Water heater maintenance

[snrusnak]

I went to do some easy maintenance on my water heater this weekend, trying to be proactive. It's a fairly new looking unit, it's a GE, 40 gal, electric. We bought the house about 2.5 years ago and it appeared to be basically brand new then. We bought a foreclosure/bank owned, so didn't really get any info/history. I did open the TPR (temperature/pressure relief valve) and it drained just fine. I also wanted to drain the tank to get rid of any debri/soot but when I shut off the water supply to the heater and open the drain basically nothing comes out. I thought about this later, do I need to open a faucet in the house to allow it to vent? Or is it something else? With the water supply on to the heater it drained but I don't think it was flushing the tank, the water was more cool and perfectly clear.

I also read about some rod that you can inspect, but couldn't find it. Any info on this?

Thanks all.

 

[havasu]

Without opening a hot water faucet, you are not allowing the water to be vented and suction will keep most of the water within the tank. Regarding the anode rod, if I go through the trouble of inspecting it, I would just as soon replace it. Can you advise exactly when your water heater was manufactured?

 

[snrusnak]

MFG date says 06/2008. A little older than I guessed. I'm guessing it had never been "serviced", maintained, etc. Thanks for the reply, your answer confirms what I thought about after the fact about opening a faucet for venting.

As for the anode rod, I understand your point. I'd still like to know just where it is located though. I couldn't find it. There are a few plastic plugs on top of the tank, maybe under one of those?

 

[havasu]

Yep, it is on top. Many water heaters have an arrow or "anode" pointing next to the rod. Yours is pretty new. I would vacuum around the base, do a quick flush, and leave it at that.

 

[snrusnak]

I still don't see the anode rod. There are 4 plugs on top. 3 near the edges and completely covered with insulation underneath. One is not completely covered with insulation and is nearer to the center but doesn't look like a nut or threaded piece at all...



The one nearer to the center is right behind the yellow tag in the picture, sorry....the pics were taken this weekend. I'm just using them for reference.

 

[havasu]

Chances are you have a combo dip tube, where the anode rod is located below the hot water outlet.

Here is a nice explanation I located on the 'puter for you...

http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html

 

[stevemachine]

On the GE I believe it has an anode rod and not the combo dip tube, but I've been wrong before . You may have to pop those clear covers off and dig through the insulation to expose it. Majority of heaters have it under the insulation. And you need an 1 1/16 socket to replace the anode. Turn the water off and take the pressure off the lines. Might need an impact drill to get the anode out or a serious snipe, but for a home owner I'd recommend the impact.

 

[snrusnak]

Great guys, thanks for the help. I do have an impact...