The Price of Your Water Heater's Electrode Tube

Water heaters go through a lot of wear and tear compared to other essential home appliances. They must be resilient enough to survive the wear brought on by cycling between hot and cold states and the damage brought on by constant water exposure.

Even though water heaters are robust, you should know how to fix them if they break down. Worn-out anode rods are a surprising cause of problems with water heaters. If you would like to learn more about the operation and troubleshooting of water heaters, keep reading. In this essay, you will learn the critical job that the part called the "anode rod" does.

Rust

Compared to the two threats—heat and water—the latter poses a much more urgent risk to the structural stability of a water heater. Since the inside walls of the water heater have been in constant contact with water for years, oxidation and rust are always risks. The steel tank's walls are oxidized to remove their electrons.

This elimination results in forming hydroxide ions, the initial step in developing rust and corrosion. Once corrosion gets going, its adverse effects quickly snowball and erode the tank walls. Without professional intervention, the walls will eventually collapse and develop severe ruptures.

Safety

All water heaters have an anode rod, which was developed primarily to increase the devices' resistance to corrosion. The anode rod, also known as the sacrificial rod on occasion, protects your tank by making itself a more desirable target for corrosion. As long as enough anode rod is left, the corrosion forces will largely disregard the tank walls.

Problems start to appear once corrosion has entirely or nearly wholly eaten away the anode. The middle steel shaft of the anode rod will eventually be all that is left. Rust will restart its assault on your tank if this condition continues. To stop this, a new anode rod needs to be installed.

Content

Now that you know the primary function of an anode rod, you might be curious to learn more about it. What, in the end, makes it more able to draw rust than the steel walls of your tank? The secret to the solution lies in the metals used to create anode rods.

The three most popular "sacrificial metals," magnesium, aluminum, and zinc, are used to make anode rods. Corrosive salts and acids can more easily bond with these metals because their electrons are substantially less tightly bound than steel ones. The chemical mechanism that causes corrosion to squander itself on the anode rod will cause it to disappear practically.

Repair

There are enough sacrificial metals in a standard anode rod to protect your tank for four to five years. By then, the rod will have almost completely disappeared. The precise timing may change depending on the chemical makeup of your water source and how frequently the tank is used.

Only a specialist should carry out the task of removing the anode rod from the tank to be appraised. Burns are a severe risk for homeowners who attempt to finish this maintenance operation independently. In addition, improper reinstallation of the rod may result in other problems for your water heater.

If you can't remember when your anode rod was last checked or replaced, don't hesitate to get in touch with the experts at the HVAC Repair Guide for a maintenance check.