Decided this weekend to start the process of de-winterizing the Pod for another camping season. So I thought I'd share with all of you the reason why you should always pull out your anode rod when you put your camper up for the season. I believe this is the culprit that caused one of my faucets to stop up at the valve and its only a 2 year old rod!

 

Yeah, maybe, but that looks pretty good for a two year old anode.  I don't know where the sacrificial material goes -- I thought it dissolved, but even if it flakes off, removing and flushing the screen at faucet is norma., trivial, maintenance.

That anode rod doesn't look bad at all.

TT

Tar, I hate to see what a really bad one looks like!

If the only concern was maybe screwing off a screen to flush out a faucet I wouldn't care. But I think I can safely bet the bank that it was flacks from this anode rod that plugged up my cold water supply at the bathroom sink while on an outing this past season. I ended up having to remove the faucet valve and blowing out the water line with compressed air to clear the obstruction of what looked like little whitish/silver flakes. Which is very suspiciously similar to my eye to this corroded anode rod. Maybe its just a coincident, maybe not, so why not remove, inspect and replace every so often, they are cheap enough.  

http://fivestarplumbingcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/anode-rod-replace.jpg%20 - http://fivestarplumbingcompany.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/08/anode-rod-replace.jpg

TT

The anode material does dissolve, it enters the water in ionic form, keeping the less reactive steel water heater tank from doing so instead.  Or at least that is how its supposed to work..... 

Tars posted an informative link to a chart of anode wear..... except...... it's for home hot water tanks not RV's and I've been told, right or wrong, there is a difference. I understand the theory, offgird, but I have to be honest I am perplexed as to why an RV anode in a short time will dissolve but that most home hot water tank anodes will outlive the heater. What's up with that I wonder???

I have NO idea if our little 6 gallon RV water heaters are glass-lined, but I would assume not, since they also are heated externally from a propane burner that is heating up the steel tank itself. 

The illustration is accurate for any hot water heater anode as to showing what used up looks like.

TT

Suburban says our tanks are porcelain lined. So DavMar, you are asking a good question, I don't know why the anodes in our RV tanks might disappear faster than in home tanks. They could have about the same surface area of exposed steel (presumably just the fittings), so I could see them using up the anode at about the same rate, maybe.

I haven't personally experienced the RV anodes going faster, and now that I've been using a tankless home water heater for several years I don't have anything to compare it to. Is that the general experience on the forum? 

In marinas, where some have a lot of stray current in the water while others don't, you see a big difference in how fast the sacrificial zincs protecting the propellers are eaten up.  Some make it a season or two, while others can't last even six months.  

Well that's one theory I suppose lostagain. I wouldn't think you wouldn't be having any stray current running from the tank to the anode if the heater element is off or open. Maybe its the combination or gas and electric, I don't know? I also didn't know our hot water tank is glass lined like a house hot water tank and always assumed it was stainless steel? Either way its strange how these anodes get eaten away in such a short time in a RV, like ours, compared to a house hot water tank anode.

In my case I would swear that it was flakes of this anode rod that plugged up one of my water lines since I always use filtered water. This line didn't clog until the camper was almost a couple years old which I would imagine discounts any debris left in the hot water tank, water lines, or holding tank that might of accumulated during manufacturing.

As for the marine environment and sacrificial ground anodes and why the zinc gets eaten away faster at one marina over another. I think that its possible that, at least in a salt water environment, the salinity of the water comes into play. In fresh water it maybe the PH level of the water that effects the sacrificial anode wear? Do we have a chemist among us that can tell? 

In marinas the more that current leakage occurs, the faster that galvanic corrosion takes place.  In fresh water there are less minerals that can conduct electricity, but that doesn't mean that there are none.  The more minerals in fresh water the faster the corrosion can take place.  If you are running pure Sierra Nevada snow melt water in your fresh water system of your Pod, I suspect you will get years of use from your anode rod.  [Which has been my experience as this is what I usually use to fill our water tank and our anode rod has been in the water heater 3 years and is barely corroded.]  If you draw your water from a place that provides water for a mineral bath resort, I'll bet you will find your anode rod will get used up much faster, especially if there is current introduced from the place where the burned up calrod used to be attached.

But, I will certainly defer to corrosion experts who know far, far more than I do about the process of galvanic corrosion.  I did google the issue, though, and found several sites that discuss the quetion.  Basically, they say that when dissimilar metals are exposed to a conductive liquid and some kind of electrical contact, galvanic corrosion will take place.  The idea of using aluminum, zinc, or magnesium on sacrificial anode rods is that they are more susceptible to corrosion, thus, as long as they are present they will corrode first.  Here is one of the articles:   http://www.assda.asn.au/technical-info/technical-faqs/galvanicdissimilar-metal-corrosion - https://www.assda.asn.au/technical-info/technical-faqs/galvanicdissimilar-metal-corrosion

The difference between most people's water heater anode rod durability and that of the water heater in the Pod is exposure to electric current.  Most gas water heaters are not connected to a 120vac system unless there is a recirculating pump.  Thus, the electricity they get is what gets in through the ground, conductive water and or metal pipes.  [Another advantage to pex plumbing, I suppose.]  The less electric current exposure, the more slowly the anode rod is consumed.  In the Pod, on the other hand, there is 12vac supplied to the tank via the calrod and even though the current leakage may be minimal, it's still there.  Add high mineral [conductive] water and you'll be replacing anode rods regularly, but at least your water heater is protected.  I suppose the next question is how big are the anode rods in an electric water heater and how long do they last.  I asked Google and she wouldn't tell me.

That's a pure spitball, but I'd put it up against the other possibilities.

Here's an article saying that aluminum anodes in particular are prone to fall apart in the tank. Once the particles are no longer connected to the tank electrically they will probably stop becoming ionized in solution and would just rattle around in there or get sucked into the water lines. 

https://www.bostonstandardplumbing.com/water-heater-maintenance-the-sacrificial-anode/ - https://www.bostonstandardplumbing.com/water-heater-maintenance-the-sacrificial-anode/

The other (potential) issue is the PH of the water in your well. You get what you get, but the odds of it being neutral PH are probably slim.

I will also put poltergeists on our checklist.    

BTW, in looking at this I saw several articles raise concerns about the possible health effects of aluminum and al/zinc anodes. If you're concerned about such things you might want to be sure to get a magnesium rod. 

Good grief I've turned loose monster with this thread, but I believe lostagain has come up with the most logical conclusion, poltergeists!

GlueGuy is also right that not all water is alike, so maybe will just chalk this up as a combination of multitude of factors, okay?

By the way this time around I went with a Magnesium rod so we shall see if that makes any difference?

I wonder if they make a potassium anode?  Then I wouldn't have to bring along so many bananas.  

I don't understand the fear of the Pod water tank.  You probably have a better idea what's in your Pod's water tank than what is in your municipal water.  At least if you maintain it properly and pay attention to what you put in it.  Of course if you're afraid of, don't drink it.

TT

If you put potassium in the water heater you'll have the additional benefit of not needing to use any propane to heat it, or the pod itself for that matter. Potassium  in water evolves hydrogen gas and you'll get a nice little Hindeberg.

offgrid, of course pure potassium is a little exciting to put in water, but that nice potassium chloride I buy at Costco for my water softener seems to have really cut down on the need to eat more bananas.  

But to get a little more on topic, magnesium anode rods are cheap and easy to find.  I compared the price between an aluminum and magnesium anode on Amazon and it was about 60¢.  And since they're not expensive in the first place, there should be no reason to ever let your anode get dissolved to the point that it doesn't protect you water heater.  If you tend to use up anodes fast, check yours frequently and have a spare available to make a prompt replacement.  And, best of all, the poltergeists will be very grateful to you and may not play in your WFCO electric panel.

I don't understand the fear of the Pod water tank.  You probably have a better idea what's in your Pod's water tank than what is in your municipal water.  At least if you maintain it properly and pay attention to what you put in it.  Of course if you're afraid of, don't drink it.

Agree with TT.  For the first 5 years of owning our 177 I never sanitized my water tank and drank out of it all the time during camping with no ill effects.  After attending the 2015 ERU in Traverse City, Michigan Furpod corrected and informed me that this is to be done (sanitizing) on a regular, yearly basis and said I was very lucky that I never got sick, or worse.  So since the fall of 2015 I have indeed sanitized once a year to be safe.  Having said that, I have no qualms of drinking our well water out of the spigot from our FW tank on the 177.  Good stuff !  No worries !

ROLF!!!

What a relief now that I replaced the anode with a magnesium rod. So I hope that I will never have to worry about those pesky poltergeists again haunting my WFCO converter since after doing an exorcism with replacing it to a Progressive Dynamics unit. Just the thought of being haunted once more brings chills of fright to my bones not to mention my legs camps again!

I recall as a child our parents warning us about not drinking gutter water because we could get polio.  Several defied this common sense warning and nothing happened.  The called those of us who wouldn't scaredy cats.  Sadly for one, he drank the gutter water and it ended badly.  

Dave, just bring lots of bananas for those leg cramps, and remember to sacrifice a chicken on the Webber regularly.  The poltergeists especially like beer can chicken with a nice rub.  

I should admit that I'm still a little bumfuzzled about the idea that I might burn down half of California and kill scores if not hundreds of people if I use use a 50 amp dogbone.  Now we're all going to get polio if we drink from the Pod potable tank?  At the risk of being ironic, how do you spell "hyperbole"?

There are risks to just about anything.  Have you heard what can happen when you drive a car, take a bath, or eat sushi? Maybe you don't do any of those things either, but it seems a little much to suggest that no one else should either.

What about pulling a Pod with under-inflated tires?  That can end badly. Would you say no one should pull a Pod down the road since sometimes people don't properly maintain their air pressure?

With a just little care even the risks of using a Pod freshwater tank for drinking water can be minimized to a point most people would accept the risk -- and not end up in the emergency room or morgue from drinking water out of it.

Proper maintenance is obviously important with the tank, tires, and everything else.  I'm not saying otherwise, but I do think it's absolutely possible for reasonable people to feel and be safe using the Pod tank for drinking water.

TT

I think a lot of this comes from what you're used to. For me not drinking unfiltered water from taps is just second nature.  I spent years overseas in places where no one does it who wants to ever be more than 5 feet from a bathroom, and if the waiter at the restaurant brings you a bottle of water with the seal broken you make then take it back. I've had the Delhi Belly to prove the need for that one . 

So, I don't do it at home in NC, I only use the filtered fridge water, and I put all that plumbing in and sanitized it myself, but the city water pressure can be variable due to power outages there. I'm in Hawaii right now and they all have rainwater catchments here with various qualitylevels of filtration and I don't drink it here either.  So, not drinking the tank water in the rPod is just a matter of course for me. 

But absolutely you can be safe drinking the pod tank water done properly, and everyone is free to do as they want, no reason for an argument about it. 

My point was that one should not feel pressured by others into drinking water that may be unsafe by with the suggestion that one is "afraid" or fearful.  Choosing to avoid drinking tank water is not a decision based on fear, it's a decision based on rational thought and an understanding of the basic science of biology.  

For heaven's sakes, I am probably more aware of the risks people take than a large majority of Americans as I spent 35 of my 46 year law practice defending the consequences of taking risks, whether a manufacturer, a driver, a doctor, or pretty much anyone else in our society.

Of of course we take risks every nanosecond we are alive.  And as I stated previously in another thread, when people take risks, they have to own up to responsibility for the consequences.  If someone wants to drink tank water that is infected with a bacteria and dies as a result, I will express my sorrow at the loss of a fellow human being, but may also nominate him/her for a Darwin award.  If someone takes risks that hurt other people, then I expect that person to be honest and ethical enough to accept responsibility for the consequences and fully compensate the person or people s/he hurt.  

I don't care that people who are experienced in drinking tank water do it.  If they get sick, it ain't my problem unless they don't tell me and offer me a glass of kool aide made with contaminated water and I get sick.  Then I'll be, well, a little irritated.  My point in raising the bacteria issue here is that a lot of people lack experience with trailers or other "RV" tank water systems and don't realize that they really need to be careful water hygiene.  Once they know and they choose to drink it, as I said, "go for it."  

Oh, and by the way, we now have a very effective vaccine against polio, but I still follow my parents sage advice and don't drink gutter water.

polyethylene terephthalate

That is what bottled water comes in. 

Dang, sometimes I get the impression that someone is trying to kill me.  

Fred, answer me this if the poltergeist get sick from eating my beer can chicken because they get aluminum poisoning from the can or sick from the cheap beer does this mean I will be forever haunted by the ghost of lawyers past?

Oh well lets just fret ourselves silly over to drink from a water from the tank or not? Me, since I have a aversion to microbial poltergeist swimming in my water tank just hand me another cheap brewski! 

 

But not to worry, you can buy really cool stainless steel beer can chicken racks on Amazon such as  http://www.amazon.com/Cave-Tools-Beer-Chicken-Roaster/dp/B01IRDA9D4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=beer+can+chicken+rack+stainless+steel&qid=1554397485&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1 - https://www.amazon.com/Cave-Tools-Beer-Chicken-Roaster/dp/B01IRDA9D4/ref=sr_1_2_sspa?keywords=beer+can+chicken+rack+stainless+steel&qid=1554397485&s=gateway&sr=8-2-spons&psc=1  and they don't present the brain killing aluminum issue nor will you be hounded by bogus lawsuits for all eternity by the law firm of Dewy, Cheatham, and Howe [thanks Click and Clack].

But the chicken better be tasty, or that can be risky too.  Poltergeists and old senile lawyers, such as your's truly, can be real finicky about the chicken.  

And as for drinking water, I try to do as the locals do, but that doesn't always work so well.  I ended up with the bacteria that causes stomach ulcers, which 80% of people in developing countries have and now I can't get rid of it.  What the heck, the water looked ok when it was in the glass.  

I learned the hard way in México DF not to eat in good restaurants.  I followed the advice of some of my colleagues and did so, promptly coming down with a case of Montezuma's revenge.  But, I got rid of it quickly by going to a nearby street taco stand and ordering some wonderfully delicious tacos of carne asada and al pastor.  The next day I was back to normal.  A word of caution, though, always look for street taco stands that are busy.  

   

No ice or any food that touches ice

Water from sealed bottles only

No uncooked vegetables unless I washed them myself using bottled water

No fresh fruit unless peeled by me

Meat well done (or very well done in Francophone countries)

Brush teeth using bottled water (or beer if need be)

Keep mouth closed while showering

And if the street taco stand guy coughs in his hand and then fills your taco don't eat that either 

Once I started that regimen I never again got sick, and that incudes trips to some really challenging places in West Africa. I decided I'd rather live through the experience even if it was slightly inconvenient or I missed out on a potential culinary delight. 

In the rPod I follow the same rules except for the meat and ice since I know where those came from. 

Even in finest restaurants in the world, you can't be certain what goes on in the kitchen, where Typhoid Mary is the chef.  

I traveled in mostly European and Lat.Am. countries and in many, you can be a little less vigilant.  In México, for example, just be sure to drown those delicious street vendor tacos in lime juice and hot sauce and you'll be fine.  For me, I usually get sick a couple weeks after trying to adjust to the food and water here.  When I go to Colombia I'm fine.  In most places I drink the water from the tap, eat the local fruit and vegies, etc.  It's when I'm trying to readjust to here that I get JoeBob's revenge.

I'm happy to be a bit risk averse when it comes to what I eat and drink. I'm not a gourmet, if its wholesome and savory I'll eat it and then happily eat the same thing again the next day. 

I'll save up my risk taking for flying around in the clouds in little airplanes and other things that are really fun for me. 

 

We have been carrying stainless water bottles for some time. Way lighter than glass, and they won't leach like any plastic.

At my age, it's too late to worry much about the risk of all those dangerous chemicals they put in most plastic food and water containers.  I've already been hopelessly poisoned.  So I'll just spend that money for the SS containers on intoxicants, that will also kill me.

Haven’t you learned by now its better living through chemicals! I’m hoping that my many years of ingesting polymer compounds have more or less embalmed my body and ensured for me a long life!

I also do a mean beer can chicken that even Typhoid Mary would be proud of but the trouble is getting up the nerve to sacrifice a good beer into the chicken gut and not mine!

And to zing it up a bit, I use a little bit of this:

As for the plastic resins, plasticizers, polymers and such, I already am starting to feel like a Gunther von Hagens Body Works exhibit as it is.  

I have to confess, I've only made rubs from internet recipes.  I'll have to try some of the Webber.  Our biggest problem is getting the chicken to sit upright in the Smokey Joe and keeping it burning hot enough for long enough.  With the full size Webber, it's a breeze, but I don't want to lug that thing along on a trip.

Originally posted by offgrid Warning, warning, danger Will Robinson. We've gone from de-winterization to food prep and bacteria infested carcinogenic water tanks. I do believe we are all suffering from a wee bit of the dreaded THREAD DRIFT

Its expected, its like oil or tire threads, on the motorcycle forum I'm on. As winter goes on and it comes to an end its all this pent up frustration of not being able to get out and hit the road. I assure you soon we will be back to normal, what ever that is? 

Originally posted by lostagain And eating bananas to ward off leg cramps.  Not to mention chicken recipes and poltergeists.

Ah! Bananas that's the solution to everything! And here I always thought it was beer and chickens!