Water heater anode. Do I need it?

[honda1998civic]

My water heater was installed in 2009 and for a couple months the hot water has had a foul odor so here I go trouble shooting the problem. Was told with my water heater before this that I did not even need the anode and most people will just put plug in place of anode. So I removed anode and it was needle thin so just broke it off and put the plug back in. So is the anode actually building crud and causing the foul smell to get carried with water or is the anode actually the thing removing the foul smell?

 

[Hause]

Not an expert but it is supposed to make your water heater last longer.

 

[Flattie]

My water heater was installed in 2009 and for a couple months the hot water has had a foul odor so here I go trouble shooting the problem. Was told with my water heater before this that I did not even need the anode and most people will just put plug in place of anode. So I removed anode and it was needle thin so just broke it off and put the plug back in. So is the anode actually building crud and causing the foul smell to get carried with water or is the anode actually the thing removing the foul smell?

Yes you need it. It is the sacrificial lamb inside you hot water heater. If you don't have one your tank will act as the anode and spring leaks and calcium buildup (depending on your water) quicker.

 

[CNGsaves]

YES . . . you absolutely NEED an anode rod in water heater. Mere fact that yours was eaten down to nothing should prove that to you.

Anodes generally aluminum or alloy installed intentionally to combat corrosion and extend life of hot water tank.

Get the proper length anode rod and tighten it real well (but first, see below).

While you have HWH shut down, might as well flush out any sediment or crud in tank through bottom drain. Whirlpool tech even told me to put couple gallons of vinegar in there for a while to help clear out crud, then flush out the vinegar/crud mix.

Habit of flushing out sediment every year (or twice a year) will prolong life of tank also. Many people replace the cheap shutoff with a brass stubout and full-flow ball valve to ease the flushouts with better flow.

 

[raiderhillbilly]

I researched this quite a bit and found the following:

Using no rod will make the water smell better but dramatically shorten the life of the tank.

Rods can be replaced with an aluminum rod to reduce smell in most water chemistries.

A "powered" rod can be used to eliminate smells. This totally worked for me.

Most water heaters have the same thickness of tank regardless of warranty.( A cheap one is just as good as an expensive one except for the Anode rods. Some 7 year units have 2 anode rods.)

This website has the rod that I installed and more information than you would ever want to know.

http://www.waterheaterrescue.com/pages/WHRpages/English/OrderPages/XCart/Power-Anode.html

 

[404]

No the rod is there only for decoration and makes the water heater more expensive.

Actually, what raiderhillbilly and others have said is correct.

 

[Joe69]

I removed mine, and the smell went away. I didn't know there were other rods available. That was at my old house. My new house has much better water quality.

Joe

 

[boobag]

doesnt having a water softener also increase the life of the water heater a lot?

 

[justme-]

a softener only increases the life if you have hard or acidic water to start with. If you're on a municipal water source odds are you have soft enough and neutral enough water - it benefits the municipality to do that to prolong the life of the pipes they maintain.
I would pull a sample of water before the heater and check for the smell.