there was no clanging or other sound from the near empty heater. It probably fell off months ago and was offering zero protection after that. So much for preventive maintenance!

Cruise on over to waterheatererescue.com. Buy a magnesium anode for your water heater...if its not too late.

They last far longer than the ones that come with most water heaters.

 

[thefisch]

Thanks but it is too late. The heater is already leaking. Got a replacement lined up.

For future reference, are the magnesium anodes less prone to snapping off completely like my last aluminum anode did? Not sure if the metal used contributes to the strength of the support wire or not. In my case, only the very top was still there. Just a nub, no support wire at all.

 

[Aaroninnh]

Thanks but it is too late. The heater is already leaking. Got a replacement lined up.

For future reference, are the magnesium anodes less prone to snapping off completely like my last aluminum anode did? Not sure if the metal used contributes to the strength of the support wire or not. In my case, only the very top was still there. Just a nub, no support wire at all.

I can only talk to my personal experience. The anodes seem to get eaten the most at the top near the cap. Once it is all eaten it starts chewing the wire that is at the core of the anode rod and then it just falls off into the tank.

The magnesium ones, especially the really thick ones sold by the waterheaterrescue guy, are beasts. Ive had one in for 4 years so far. I pull it out once a year and it is still nice and thick.

 

[thefisch]

Sorry in advance for the long post as I wasn't sure if I should start a new thread or not. But since this is mainly a close out to the issues raised in this thread, it made the most sense to post here.

As mentioned earlier, our 5.5 year old AO Smith water heater starting leaking despite our best efforts to prolong its life after discovering it had started rusting. The original anode was consumed by our softened water within 4 years as all we found was the support wire left. And then the replacement anode rod installed 17 months ago had snapped off since then, providing no protection, and the tank eventually rusted. Here is a photo of the original anode next to the removed nub from the second anode installed. Next to them is the aluminum rod that came out of the new heater (Rheem PROG50).

Despite the monthly flushing we've done over the last 17 months, when we removed the drain valve from the old heater even more sediment came out. Seems like you can never get all the sediment out given drain location unless you use one of those wands posted earlier. I assume the white sediment is from the breakdown of the aluminum rod stuck in there and the orange/red sediment is from the steel tank rusting.

New heater came with a nice 3/8 inch ball valve, brass drain, but we opted to reinstall the old 3/4 inch full port ball valve for faster flushing and draining. We did replace the old galvanized nipple with new, shorter brass nipple so it wouldn't stick out as far.

The reason why we pulled out the aluminum anode rod from the new heater was to install a powered anode rod. After seeing the prior anode rod had fallen off, we decided to go in another direction and give powered rod a try. We installed the Corro-Protect anode rode in the hopes of getting a longer life from this new heater without going through a few anode rod changes. Checked continuity between rod power tip and tank and there is continuity through water. Voltage has ranged between 2.6-2.8v during initial testing. Voltage checked as far down as drain valve and reading is consistent with hot and cold nipples. Apparently lower voltage is common in softened water as it is more conducive to electric current.

 

[Reach4]

You might consider clamping those copper stubs to the wall. The hot one looks like it might be putting stress onto that CPVC.

Voltage has ranged between 2.6-2.8v during initial testing.

If that test point is connected to the rod, that is higher than magnesium could produce. https://performancemetals.com/pages/sacrificial-anodes-faqs

I am concerned that the protection might not be as effective farther from the rod. Gotta be significantly more protective than a plug.

 

[thefisch]

You might consider clamping those copper stubs to the wall. The hot one looks like it might be putting stress onto that CPVC.

Good idea. Though I think that hot pipe has always been a little tilted, but still it won't hurt to secure it. I might mount a short 2x4 as a base between the pipes and wall and then clamp to that.

If that test point is connected to the rod, that is higher than magnesium could produce. https://performancemetals.com/pages/sacrificial-anodes-faqs

Thanks for the info as I didn't have any baseline data to compare to. I had never checked voltage before when I had a 'working' anode rod. Is more voltage 'better' or it doesn't matter?

According to Corro-Protect, supposedly it adjusts to provide 15mA:

The voltage of the Corro-Protec System will adjusts automatically depending on the resistance of your water. A very low voltage means that your water is very conductive and the anode does not need to send much current to provide adequate protection.

Corro-Protec CP-R Water Heater Powered Titanium Anode Rod (40-89 Gallon Tank) - Eliminate Odor (Sulfur/rotten egg smell), Corrosion and Reduce Limescale

Based on anecdotal voltages share in reviews of the product by others with softened water, their voltage appears comparable. Does anyone have voltage readings on other powered anodes in softened water?

I am concerned that the protection might not be as effective farther from the rod. Gotta be significantly more protective than a plug.

Yea, definitely better than a plug. When I pulled that plug out, my spirit just sank. After looking up issues with removing stuck or broken anode rods, I thought that I don't want to do this each year.

In regards to the anode being effective farther from the rod, I took voltage readings from the power tip of the anode to many points on the tank. Even at the lowest point at the drain valve, I got the exact same reading as the anode shaft and hot/cold nipples. Unless there is a better way to test that, it appears the voltage did not degrade at the farthest point I could measure.