[ajaye]

We recently (well last year) had a blown tank (rental) after I think 15 years

Looking around, it's a good idea to check/replace the anode rod.

How often in reality should this be checked or changed.
I see a figure of 6 years ?

As it's a rental, they have an "unofficial" maintenance of the tank every year,
am I allowed to open and check the rod? I know this can be tight and wouldnt want to bust anything.

Of if I get the company service guy in would he be pissed off, if I'm also asking him to check this as well ?

Anything else I can check on a rental "unofficially" LOL

 

[diyorpay]

Original rods by manufacturer are often (mostly?) solid type. This is because first rod can deteriorate with no consideration of ceiling height.

A replacement rod must often be a flexible, bendy type, so repair will not require removal of entire tank to accomplish.

A recent post in this forum contained pics on how difficult it can be to loosen top bolt of anode rod. Involves a lot of strapping of tank to keep it from twisting and snapping piping to tank. Is it installed so tightly by manufacturer to discourage maintenance by homeowner? Who knows?

A person who plans for such maintenance from day 1 could place new uninstalled heater on the ground, sit on it, and loosen the bolt, then retighten it but just to point it doesn't leak. No 'tite' cement etc.

In a rental, just periodically draining unit until water runs clear would be recommended.

In a recent replacement it was explained to me why there were 2 anode rods. I was getting the upgraded 10 or 12 year warranty.

https://www.diychatroom.com/f47/does-natural-gas-water-heaters-require-regular-service-678347/

 

[ajaye]

nice txs man, not sure why Youtube keeps recommending me these videos LOL,
I'll put a sticker on the heater with a reminder for them to come out and do a maintence check and get them to pull the anode at the same time

txs man !

 

[ajaye]

and will do the flush as time permits

 

[dangerdarren]

I'm not sure if draining till the water runs clear would be enough, if your getting discoloration then that's likely a sign your rod should be replaced (or risk failure again) unless there is something going on with your connections (I've seen flexible plumbing deteriorate, etc).

 

[Old Thomas]

I can never get the rod loose. I occasionally open the drain and when the water heater gives out I buy a new one.

 

[surferdude2]

Here's a link to a "This Old House" that shows how important that rod is and how to change it. I don't exactly approve of using a cheater pipe on a rachet, I'd use my breakover but they may have wanted to test the warranty on their Snap On. ‹(•¿•)›
°

 

[joecaption]

#1, I can just not imagine why "renting" a water heater is a good idea.
Just sounds like a real money maker for the rental company to me.
I use an impact wrench to remove an anode, less stress on the plumbing, and it just pops right out in seconds.
They make two piece anodes.
The only maintaince needed on a heater is to connect a garden hose to the bottom of the tank and drain for a few min. to flush out the sediment once a year, no way am I going to pay someone to do that!
How often an anode needs to be replaced depends on what minerals are in the water.
Most often the water will start smelling like rotten eggs if the anode goes bad.
Replacing the old aluminum one with a magnesium one is the way I would go.

 

[ajaye]

I use an impact wrench to remove an anode, less stress on the plumbing, and it just pops right out in seconds.

on one of the threads recommended there was a discussion on using an impact, suggested it could damage the glass/porcelain and also your average impact does not have enough torque.

I don't know either way, but that was the jist in the discussion