My house is fairly chaotic this week as the boiler and the water heater are getting replaced, which requires moving the washer and dryer across the garage during the ordeal.

Our old water heater, for which we could not find a replacement anode, finally rusted through and was leaking through pinholes at the bottom of the tank. When the boiler guy and I pushed the old boiler out of my truck into a dumpster we noticed calcium deposits on the bottom of the water jacket - on the outside- suggesting a pin hole leak in the boiler as well. So we got our money's worth out of those two items.

I did manage to get the anode out of the old broken water heater tonight. Socket size is 17/16 inch (homestore brand). The hex head at the top of the anode is a bit too large to be managed by a NAPA brand 17/16 socket.

To get the anode out of the old one, I had it (pic) laying on its side in the driveway. The PT 2x4 has two eyebolts (fender washers) in it 12 inches apart, the ratcheting tow strap was making the metal case creak, I just tightened it until the case was making noise. To break the anode loose I had a 1/2" drive breaker bar on the correct socket, with a 2 foot cheater pipe on the breaker bar. I stood on the 2x4, with the cheater bar on my shoulder and required 60-70% of all the effort I can generate to get this one loosened. I ramped up my applied torque fairly gently and was more than a little concerned the 2x4 might split, the wood was complaining but didn't let go.

* With a water heater in service, is it currently possible to apply enough torque to a new anode to not have leakage at the threads, even using gobs and gobs of pipe dope?*

My new water heater was $529. R&R for a new water heater, local, is another $500. Replacement anodes on Amazon are $35 bucks. I could buy a lot of replacement anodes for $1000, but I am not sure I can replace them with the water heater in service. Another option is to install the biggest fattest anode I can find while the new water heater is empty - I could tip it over and put my 2x4 and strap clamp on it both to break the factory anode loose and torque a new one back in. Owner's manual on the new water heater says to check the anode at 6 months to estimate how often it should be changed.

I call the 2x4 and tow strap clamp an "Anita Clamp" after my mom, Anita. I had a boat trailer that was just too darn light for me to undo the lug nuts. I could get a wrench on the lug nuts just fine, but twisting the wrench just caused the tire and wheel to spin on the axle. It is the sort of problem she enjoys, I told her about it as a thing that was going on with me once upon a time and she came back - why not put a board on the ground under the tire, with some cup hooks on it, and some kind of rope you can tighten? Who knows if there is some other name for it, and she might have seen one in 1949, but my one is an Anita Clamp.

Thanks


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