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ron_whitt View Drop Down
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Posts: 261 		Direct Link To This Post Topic: hot water element corrsion
    Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 12:41pm
What do you folks do to help prevent your hw element from becoming corroded. After 3yr ours was very corroded and between that and a power surge, I had to have the element, thermosat, and reset buttons replaced. Any advice appreciated.   Thinking of surge protector now.... :)
Ron & Shirley
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1454 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 1:57pm
Dumb question, but you know the difference between the heating element and the anode, right?  I never check my heating element.  I'll just wait for it to fail seeing as I rarely use it and have propane backup.

TT
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techntrek View Drop Down
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Posts: 9062 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 4:00pm
I had the same thought, the heating element won't corrode the but anode will.   The anode is in the hole at the lower-center and will need to be checked on every 1-2 years.  I'm sure a power surge was the problem for all of the parts listed.

edit: fixed my post
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Leo B View Drop Down
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Posts: 4518 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 4:15pm
Ditto!!
Leo & Melissa Bachand
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ToolmanJohn View Drop Down
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Posts: 451 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 7:01pm
 It's possible the water you are putting into the Pod is very acidic, and did damage the element.

 The water heater anode rod is attached to the drain plug in the lowest part of the water heater tank. It is a sacrificial element, which will corrode away, instead of the inside of your water heater tank. They are dirt cheap to replace and should last about 3 years or more, unless the water you put into the Pod is very acidic, they will need to be replaced sooner.
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ron_whitt View Drop Down
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Posts: 261 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 9:26pm
Yupper guys I know the difference between anode and heating element. The tech guy showed me the heating element and it was coated quite thick with calcium. I replaced the anode rod this spring. Like I said think it was combo of calcium build up making element work harder/longer to get to temp, then storm hit while element was on and I think the surge did in the water heating (electric) part of hot water. Heating element wasn't corroded but..... coated..... with calcium. Yes I know we don't check element, just anode. Wondering about how to maybe keep calcium build up down.. Add vinegar to water system after dewinterizing and let sit in hw tank for a bit???? then dump???
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Tars Tarkas View Drop Down
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Posts: 1454 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 13 Jun 2015 at 10:39pm
I said it was a dumb question...  I don't know about a corroded/corroding heating element.  They aren't expensive, so maybe the answer is to just check it every couple or three years and replace it as you think necessary or when a failure actually occurs.

TT 
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ron_whitt View Drop Down
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Posts: 261 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2015 at 7:20am
LOL Tars no problem, like someone once said the only dumb question is the one not asked. Going to check out a video on removing the heating element. The only problem I have is moving the propane tubing out of the way to remove the heating element, not real comfortable working with the propane part of this.
Ron & Shirley
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ToolmanJohn View Drop Down
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Posts: 451 		Direct Link To This Post Posted: 14 Jun 2015 at 7:45am
 ron-whitt, I had warranty work done on my water heater when it was new because of a drip leak at the electric heating element (it was a malformed gasket O-Ring). I watch the service guy remove the parts to get to the electric element, it did not look difficult. Just a few screws, and moving things out of the way.

 Drain water from the tank, water pump off, Make sure gas is off, burn off the excess pressure with the stove top. No electricity plugged in, and battery disconnected or breaker off should make everything safe. Maybe there is a YouTube video showing the steps.

Found One: 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wBwrOO1h_E0
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