01-26-2016, 02:08 AM
mrlynn wrote:
[quote=Speedy]
A sacrificial anode protects any exposed steel inside the tank from corroding. Doesn't matter the type of heat source.
Guess I should look into replacing ours in a few years. Would that have prevented the rust-out that killed our tank after 10 years?
/Mr Lynn
Quite probably, yes... It would have.
When you connect a steel tanked water heater to copper piping, you create a battery, which creates corrossion. The sacraficial anode is put there to be the part that corrodes away to protect the expensive bits from corroding away.