How To Replace Your Water Heater Anode Rod

[walter636]

Good job, well done! Teflon tape should be wrapped in the opposite direction. 3 or 4 turn is sufficient.

[PlayerK90]

You should probably open a tap after draining the 5 gallons or so once your done. Heating the tank up with air in our is not suggested the extra pressure is hard on your taps

[jerk151]

Thank you Sir. I appreciate the time you have taken to put this together. You and your family have Happy Holidays.

[nylox2004]

Great video and very well explained. I had never even thought about replacing my anode rod until I notice how expensive water heaters have become. They've nearly tripled in price since I bought mine9 years ago. You really like your teflon tape though. Holy cow,! :) It should come out nice and easy next time though.

[CCWSig]

lol I was saying "that's too much" but hey if it works.

[unclematt3]

Very nice job and very helpful. Thank you!

[catherinewhelton]

The video was very helpful, but I have a hot water storage tank. It looks like an electric water heater and it is 25 years old. It has never had the anode removed. Should I try to replace the anode, or should I just buy a new tank. The tank looks new, but it is 25 years old. Please advise. Thanks. Cathy

[HouseImprovements]

@catherinewhelton Well Cathy I guess I would try to replace the anode rod first. If that does not work then the tank.

[machineman1901]

i just replaced my anode rod and im still geting dark dirty water.which was the reason that i replaced my anode rod. can you help me please!

[HouseImprovements]

@machineman1901 You could try completely draining your tank (there should be a drain valve near the bottom) but usually this leads to more trouble.#1 the valve to drain your tank never gets used enough and can be hard to open and close properly,#2 after draining the tank some sediment can get trapped in the valve and cause it to not close all the way,#3 the drain will not drain everything out so you still will have some sediment even after you do this.Wait a couple of days and see what happens.

[HouseImprovements]

@machineman1901 This is normal because all water heaters end up with a layer of sediment settling to the bottom overtime.When you change your anode rod this sediment gets stirred up and can take a few days to settle down again.

[d46512]

Incredible job. Thank you.

[bkyoung1997]

How old was that anode rod you took out?

[HouseImprovements]

@bkyoung1997 It was about 3 years old.

[Gooberwalla]

Are you Canadian, eh? You set the standard for how such videos should be done. Now I am going to change the anode rod in the water heater myself.

[qasion]

How can I tell when my water heater was installed?

[HouseImprovements]

@qasion Most water heaters have the date of manufacture in the serial number but each one can be different, so I would suggest that you talk to your local supplier in case they can help you. As far as when it was installed some installers will write on the water heater a date but I take it yours did not. The only other hint maybe if you can find the gas inspection permit which is usually attached to a gas line near to the heater. Good luck

[qasion]

@HouseImprovements Mine is electric heater,,but I looked at the serial number ,,it's starts with 02 so i guess it's 2002. Thanks.

[edbradl]

Great video! I will definitely check out more of your stuff!

For those with difficulty loosening the rod, This Old House has a great video that emphasizes how you get the rod out. Search water heater on their site.

[TheEaglesforever]

Thanks heaps Shannon .... very helpful , but I noticed when you wrapped the tape you went clockwise ( I thought tape went anti - clockwise , for clockwise thread ) and was told by some tradesmen to rough - up thread ( only slightly ) with a hacksaw blade to stop tape from slipping on the thread ... is this correct info ?

Again thanks heaps .... you saved me some hard earned money .

[WinterHaven]

My anode is absolutely STUCK on there SOLID. How on God's earth did you manage to get that loosened??? I mean it's STUCK!

[HouseImprovements]

@WinterHaven One guy holding the whole tank (think bear hug), and me pulling on the ratchet, actually I used a breaker bar. Yeah, these can be in SUPER tight.

[WinterHaven]

@HouseImprovements I tried so hard to remove it I ruined the screw thing. Looks like I'm stuck with what I have. Well, it's 8 years old. I drain it about 2 times a year so it should hold up.

[glenn2226]

Part II...GE must have put these anode nuts in with a pneumatic gun! Might dress the situation when you have stripped threads in that anode boss...explain where to get an industrial bottoming tape or 3/4-14 thread chaser It's tough finding when you start on a Saturday afternoon and can't find the proper tooling if you run into this!

[glenn2226]

Good video...straight forward....have a 40 gal GE tank, only 7 yrs old, decided to change anode rod. Broke that anode nut loose.....but come to find out that it was stripping the threads in the tank boss as well as the threads on the old anode nut. Forget about going to Lowe's/Home Depot/Ace/NAPA/Auto Zone to find a 3/4"-14 thread chaser to clean out the damaged thread. Part I....limited by characters.

[brendanrocky]

Hey, nice video. I appreciate this and I learned something today! Thanks.

Rocky, just a homeowner in Indiana

[jonnykegz]

Thank-you for taking the time to produce this helpful video!

[Lburk1]

You produced a nice and very helpful video. But I do have one thing for you to remember. I speak with 33 years in the plumbing trade in the field as well as being a plumbing instructor.

By putting 8-10 wraps of teflon tape on a thread you prevent the thread from fully seating. All you need is 1-2 wraps of teflon tape and starting at the bottom of the threads. You should also use a little bit of a pipe dope which acts as a lubricant while tightening down any thread.

[HouseImprovements]

@Lburk1 Thank-you for your helpful insight and information,it is always nice to get some positive response from a well experienced professional in the trade.Please keep watching our videos!