Review on 🚱 44" Aluminum Zinc Anode Rod for Water Heaters - Eliminate Rotten Egg Smell, Fits GE, Rheem, Kenmore & More - Includes Hex Socket Tool and Teflon Seal - Upgraded Design by James Jack

I came across an ad on Facebook that said you could extend the life of your water heater. As a service technician, I read ads and watched several videos that suggested that replacing the sacrificial anode in a water heater could extend the life of the water heater. The anode in our water heater was about 15 years old and was never changed. I've already experienced corrosion and arcing with one of the heating elements, I had to replace it a few years ago and decided I should replace the sacrificial anode. I watched a few YouTube videos on how to do this and ordered this part, I particularly liked the fact that it came with a thin wall socket that fitted the small recessed hole in the top of my water heater (I had 3 sockets with the right size nut, but they were thick walled). This segmented anode is easier to place in the tank when it has limited top clearance. I sprayed the nut with anti-corrosion compound to make it easier to remove. As you can see from the photos, my former sacrificial anode is completely rusted down to steel wire and even part of the wire fell to the bottom of the tank. There was over 2 inches of sediment at the bottom of the tank. I decided to drain the tank completely and remove both heating elements. I then used a wet vacuum with a clear vinyl hose that could be passed through the bottom hot water heating element's threaded hole and a hot water tank flushing tool on the end of the hose to flush the tank over and over until it finally had all the sediment removed. As you can imagine, this took some time. When I first tried to insert a rod into a threaded hole, it wouldn't go through. I took a picture of the hole (I couldn't see over the tank and used my phone camera with a flash to see what was going on). The hole was plugged with significant mineral deposits. I used a paring knife to remove the mineral build up and then Lime-Away. The rod then slides through the hole and locks into place. I used sanitary paste for a better electrical connection than the Teflon tape that came with the unit (as recommended by several YouTube videos). I went ahead and replaced both heating elements and reassembled everything. I think the tank should last another 8-10 years, then the sacrificial anode will have to be replaced again. Do this regularly and save yourself the hassle and money of replacing the entire tank.