Water heater surgery – remove the anode = remove the smell
![25107d1254398835-diode-gas-hot-water-heater-anode-rod-cutaway[1]](http://thesalmonfarm.org/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/11/25107d1254398835diodegashotwaterheateranoderodcutaway1.jpg "25107d1254398835-diode-gas-hot-water-heater-anode-rod-cutaway[1]")
The farmhouse is cursed with horrific well water … not bad, not terrible, HORIBLE! The water residential water goes through a pH balance, water softener, and deodorizer before entering a large pressure tank. From there, it is either served as "cold" water or goes through the geothermal preheater and then the electric hot water heater tank.
This setup is far from ideal but is the fact. The problems are numerous. First, there is no such thing as cold water in the summer time because the nice cold water from the well ends up sitting in a 30+ gallon pressure tank in the utility room which on a typical summer day is between 75-80 degrees F. The tank is needed for the pressure flow toilets. Given that the tank ends up with warm water in the summer and there is a geothermal preheater in the winter, I should have installed an instant hot water system. But, the holding tank was a last minute fix. Alternately, the pressure tank could be a lot smaller. I only need about 2 gallons since the toilets are the only "high rate" consumers and they are 1.5gpf.
If this were not complex and strange enough, I noticed that, even with the high capacity deodorizer, the hot water still smelled of "well aged eggs". I was not sure who to call – the well contractor who installed the water treatment system, the HVAC contractor who installed the geothermal preheater and the electric hot water tank, or the plumber who hooked everything up ? I started with the well contractor. They said the problem was with the hot water tank. The plumber agreed. The HVAC contractor agreed to. So, who do you think had to fix the problem ? The home owner !
All three contractors said the same thing, "it’s the anode in the hot water heater – we don’t know why but that’s the problem". All three contractors gave the same solution, "just take out the anode and cut it off". So, while the anode has a good purpose, the bad water wins hands down.
Anodes are not installed to be removed even though they are meant to be replace – figure that one out. They are torqued in so tight, it is all but impossible to remove it without the hot water tank turning and busting off the in/out feeds. So, I turned off the water and released the pressure in the hot water tank. then I rotated the tank into an open area of the utility room. Lowered the 1-/16" socket and extension; attached the ratchet handle and about 3 feet of pipe and began yanking on the thing until it started to give.
The extracted anode was gross – after only 6 months ! I cut it off so all that was left was the threaded head and about 1/2" of rod. I reinserted this "spud" with some plumber’s tape and tightened it all back together. Since the in/out feeds were CPVC, I trimmed where I had cut and glued on socket fittings (my new favorite part) so i can decouple the tank without cutting and splicing the next time. I shifted the tank back into position and connected up the feeds before turning the water back on. I run all the hot water out of the tank and filled it with cold water before turning the electricity back on. – this let me know I was starting with a clean slate. Once the water was back up to temp, i tried the shower since it was the most prevalent "offender". it was the first "refreshing" shower in months!
I may order a new anode rod that is meant to not cause the odor problem (aluminum/zinc/tin) but then again, as I am serious about the tankless system, I may just leave it and see how many years i get out of a defenseless hot water tank. <cruel intensions>
If your water is treated before it gets to the hot water heater, the anode may not prolong the life of the heater all that much. There are so many people who never bother to replace the anode they get with a new water heater and some still get 15 or 20 years out of the heater. And I’ve even known folks to get that lucky without treating their water like you are. It is interesting that you found it already deteriorating- perhaps some accelerated reaction to one of the treatment chemicals or processes?
Further investigation showed than anode was not deteriorating but rather was covered with a thick combination of indescribable stuff.
Hmm. Weird. So the well water is rife with all manner of minerals and such that give it the poor quality. The water softener basically adds salt to the water, does it not? The anode is responsible for galvanic protection of the tank. So what I’m wondering is if the yucky goop on the anode is an amalgam of organic material that’s bonded to the various mineral ions in the water which is why it’s all attracted to the anode. Sounds like an interesting chemistry experiment you have going there.
Too bad that R/O systems are so bloody inefficient, might be a good idea in this case. But it’s not very green to get 5-10 gallons out of every 100 or so processed.
yeah – like I said, no one could explain why the hot water was smelling bad, only that they knew exactly how to fix it
As for the water softener, it does not actually *add* salt. It has a filter system to remove much of the minerals of the hard water and the salt is only used during the system flush phase. From what I can tell, there is some specific mineral in minor concentrations left. This mineral reacts with the anode to create H2S (hydrogen Sulfide) which is what smells so bad. removing teh anode means the trace minerals are still in the water the the H2S is not.
Think of the system as an insideout boat.Too much galvanic protection creates a scale buildup on the zinc/not enough and boat parts start to dissapear.I’m wondering which process will sucome your heater?
My plan is to inspect it in about 6 months and see what I find. As they say, “time will tell”