Found out my 12-year-old water heater was supposed to have a sacrificial anode rod the whole time

Was poking around under the house after a slow leak and stumbled on a forum post that said those rods are meant to be replaced every 5 years, now I'm wondering if I should just swap the whole unit or try to fish out the old one with my impact driver, anyone dealt with a seized anode rod before?

2 comments

2 Comments

james_butler25d ago

Oh man, that "supposed to have a sacrificial anode rod" line hits home lol. A buddy of mine had this exact same thing happen with his 15-year-old tank last summer. He tried fishing the old rod out with a breaker bar and some PB Blaster and it literally snapped off inside the tank after like 20 minutes of cussing. The rust had basically welded it in place so he just said screw it and bought a new water heater. Honestly if your unit is already 12 years old and leaking I'd probably just swap the whole thing. By the time you fight with that seized rod you might find out the tank is rusted through somewhere else too. Plus my friend said the new one has way better insulation and his gas bill dropped like 15 bucks a month.

wendygrant25d agoMost Upvoted

@james_butler you are not wrong about that. I watched my neighbor go through the same thing with a seized rod, snapped it clean off and he just gave up. At 12 years old with a leak already starting, the tank is probably done anyway. Newer models are way more efficient too, that gas bill drop sounds nice.