Just wanted to add my experience to this thread, in case anyone bumps into it in the future.
- Water heater installed by previous owner with Direct Energy June 2004 - 50 gallon direct vent
- I purchased the water heater from DE Jan 2013 for ~500$
- Today, I decided to replace the anode rod inside of it (original to the water heater) to extend my investment in the unit (funny how rental companies never replace this consumable component of the water heater .. almost like they want it to fail early, so they can lock you in into an even more expensive unit down the road..)
I purchased the anode rod from Home hardware for 22$ + tax. 1 1/16" socket from Canadian Tire (~8$) - these only come in 1/2" socket wrench. Most home owners / kits use 3/8" so be aware!
First attempt: Use 14" long breaker bar. No go. No matter how much I tried, 8 years of buildup in the tank (and the fact that these bolts are connected to the tank via impact wrench in the factory) made sure that I would never be able to open it. In addition, the long breaker bar was actually moving the tank! So be careful if this is what you attempt to do.
Second attempt: Borrow friend's 1/2" 8 amp (350lb/ft) wired electric impact wrench. It had the old anode off in about 3 seconds!
Condition of original anode: Surprisingly ~75% was still there! BUT Downtown Toronto water has very high calcium content (any home owner with humidifier knows this well) There was ~2mm crust around the entire anode.
I wrapped teflon tape around the bolt, inserted it into the hole, and used the electric impact wrench to tighten it back down (having this thing is a life saver, as it allows you to easily work in tight spots and doesn't twist / move the water heater!!) Turned the water back on, and made sure there were no leaks. I also confirmed with a volt meter that there's perfect continuity between the bolt of the anode and one of the copper pipes going into the tank. This confirmed that the entire tank was well connected to the anode, and that it could do its job!
Entire process beginning to end (if you have all your tools and components lined up): 15 minutes.
Good luck all with extending the life of your water heater!
- Water heater installed by previous owner with Direct Energy June 2004 - 50 gallon direct vent
- I purchased the water heater from DE Jan 2013 for ~500$
- Today, I decided to replace the anode rod inside of it (original to the water heater) to extend my investment in the unit (funny how rental companies never replace this consumable component of the water heater .. almost like they want it to fail early, so they can lock you in into an even more expensive unit down the road..)
I purchased the anode rod from Home hardware for 22$ + tax. 1 1/16" socket from Canadian Tire (~8$) - these only come in 1/2" socket wrench. Most home owners / kits use 3/8" so be aware!
First attempt: Use 14" long breaker bar. No go. No matter how much I tried, 8 years of buildup in the tank (and the fact that these bolts are connected to the tank via impact wrench in the factory) made sure that I would never be able to open it. In addition, the long breaker bar was actually moving the tank! So be careful if this is what you attempt to do.
Second attempt: Borrow friend's 1/2" 8 amp (350lb/ft) wired electric impact wrench. It had the old anode off in about 3 seconds!
Condition of original anode: Surprisingly ~75% was still there! BUT Downtown Toronto water has very high calcium content (any home owner with humidifier knows this well) There was ~2mm crust around the entire anode.
I wrapped teflon tape around the bolt, inserted it into the hole, and used the electric impact wrench to tighten it back down (having this thing is a life saver, as it allows you to easily work in tight spots and doesn't twist / move the water heater!!) Turned the water back on, and made sure there were no leaks. I also confirmed with a volt meter that there's perfect continuity between the bolt of the anode and one of the copper pipes going into the tank. This confirmed that the entire tank was well connected to the anode, and that it could do its job!
Entire process beginning to end (if you have all your tools and components lined up): 15 minutes.
Good luck all with extending the life of your water heater!