Mine is about 10 years old. We have crappy had limestone water, great for bourbon distilling apparently, horrible for the household.

Do some water heaters not have replaceable anode rods?
I looked at the top of mine and I sure can’t find where one would be. Even checked under the sticker on the top.

I have been a bit lazy and not drained it in probably 5 years. Should I still drain it or has all that sediment essentially hardened on the bottom and I would just be wasting my time?

Are you sure they're not on the side rather than the top? Mine always went in the side when I had tanked water heaters.

Most, if not all, tanked water heaters have replaceable anode rods as far as I’m aware. Mine went in from the top. It was fairly subtle and easy to miss. I’d recommend checking a few videos at YouTube on replacing them. You will see a variety of types.

Mine took an enormous socket and about a 3 foot cheater bar to break loose.

Have you tried googling your water heater model to find the manual? Since draining it is not that big of a deal, I would try anyway. Doing both of these things beats replacing it.

I am surprised you still have hot water after 10 years. When I had an electric water heater I drained it & cleaned the anodes annually. I replaced anodes often as cleaning became more difficult. The anodes were under a cover on the lower side. Yes, a large socket ( i think 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 & a cheater bar!

Yeah, you're toward the typical end of life at 10 years.

There was another thread about instantaneous hot water heaters recently. If you have gas at your house, I highly recommend a Rinnai tankless gas water heater when the time comes.

Haven’t had to change out the anode but have changed the heating elements in one of mine. A tip I found on YouTube saved me from having to replace the whole unit when I couldn’t get the old elements to break loose. Found a video of a guy using an impact driver so I ordered a 1 1/2” socket and it was able to get the stuck elements out without any trouble. Total investment was only about $70 for two elements and the socket. Much better than the cost of a new unit.

I believe I have found it and it is on the very edge of the tank which is kind of strange in my opinion as it’s probably less than a 1/2” from the wall of the tank.

quote:

Originally posted by 6guns:
Yeah, you're toward the typical end of life at 10 years.

There was another thread about instantaneous hot water heaters recently. If you have gas at your house, I highly recommend a Rinnai tankless gas water heater when the time comes.

We have gas and I would love a tankless water heater.
We bought the house in Nov of 2014 and replaced the water heater in December because it was original to the house and 15 years old.
The current water heater is vented with the furnace and tankless water heaters must be vented alone. The basement is finished and the cost to do a new vent was quite costly so it’s a no go.

Sorry to hear that, Black. My tankless has been great and a once a year flushing keeps it clean with no worries of tank failure. And unlimited hot water.

They have a lifespan of 10 years.

They do have anodes, it’s a 1 1/16” socket, a breaker bar and someone to hold the tank still (even filled) as a gorilla puts them in at the factory. Do not use Teflon tape or pipe dope to install the new anode as it will break the connection between the tank and the water-you want electrolysis to do its thing.

There’s a plastic cover on the top or some have a metal port that is screwed down. Anodes come in a single stick you can trim or some with a cable and they fold. They also differ from area to area, some have a welded bump on top and some are smooth to indicate what kind of anode you have already. Ps they are cheaper to order online than to get them at Ferguson Supply.

You should flush them annually. Turn off the power to it, hook up a hose to outside, you can turn off the input(cold) or not. OP I’d suggest draining, then turning on and off the input water to bust loose any settled glop.