How Long Will A H2o Heater Terminal Without An Anode Rod

In gild to get as much purpose out of your H2O heater as possible, y'all’ll desire to know how to hold it properly. There are several factors influencing how long your water heater tin can live on, as well as at that place are ways you can brand certain your heater survives longer.

Different types of water heaters final longer than others, simply for the touchstone drinking glass tank water heater, the presence of an anode rod makes all the divergence. Anode rods replaced regularly can extend the life of your H2O heater upwards to twice equally long.

The longevity of water heaters without anode rods is nearly: v-8 years. The actual lifespan depends on water hardness, H2O heater type together with lineament, when the anode rod was removed, and how hot the H2O is. In extreme cases, the H2O heater may only last iii-v years without an anode rod.

Average Lifespan of Water Heater Without Anode Rod

So many factors aside from the anode rod play a part in the longevity of a H2O heater (we talk over them soon), and so it is hard to come up upwardly alongside an exact time frame. However, a skilful fashion to approach this and make it at an estimation is to wait at how long an anode rod lasts.

Anode rods are, past nature, more reactive than the metal of the H2O heater. However, they are besides smaller together with are completely corroded much faster than the tank would be. These two variables tin can be assumed to remainder each other out some (simply don’t take that supposition every bit law!).

Anode rods more often than not concluding up to v years, just they run best if replaced every iii years.

So, a H2O heater alongside a regularly changed anode rod lasts x-xv years. Water heaters terminal 8-x years without having their anode rods replaced regularly. Without an anode rod at all, y'all tin estimate the lifespan of your water heater to live between five in addition to 8 years.

Many people are tempted to take away their anode rods to clear upward the smelly rotten egg olfactory property caused with good water. Instead, you should replace the rod amongst a zinc alloy rod, which doesn’t effort the same product of hydrogen sulphide gas.

As anode rods are far cheaper to replace every v years compared to a water heater, it is highly advisable to keep the anode rod!

Factors Affecting Rate of Water Heater Corrosion

The presence of an anode rod is by far the almost influential ingredient when it comes to the rate of water heater corrosion, although it does not actually play a office in the twenty-four hour period-to-mean solar day operation of the heater. However, there are additional factors that play a office, too when you lot take away the anode rod, these factors come to the fore together with exert a greater influence on the lifespan of the heater.

Hardness of the Water

One of these factors is the hardness of the water. Hard water is defined by its high concentration of calcium too magnesium. Hard water has benefits as well as drawbacks. It tin can be good for drinking due to the wellness benefits of calcium in addition to magnesium, only it decreases the efficiency of water for cleaning.

Moreover, as well as more to the signal for the purposes of this article, difficult H2O is damaging to H2O heaters as the minerals build upwards inside the heater over fourth dimension. The build-upward:

Reduces the efficiency of the water heater when it covers the heating elements.
Can clog too damage pipes as chunks of difficult mineral break off from the torso of the tank.
Compromises the integrity of the water heater tank lining, making it fifty-fifty more than vulnerable to corrosion too leaks.

Water-quality-scale-showing-total-dissolved-solids

three Ways to Combat Hard Water

i. Reduce the Temperature of the Water

Heat increases the speed at which minerals sort out from water together with create deposits, so i way to help a H2O heater alongside hard H2O is to decrease the temperature. While this volition tiresome downward the speed of mineral construct-up, it will not finish it.

2. Regular Maintenance

Another method is to flush the H2O heater regularly to take the regular make upward of minerals.

three. Water Softeners

Water softeners tin live installed to treat hard H2O earlier it gets to the heater, thereby reducing limescale together with increasing the life of the heater.

However, it is a bit of a catch-22 state of affairs because H2O softeners function ions such as sodium or potassium to supercede the magnesium too calcium. These ions are more metal-reactive. So, your limescale build-upwardly volition live reduced as well as the quality of your H2O will ameliorate, but the chance together with rate of corrosion inwards the tank becomes greater.

With an anode rod, this merely way more than regular replacement of the rod. Without the rod, it means rapid deterioration of the H2O heater itself.

Water Heater Type and Quality

Water heaters come up inwards a diversity of material, together with their warranties are a proficient approximate of their lifespans. Most water heaters have lifespans of virtually 10-xv years, only alongside the right maintenance too good water quality, around tin can terminal for over twenty years.

Typically, electric-powered H2O heaters volition last longer than gas-powered water heaters also.

Most water heaters are steel with a fiberglass-lined tank on the within. These tanks demand anode rods to fight corrosion because the fiberglass lining is never perfect as well as is as well susceptible to beingness cracked or damaged.

Not all water heaters are made to the same touchstone. Some use depression-quality materials or are constructed poorly. These will not final every bit long inwards comparing to higher-quality heaters, amongst or without the anode rod.

Some Water Heaters Don’t Need Anode Rods

Stainless steel tanks are of higher quality too resist rust and corrosion, meaning they do not ask anode rods. They are more than expensive for this argue.

You tin can detect a comprehensive comparison of stainless steel as well as drinking glass-lined H2O heaters hither.

Water heaters come inward tankless varieties as well, as well as these come amongst a longer lifespan of near twenty-xxx years. While tankless models don’t have sitting water inside them, and thence make non postulate an anode rod, they are however inward around danger of rust too corrosion unless properly maintained.

When Was the Anode Rod Removed?

When you take away your anode rod affects how fast the heater volition corrode without 1. If the rod is removed when the heater is older, so the lifespan of the heater without the rod will live shorter yet because it has already suffered about deterioration just due to age.

If the rod is removed piece the heater is non real one-time, it will have a longer lifespan without the rod. However, this is nevertheless shorter than the lifespan with a rod. It is advisable to replace the anode rod in one case removed to extend the life of the heater equally much every bit possible.

How Hot Is the Water?

Hot water can speed upwards the process of corrosion together with mineral construct-upward. As mentioned previously, oestrus increases the damage caused by hard H2O on the tank of the water heater since it accelerates the speed of mineral deposit formation. Similarly, heat acts every bit a catalyst to speed upward the charge per unit of corrosion of the steel parts of the H2O heater.

The mutual default temperature of many H2O heaters is 140 °F, just the Department of Energy recommends 120 °F for rubber. This adjustment is likewise beneficial for decreasing corrosion of the H2O heater.

Anything below 120 °F should live avoided as it may increase the hazard of bacteria accumulating within the H2O heater tank.

You tin change the temperature of the water with the dial on your heater. To assess the oestrus of the tap water, y'all can function your water on hot for 3 minutes, then conform the temperature according to what y'all experience. You tin can so run on hot for iii more minutes to meet if the novel temperature is acceptable.