Hot Water Heater Anode Location

Bought this brand new 11 gallon hot water heater. There isn’t an anode listed or included. So what are your options? Can you remove the drain valve and put a magnesium anode in it’s place?
Appreciate getting educated on this.

Pgitug said:

Bought this brand new 11 gallon hot water heater. There isn’t an anode listed or included. So what are your options? Can you remove the drain valve and put a magnesium anode in it’s place?
Appreciate getting educated on this.
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Yes. It looks to be a Seaward heater. The manual will tell you to remove the drain and thread in the anode.

catalinajack said:

Yes. It looks to be a Seaward heater. The manual will tell you to remove the drain and thread in the anode.

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Thank you. I looked for a heater with an anode and found none. So this helps a lot. [emoji106]

Pgitug said:

Thank you. I looked for a heater with an anode and found none. So this helps a lot. [emoji106]

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Torrid water heaters have anodes. I just replaced the anode in mine today.

The new unit is installed! The drain was taken out and an eight inch magnesium anode installed[emoji844]

Is the "drain" you are talking about on the upper right in the picture? That is an over pressure valve that would not drain the tank. If that is the drain referred to, how is that put back on after the anode is installed? If the valve is not re-installed, the hot water heater could become a pressure cooker with no pressure relief valve.

I've only had it happen once on a boat (and once at home), but somehow the temperature switch got stuck and the water boiled. The pressure relief valve worked, and since it was plumbed properly, a hose from the valve shot the boiling water into the bilge. There was enough steam so that the ER smoke detectors went off. Plenty exciting even without the tank blowing up.

I don't have an anode on my HW heater, vintage 1981. I wouldn't install one now instead of the pressure relief valve.

Nevermind. I looked closer at the picture and now see the drain. Mine doesn't have that setup. Only a pressure relief valve.

Marco Flamingo said:

Nevermind. I looked closer at the picture and now see the drain. Mine doesn't have that setup. Only a pressure relief valve.

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The anode is 8” long and fit really well. If I want to drain the tank I’ll just unscrew the anode which was installed with teflon tape. [emoji106]

I have the same heater and found the drain valve very tough to remove, was it the case for you?

L

Lou_tribal said:

I have the same heater and found the drain valve very tough to remove, was it the case for you?

L

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Mine was brand new. But yes it was tight. The valve was installed with pipe dope from the factory. Might be easier with some hot water poured on it.

Devils advocate here.
Why did you install an anode if the manufacturer did not see it to be necessary on a one metal tank?
Also the teflon tape on the anode thread 'may' eliminate conductivity.

I'm also curious and would like to bring closure to this topic as I have a similar water heater. I pulled the manual and it says something to the effect "in a small number of instances tap water may have sufficient concentrations of dissolved salts to cause corrosion of the water tank. An anode may be used in these cases".
But like i suspect many, my water heater has never had an anode in it, 10 yrs old and going strong, so I'm wondering how many boaters actually do this? Of course we know its not like the other anodes that are constantly subjected to saltwater as in the engine cooling system.
Perhaps its only needed in certain regions where the city (dock) water is high in salt, or poor quality.....?

Pure fresh water doesn't conduct electricity very well so even with dissimilar metals in the tank, there is little corrosion. As stated in the manual you quoted, if the water in the tank has enough dissolved salts, the water can become conductive enough where galvanic corrosion can cause a problem. So just like on a boat, a sacrificial anode is beneficial. Some tanks come with an anode preinstalled .There would have to be a tapped plug available to be able to add an anode where one did not exist.

Ken

kchace said:

Pure fresh water doesn't conduct electricity very well so even with dissimilar metals in the tank, there is little corrosion. As stated in the manual you quoted, if the water in the tank has enough dissolved salts, the water can become conductive enough where galvanic corrosion can cause a problem. So just like on a boat, a sacrificial anode is beneficial. Some tanks come with an anode preinstalled .There would have to be a tapped plug available to be able to add an anode where one did not exist.

Ken

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While pure fresh water does not conduct electricity, the only place you can get it is from a lab.

We have no idea what is lurking in the pipes we take our water from.

https://water-research.net/index.php/drinking-water-issues-corrosive-water-lead-copper-aluminum-zinc-and-more

One of the issues with the anode, is that they are suspended with an iron rod. Once the anode is dissolved, the iron is exposed to water and an iron eating bacteria. When the bacteria dies it gives off gas which smells like rotten eggs. Ask me how I know.

That is the exact tank I put into my Tug 2 years ago. Like others here, the shutoff valve was very tight, so I left it in place and did not replace it with the anode. The previous tank lasted 14 years (without an anode), so I am fine with that.
Using an anode should not be a problem as Gordon described if it is removed for draining annually. It's condition can be checked then. Anodes don't last forever

Using teflon tape to help seal the threads will not affect the conductivity. Many people even use it on engine anodes and have checked for continuity using a meter. On the engine, if used at all, I would use Rector Seal #5 rather than tape.