I’m trying to remove an anode rod from a one year old water heater. I’m thinking it will reduce or eliminate a sulfer smell I get from just the hot water side.
I’m no stranger to loosening really tight threaded connections (I know how to remove a gland nut from a VW flywheel…250+ ft lbs), and have or can get access to the necessary tools.
So far, after trying a channellocks, pipe wrench, a 2 ft breaker bar on a 1 1/16″ socket on this bugger, and last night an impact wrench with same socket, it refuses to budge. This all with the WH installed in its upright position. The hex head is only minorly chewed up and the socket doesn’t slip…..yet.
Next..I’m planning to pull the WH all the way out so I can lay it on its side and bring a serious breaker bar to play.
Am I going down the right road on this? Would heating up the connection help? WD40? If I really bear down on this thing, what else could I damage?
Thanx, all.
Replies
I'd hold off on the WD-40 or penetrating oil - you might contaminate the water in the tank. I can't imagine that this might be a left hand thread ? ?
Greg
I don't think it is left hand thread...last night with the impact wrench I went both ways several times, which sometimes helps loosen up a sieze, and no movement either way. I hate to use a torch too, it'll blister the paint.
I don't think removing the anode rod will help eliminate the sulfur smell....could be wrong.
Eliminating the anode rod will decrease the life expectancy of the tank. The anode is sacrificial..... once it is gone the only thing left to sacrifice in electrolisis is the tank.
Dave
Fairly common problem with well water around here, usually eliminated with anode rod removal. At $200 - $300 for a WH replacement, I don't give a hoot about a year or two shorter life.
There is also an anode rod with a different metal available where there is sulfer problems. The instruction with my WH mentions this.
I'd get out the PB Blaster or some other penetrate and let that soak for a few hours anyway and then have another go at it. If that doesn't work, I'd let it soak for a day or so and try again.
I guess I wouldn't personally worry too much about contaminating the water in there unless you intend to drink or cook with the hot water from the faucet.
Another option to loosen these threads, which I'm sure will raise a few eyebrows here, would be to use an eyedropper and some muriatic acid. I've used this procedure successfully any number of times to free frozen threads even where torching wasn't successful. In theory, if the threads are setting in a vertical position, gravity will aid the muriatic in making its way down the threads as it dissolves the corrosion or hardened pipe dope in those threads. Theoretically, it should get that job done before it does any significant damage to the surrounding sound metal....providing that metal isn't aluminum. You need to stay right there if attempting this as you'll likely need to feed it a drop every now and then as the previous exhausts itself and to monitor the results. Anyway, it's worked well for me in tough situations, so I thought I'd toss it out there for consideration.
Around this area, we can resolve those sulfur smells that occur in WHs only by swapping out the supplied magnesium rod with an aluminum rod.
Thanks. I'll try the penetrant and a more burly 3/4" drive six point socket on an air impact wrench.
anode rods are tough someone mentioned not to use thread penetrant, have to agree, hard to clean that out of tank, could mutate genetic information use a tool called a torque multiplier with a six point socket to avoid rounding out hex head some plumbing supply houses and industrial suppliers sell them, not sure of cost borrowed one years ago for anode rod replacement adds life to tank here in new england we get sulphur smell to water especially from hot water side when systems with old galvanized pipe start to corrode often find a small pinhole in the galvanized pipe at the bad spot contaminate goes thru system, smells stronger with heated water
What I can't figure out is why that sucker is in there so tight...the WH is only a year old. Maybe cross-threaded at the factory? Do they do something special with these rods to keep 'em in and not leaking?
remember seeing white material on threads pipe dope? loctite type sealant? used good pipe thread sealant on new one plumbing supply house said rods were hard to remove torque multiplier; they got a loaner from a plumber for me guess your neighbors will be in shock and awe as you roll it around the 'hood w a pipe wrench on it, yelling, kicking, cursing... dress good in case tv news crew shows up
If you can get to an aviation parts outfit, try some Mouse milk ( thats the name not kidding). Better than all the off the shelf loosener stuff
Mike.
If you have the thing on it's side, you might try a combo of ice and heat.
I did something similar on a steel fill plug in an aluminum gear housing. I used a torch to warm up the aluminum around the plug. And I kept dropping ice chips into the hollow spot in the plug. Eventually the plug shrunk enough and the aluminum housing expanded enough to get the thing loose.
Obviously, you can't heat your water heater with an acetylene torch. But even a hair dryer would warm it up some.
All animals, except man, know that the principal business of life is to enjoy it. [Samuel Butler]
I used to do that getting the distributer drive gear on the camshaft take-off in a VW engine. Put the take-off shaft in the freezer for half a day, then take it out while still frosty and drop the gear (that had been heated a bit in an oil bath) on.
temperature contrast might be way to go saw a trick to get oxygen sensor out of exhaust pipe in cars, they heated exhaust pipe around it w torch, sprayed water on sensor and pipe, caused a thermal "pop" easily turned it out afterward wonder if he took cap off water heater and used torch careful, then ice?
Sounds like the think is cemented/glued in- they probably used a hardening thread sealant to make sure it would neither loosen nor leak before the anode corroded away. Fewer lawsuits that way! I suspect heat will be your only option to get this puppy loose, aside from torquing the living hell out of it with a force multiplier as recommended by other posters.
Anybody think it'd be too risky to heat the socket gently with an ordinary propane torch, while somebody leans on the breaker bar? If it were my water heater, that's what I'd try. That way, you loosen it with the application of the minimum amount of heat, and the socket will distribute the heat evenly. Your socket may re-temper a bit, but at that size there's not much of a risk of you breaking the socket anyway, is there?
Good idea. Gotta be a permanent sealant of some sort in there. I'll let you know how it turns out.
I hope you realize that if you remove your anode and do not replace it, you water heater life expectancy will be less than 2 years! It is true that the anode may be agrevating your smell problem but it is not causing it. If you have a Mg anode, I suggest you try replacing it with an Al anode. In any case, it would not be wise to just remove it and plug the hole.
Bill
I still have to get it out...Al rod or not.
I asked my lab techs what tricks they have for removing stuck anodes. They tell me that you should use a very long cheater bar...unfortunately, you then have to hold the heater from turning. They suggested that you get your mother in law to sit on it! Actually, they use a heavy strap and strap it to a milling machine and then use a very long bar.
There is a penetrating oil used in the food service equipment industry that's food-safe. (and I think supposedly odor/taste free, mostly.) I have a few cans of it from a friend (Hobart (rest. eq.) service/install tech. Can't recall the name right off hand, will try to post later.
That's along the lines I've been thinking. Rheem tech support says an impact wrench should do it, and that just ordinary pipe dope is all that they put on the threads.
We put on just normal pipe dope too. My lab techs say that an impact qrench will work on the "not so bad" ones! Try it first.
Good luck,
Bill
Last summer I had to use a cold chisel to budge an element..those hollow sockets for a screwdriver are crap, and my biggest sockets were packed away..a few good whack with the chisel did the job real well..
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Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
That's what I'll do if and when I bugger up the hex head.
Ha, which you will..just give it time..grab the darn chisel and whack at it..save some grief.
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Spheramid Enterprises Architectural Woodworks
Repairs, Remodeling, Restorations.
Try an impact hammer on it a while, then try the impact wrench again. Then here's a little trick of mine: curse it out well, then get the biggest hammer you can find and beat the daylights out of it. Then curse yourself out for being so stupid when you go to get a new water heater.
Worse yet, if he removes the anode rod and doesn't replace it, water will come out of that big hole in the top. (:-))
I was going to suggest the impact wrench, but I see you've already tried that.
Any good penetrant would be a good option IMHO. I'm no great fan of 'PBBlaster' mainly because I don't like their advertising as it is inherently misleading, if not dishonest. Then make great bones about their product melting styrofoam coffee cups. Which would be grand if the purpose of a penetrating oil was melting styrofoam coffee cups not getting into mechanical connections to help get them apart.
I can't say that 'PBBlaster' works any worse than others, the few times others have supplied it, but it seems no more effective than 'Liquid Wrench' which does not resort to such hyperbole. As for any contamination I think this is less a problem as most don't cook with or drink hot water. Wipe any excess penetrant from the area once the item is loose and the threads once the bung is clear. I think any tiny amount remaining would disperse in time without any great harm. Primarily during showers so let the wife get the first one. Any smell can be blamed on her conditioner.
You might try an 'impact tool', a machined steel handle designed to be stuck with a hammer that converts, by way of a cam action, the impact of the hammer into torque on the socket fitted to the end. The impact of the hammer also keeps the socket firmly engaged on the item being loosened.
I have had luck with a small 3/8" version of the impact tool and swinging a thee pound engineers hammer. Amazing the torque that can be developed with a good hit. I have threatened to get the 1/2" or 3/4" version but so far they haven't been needed. The 3/4" models are often used on heavy machinery. In this case a 20 pound sledge is swung full force while a trusting helper holds the tool.
The only down side to using this tool is that you need room to swing the hammer and the possibility that a sharp impact could damage the glass lining of the steel tank. This could cause the tank to fail in short order.
The other thing to consider is to turn off any power to the water heater and allow everything to cool before trying to trying to loosen the anode. The anode is a solid rod that could allow the plug to expand with heat tightly into the surrounding bung. Allowing everything to cool and equalize might make the anode easier to remove. As I understand it if you do try to use heat to loosen the anode you would do well to try to heat the bung instead of the anode itself. The female threads expanding should make the connection loose. Heating the plug would tighten the fit.
Thanks to all for your input.
I ended up taking the water heater out, and hauled it over to FIL's shop where we used a combination of an air impact wrench, cold chisel, air impact wrench to free it up. Twelve point socket rounded off the hex, so we put a big divot in the head with a sharp cold chisel, then drove a 6 point hardened socket...the kind made for big impact wrenches...on and finally freed it up.
Plugged up the hole, re-installed, viola! Hot water without the sulfer smell.
As GOLDHILLER said, once you do get the old anode out, be sure to swap out the supplied magnesium rod with an aluminum rod.
Good luck getting that thing removed. Let us know what works!
Make the time and use LIQUID WRENCH. Let it set for 12 to 48 hours if possible. After reading a lot of solutions (use breaker bar with cheaper bar with a 1-1//16" socket) and that liquid wrench worked better and cheater than other oils. Plus a YouTube video on using a tie down racket (around the tank), 2x4 (used between back of racket and wall) and plywood (to protect the wall). This was used to try to steady the water heater from moving. After all that and about 12 hours of soaking, NOTHING. Then with pray and JERKING BACK AND FORTH on the cheater bar a few times, it loosened a little bit. THEN I WAS ABLE TO UNSCREW IT ALL THE WAY OUT. Some have said that if you tighten a nut that is locked in place it will break the lock and make it possible to loosen it. Plus, I did have to tighten up my fittings on the water lines because the inlet line started to leak after I turned the water bad on.
Thanks for all the tips. Used the straps and 2x4s to brace it, plus a 48" cheater bar and still couldn't budge it. Didn't have the patience or time for penetrating oil, so I flipped over a can of compressed air and squirted a small pool of the difluoroethane around the head. It evaporated quickly chilling it enough to loosened the seal. It still took some effort to extract it (I was working in a very narrow space) but I was off to the races after that.
There are powered anodes available to replace the static rods installed by water heater manufacturers. These rods aren't sacrificial & won't give up an odor regardless of any water condition issues. Water heaters equipped with powered anodes and yearly maintenance ( flushing ) can last for decades.......