Water Heater anode rod questions

I was planning on draining my water tank because it's starting to make noise. I have heard of problems with the drain valve not working correctly after opening it up. To fix this, I added a hose extension with a spring on it, ball valve, and fitting to accept a hose end. I did test the adapter on the garden hose set up outside and no leaks. Then I read it may need an anode rod replaced. So that poses a few questions.

Should I drain just a bit of water for the flush and remove the anode rod then or flush it first?

I see some are solid and some are collapsible. I have about 40" from top of the tank to the ceiling and some are 42" long. Should I just go collapsible or try to angle it in and hope it goes?

What brand/material rod should I get (magnesium, zinc, aluminum)?

Read to seal the threads with the dope style and not tape, does it matter?

If my tank is roughly 52" tall, does the rod need to go all the way down?

I have a cheap Harbor Freight impact and was thinking of using that to break it loose and finishing removal and installation by hand. Not sure how easy it will be to remove since the tank was installed in 2014.

I have never drained a tank before or changed an anode rod, but they seem simple. I just like to have a good idea on things I may encounter so I don't jack it up and have to call someone to fix it. If I think I may jack something up, I'd rather just pay someone to do it.

I do this every couple of years.
I did a lot of reading on what type to put in and honestly is it whatever you can get.
They don't seem to make a lot of different replacement ones based on material.
As for length, again, it is whatever they sell. I get a generic replacement from ace hardware near me and I did a test fit. Found it was about 3 inches too long so I just cut that last 3 inches off.
I used tape instead of dope. Just what I had.
The last one I replaced was eaten about half way through after 2 years, so it obviously didn't affect the continuity.
I tried to use a wrench and cheater bar first time and all it did was rotate the heater. I used my impact to pull it off.
Mine is about 9 years old right now.
I do a drain and flush every year. I have had to replace the overpressure valve once on this one. I use it to drop the air lock on it when draining and it stuck open once.

I didn't plan on releasing the valve, just cracking a hot water on the faucet in the laundry room. I will have to give it a try soon, got a few other things that take priority at the moment. Researching so I don't get in over my head. Seems simple enough as long as everything goes smooth. When flushing it and replacing the rod, should I flush the tank first and replace the rod on the last fill (may fill the tank once or twice to get all the gunk out), replace the rod first, or what? I read if there is water in the tank, it helps counter the use of a impact or breaker bar when getting the rod off. Don't want to overfill the tank with the rod out and have a mess.

Hadn't thought of leaving water in to add weight.
I generally drain it and then pull the rod.
When I flush it, I let it drain completely first, then with the valve open start water back into it. with the temp setting turned to the lowest it lets me.

Then I let it run like that with the relief valve shut to build up pressure.
I let it run like that for a few min, then shut off the water to let it drain.

typically towards the end I see pieces of the old rod coming out. So I pull the old one before I do it, because chucks come off.
the first time I pulled it, parts of the rod had swollen and it wouldn't come out. so it really broke off large parts getting it out.

Those of you that change the anode rods annually, what type of life do you get from your water heaters?

When they do fail what typically is the cause?

Thanks!

So I don't remember what failed on my first one in the old house.
It was 15 or so years old as I recall.

This one has had a couple of parts replaced but so far going well.
The first was the relief valve as mentioned above.
The second was the thermal couple keeping the pilot light lit.
it is 14 years old now. I started taking care of it 9 years ago, so it had around 4 or 5 years of unknown maintenance.
I don't change that rod out every year. every other seems to be working so far.

Failures I have seen others have, are mostly leaks. my father in law and sister in law both have had them leak making them get replacements.

Go to Corroprotect.com and order one. This is a titanium anode rod is specially designed to eliminate odor problems, specifically the rotten egg smell of sulfur, found in hot water with a high magnesium content.

I have two of them in my tanks and they are well worth the cost.

While they have now been sold I managed four duplexes with nine water heaters for over twenty years.

We never performed any water heater maintenance other that repairs that were economic. I would say most water heaters lasted around fifteen years, many much longer.

I had one go twenty-six years before it failed and it was not leaking.

So I am wondering in areas that have at least average water quality if draining the tank and especially changing the anodes is worth it?

so for the anode it is to prevent the tank from rusting out and springing a leak.
It seems you water isn't causing as much corrosion as others. That would be an interesting thing to check. most local water sources provide a water quality statement.
ours is pretty hard water.

the flush though is more for efficiency which may in turn shorten the life of the tank or heating elements.
I would be interested to see how much build up was the reason those other heaters died. couldn't heat the water anymore vs actually not "working".

if you are using electric or gas there might be a difference too.
gas has the whole column that heats, so you might get away with the bottom filling up with sediment and not notice longer than say an electric with only 2 heating elements that might be buried.

the most expensive rods are only 25 bucks. every 5 years or so if you can get away with that. they generally are around 10 bucks.

I would say pull one and see.
next time one dies, I would see if you can cut into the side and see how "full" it is.

I drain and flush my tanks every year due to hard well water. I was changing the anode every 4 years. Mine were getting eaten up really bad. Last month, one anode was no longer connect to the rod end cap. These titanium units are remarkable. Water quality has improved greatly.

I don't understand how draining/flushing a tank can shorten the life. Figure it's getting the sediment out and that should be good.

I put that on my amazon list for future reference. We don't have hard/smelly water so I just got one from Home Depot. I noticed the one I bought has the thread right under the hex head. The one you have shows the threads lower down. Does it just stick up above the water tank? Their instructions show it flush pretty much and a photo on amazon shows it sticking up some.

Yes, it sticks up about 3 inchs. It will clear all insulation and case structure.

We have well water also



I havent touched my Rheem water heater since 1999 when the house was built

Installed myself a water softener around 2005

Well actually i did , i raised the temp output on the water heater

I dont even know what an anode was until i read this thread

There i just screwed myself

Flush it out and watch all the sediment pour out. The water heater will work more efficiently.

not what I meant, so I probably wrote that wrong.
I meant that not flushing shortens the life due to causing issues with the heating elements.
flushing would clear that debris.
they also say it can overheat areas on the tank causing the coating to crack and making it rust out faster.
but since he said none of the leaked, it would be safe to bet that wasn't an issue for him. but maybe the efficency was affected.

We have well water with a softener. I installed our electric Richmond water heater in the Spring of 1994. The instructions said to remove the anode if using a softener. I removed the anode when I installed it. I have never drained it, it does not leak and we never have a hot water shortage. Lucky I guess. I need to get a new one before I do have trouble. My son just bought his new house. Electric water heater on a well with softener. His hot water smelled awful. We removed the anode and the smell is gone (he is close to a town called Sulphur Springs lol). Might have to look at one of those titanium rods.