Review on ONENESS 369 (2 Pack) Anode Rod for RV Water Heater: Suburban Dometic Camper Travel Trailer Replacement Part 232767 - Magnesium with PTFE Thread Seal Teflon Tape - 1 Year Warranty Included! by Anthony Arcos

Carelessly change the anode rod! The fifth wheel I have is a used trailer and was never serviced by the original owners including changing the anode rod in the water heater. Like many RV owners, they have chosen to just let the anode rod disintegrate completely and then let the water minerals destroy the tank themselves, choosing to replace the tank every 6-9 years (in that range). If you can buy an anode rod for less than $10 a year and replace it yourself, that's certainly better than paying $400-600 every 6-9 years for a new water heater plus extremely high installation costs! The hot water element can also be replaced! On site water heaters make it as convenient as possible to maintain your own water heater and with a little maintenance water heaters can last much longer than 6-9 years! Your collection of instruction manuals will tell you what type and style of water heater you have, as well as the size of the anode rod and element your water heater requires. Oneness sells two sizes commonly required for onsite water heaters. As a first time owner and unaware of the need to replace the anode rod, this particular water heater was reinstalled about a year before the trailer was purchased and for the first 2 1/2 years I had a trailer I was unaware of. It became necessary to replace the anode rod. As a result, when I unscrewed the base from the water heater, the anode rod was completely eaten away. When I found out that this was a necessary job I ordered all the necessary parts including a wrench to be able to replace it, searched YouTube for the most detailed rod replacement video I could find and then went to mine to try luck. Because the best and most complete video I found on changing the anode rod I pretty much had everything I needed. No video has ever suggested depressurizing the hot water tank before unscrewing the old anode rod! This is necessary if you don't want a messy, dirty blast of rusty-sandy mineralized sludge covering the 360 degree circle when you remove the anode rod. There is a bleeder valve somewhere on your Suburban water heater and you must open it and relieve the pressure before removing the anode rod. In none of the videos I watched, none of the guys changing the anode rod wore goggles to protect their eyes, and when an explosion did occur, it was never documented. Several videos were quite choppy, making it clear that steps were being skipped. All of the guys in the videos I've watched clearly depressurized the tank, but never videoed or mentioned that part of the job. Another thing that was never mentioned is that the water in the trailer must be turned off before the job is done. I got that for myself, but that's a step that was left out in the instructions. Maybe the auto repair guys think all men and women automatically know this because it's common sense to them, but if you've never done it the incomplete instructions are useless. Besides, why would RV repair shops want to tell you all the things that will make it easy for you to maintain your RV when you can give it to them and they can make a big profit? Luckily I've found that I have to wear my oldest, dirtiest everyday clothes, no matter if it gets dirty or dirty when I change the anode rod. I was right. Unaware of the depressurization in the hot water tank, I got spatters on my face (including my eyes), hair, t-shirt, skirt and shoes and anything that came over the 360 degree circular path. it was in the way of that explosion. Luckily I had everything I needed to take care of my eyes and they didn't get hurt. So if you don't have a relief valve or don't know where to find a relief valve, put on safety goggles to protect your eyes during an explosion. Not everyone will have the tools handy to remove sand and dirt from their eyes without causing damage or preventing eye infections. This is gross negligence in YouTube videos on how to change the anode rod. The work is not difficult even for a woman, so don't be afraid to try. Once the water tank was empty I turned the water back on and let the water flow through the hot water tank until all the rust and white sand mineral was removed as much as possible. After using a screwdriver and my finger to get the dirt and grime out of the anode rod hole, and removing the old tape and dirt from the threads where the anode rod screws into the water heater, I let the water flow until it came clean was and about 5 minutes cleaned from the tank. After turning the water off, I carefully rubbed the threads in the water heater with mineral oil, wrapped Teflon tape around the anode rod threads, and installed a new anode rod. There have been no problems since installation. It pays to maintain your own RV.