Planet Cheapskate

Best Plumbing Tip Ever

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fter all these decades living on Planet Cheapskate, we rarely find a “Big, new tip” — one that can save hundreds of dollars, huge hassles, improve quality of life, and help the planet. But just last year, when your Editors started to notice some pretty rusty water coming out of the hot water taps (even after draining and flushing the heater) a whole new world opened up in the form of the “Sacrificial Rod.” If you’re already in the know, congratulations: you’re among the very few — but not for long. Everyone else, read on!

A "Sac Rod" before, and after 4 to 6 years in a typical water heater. Image courtesy www.waterheater rescue.com

How often do homeowners replace their water heaters?  The answer should be “Almost never,” but a quick check of the web finds most sites mistakenly suggesting that an average heater will last from 8 to 12 years. Some heaters we are told “mysteriously” last 30 to 50 years or more! (Happily, ours looks like it was designed to appeal to Ward Cleaver). The ones that last weren’t made on a good day at the factory, but instead, every four or five years, some smart homeowners got themselves to the local hardware store, and asked someone in  “plumbing” for a sacrificial rod.  You should do the same. Your new best friend in the plumbing department will show you a simple magnesium and aluminum pole about 1 inch in diameter and 3 feet long. It will have a threaded nut on one end.  There’s the remnants of one just like it hanging inside your water heater now and what it did (until it dissolved away leaving only that big nut and a scraggly wire in place of the shiny rod) is keep your tank from rusting out from the inside.

The rod should cost less than $35 USD.

If you are handy, take your new rod home, drain the tank, unscrew the top and pull out the used-up sac rod that is there.  If you replace the rod periodically, not only will you prolong the life of your water tank to, basically, forever; but you will also eliminate rust that is coming out of the tank and staining up your sinks, toilet and laundry water. No more replacement water heaters to buy! (No wonder some folks would like this to remain a mystery). For a much more in-depth explanation and good pictures, visit Sacrificial Anodes: What Keeps Water Heaters From Rusting Out.

Oh, and if you’re NOT handy, you still need to do this!  Hire a plumber, or enlist a handy friend and make some sort of equitable trade.  It will be worth saving the cost of buying and installing a whole new hot water tank.

—the Editors, on May 7, 2009