# Water Heater



## bikerdude&dudette (Jul 13, 2007)

not really a "newbie", i ahve been full timing it for 4 years now. my 2008 31kfw's water heater started leaking from the top of the tank. i cant see the leak, but it is coming from the top under the styrafoam. i managed to get the bottom piece down enough to see the leak. anybody have any ideas? i would think a water heater would last more than 4 years.
thanks,
steve


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## Justman (Jul 22, 2006)

Is it leaking from a seam? If so, I say that it's toast.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

If it's coming from anywhere except one of the threaded connections, water in, water out, P&T valve or drain, I think you will be looking for a new one. It might be your opportunity to get a bigger water heater.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

If you have not maintained the anode rod the tank can easily have corroded in 4 years of regular use.


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

CamperAndy said:


> If you have not maintained the anode rod the tank can easily have corroded in 4 years of regular use.


So how often does an anode rod need to be replaced? We are going year four with the 21RS and the rod seems to be in decent shape.


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

thefulminator said:


> If you have not maintained the anode rod the tank can easily have corroded in 4 years of regular use.


So how often does an anode rod need to be replaced? We are going year four with the 21RS and the rod seems to be in decent shape.
[/quote]

It depends on the water, if the conductivity of the water is high it will eat it up in no time flat. As long as not much of the core support rod is exposed you can continue to use it. Once the core support rod is exposed then you have the chance of it failing and dropping the anode into the bottom of the tank.


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## Wyo-Backer (Apr 1, 2011)

I've not checked the anode rod on my camper. How does one go about checking and/or replacing the anode rod?


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

I have a Suburban water heater and haven't seen an anode rod with integral drain. I found this one today. Does anyone have any experience with them?

Anodes Tank Saver Universal


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## Scoutr2 (Aug 21, 2006)

thefulminator said:


> I have a Suburban water heater and haven't seen an anode rod with integral drain. I found this one today. Does anyone have any experience with them?
> 
> Anodes Tank Saver Universal


Some of the HW heaters in Outbacks have anode rods and some don't. It has varied over the years, from following topics here for the last 5 years. My 2007 model, built in August 2006, does not have a HW heater using an anode rod. But some later 2007 models had HW heaters that did.







Probably depended on what manufacturer gave them the best deal in any given month.

If you have an anode rod, it should be replaced yearly, if you use the heater a lot. My 2000 Coleman Bayside used an anode rod and I could get a couple years out of one, IF I drained the HW heater after each use, by removing the andode rod (which is also the drain plug) and leave it out until next use. I found that if I left the anode rod in all season, no matter how much I used the heater, it would disintegrate almost completely, leaving a white, granular residue in the bottom of the tank. I had to flush that out each spring.

The anode rod is simply the sacrificial part of the unit, lest the steel tank be compromised by its conductivity. They are fairly inexpensive, especially compared to the cost of a new HW heater.

Mike


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

My rod was about 90% shot afer only 2 years. I plan replacing this every year now. I just replaced mine 4 days ago...cost was $15.53 on Amazon.com


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## Manchester_Fan (Feb 5, 2011)

Where would a newbie look to find the anode rod? Am I to assume it is consumer replaceable if it is meant to be sacrificial?


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## SLO Outbacker (Jan 30, 2009)

I found a source on eBay that sold 2 for 19.99 plus $4 shipping.
We ahve had our original in for almost two years but it is almost shot.


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## Oregon_Camper (Sep 13, 2004)

Manchester_Fan said:


> Where would a newbie look to find the anode rod? Am I to assume it is consumer replaceable if it is meant to be sacrificial?


First find out which Hot Water Heater you have (most likely a "Suburban")....then you can simply remove the old one (using 1 1/4" socket...or close to that size)

Then buy new one. Takes all of 10 mins to complete....less if your hot water tank is already empty.


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## CdnOutback (Apr 16, 2010)

Just replaced ours. It was worn right thru after one year. We must have had some pretty potent water in our travels...


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

If yours did not come with an anode rod then the most likely reason is the tank was an aluminum tank. For the anode to be effective it has to be made of a material of a significantly less noble rating. Zinc (most common anode)is very close to aluminum on the noble scale and would not really provide any protection. For an aluminum tank you would require an magnesium anode.


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## bikerdude&dudette (Jul 13, 2007)

thanks for the help...my tank is aluminum and it is coming from the seam...looks like i am looking for a new one... the service people tell me to buy a whole new unit($425.00), but the tank itself is only $290...he also explained it is a bi**h to replace just the tank, while the new unit in whole can be done in about an hour...now i am REALLY confused....but thanks again for the help everyone...
steve


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## thefulminator (Aug 8, 2007)

Manchester_Fan said:


> Where would a newbie look to find the anode rod? Am I to assume it is consumer replaceable if it is meant to be sacrificial?


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## Manchester_Fan (Feb 5, 2011)

Thank you so much Fulminator - once again a picture is worth a thousand words! Should be easy even for a newbie to replace!

Cheers,
Tom


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## rdvholtwood (Sep 18, 2008)

Just to be safe - drain your tank first. The tank builds up pressure when in use and the rod can come flying out if its still pressurized. We usually change our anode rod every year as its pretty eaten up.

I guess either your manual or somewhere on the tank tells you if its Aluminum or Zinc?


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## cookie9933 (Feb 26, 2005)

CamperAndy said:


> If yours did not come with an anode rod then the most likely reason is the tank was an aluminum tank. For the anode to be effective it has to be made of a material of a significantly less noble rating. Zinc (most common anode)is very close to aluminum on the noble scale and would not really provide any protection. For an aluminum tank you would require an magnesium anode.


Andy,

If a water heater has an aluminum tank and no anode, would a magnesium rod do any measurable good? Our water heater is made by Atwood. Wouldn't they install an anode if such would make a real difference?

Bill


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

cookie9933 said:


> If yours did not come with an anode rod then the most likely reason is the tank was an aluminum tank. For the anode to be effective it has to be made of a material of a significantly less noble rating. Zinc (most common anode)is very close to aluminum on the noble scale and would not really provide any protection. For an aluminum tank you would require an magnesium anode.


Andy,

If a water heater has an aluminum tank and no anode, would a magnesium rod do any measurable good? Our water heater is made by Atwood. Wouldn't they install an anode if such would make a real difference?

Bill
[/quote]

To your 1st question, yes it would make a noticiable difference.

For your second one it is more complex. It is a life expectancy issue. If you run a steel tank without one in high conductivity water it can hole out in less then 2 years. The same aluminum tank could last 10 years but would still hole out. If both tanks had the correct anode rod the life of the tanks could be extended to 20 + years with proper maintenance. Compared to the average life of a trailer or of the rest of the water heater you can do the math. A $15 to $25 anode every year or two may or may not be cost effective.


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## deanintemp (Apr 3, 2007)

thefulminator said:


> If you have not maintained the anode rod the tank can easily have corroded in 4 years of regular use.


So how often does an anode rod need to be replaced? We are going year four with the 21RS and the rod seems to be in decent shape.
[/quote]
It depends on if you turn on the water heater with no water in it because you had drained it for winter and forgot to change the bypass valve in the spring. Based on experience, it lasts no longer than a few minutes! Good thing ours is duel source and the gas heat still works...


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## NoDakian (Sep 14, 2011)

What is the size of the Anode rod? I tried a 1" socket but that was to small... Does anyone know the size of it so I can buy a socket? Thanks!


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## CamperAndy (Aug 26, 2004)

NoDakian said:


> What is the size of the Anode rod? I tried a 1" socket but that was to small... Does anyone know the size of it so I can buy a socket? Thanks!


Depends on the manufacture but 1 1/16" and 1 1/8" are common. Mine is a 1 1/16"


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