Reliance9001829005 32-Inch Magnesium Water Heater Anode Rod

Worked great, no fuss, no muss. You should measure the height of your tank and the height of clearance above to get the right size. I kind of didn't do that and so the rod that came out was about 8 inches longer than the rod I replaced it with. Whatever, a new rod went in and the old rod was shot so we're all good. The ad says replace every year. I had read elsewhere every three years. I replaced (in northern VA on city water) at three years, and I was surprised to see that the rod was pretty much gone. Maybe two years might be right.There is a big debate about using a long breaker bar vs. a torque wrench. I tried the long breaker bar and it just wasn't happening. Those things are put on TIGHT! With my electric impact gun from Kobalt the old rod popped right out. Some folks seem to think that using the impact gun makes it more likely for the old rod to snap off, others seem to think that using the breaker bar makes it more likely. For me it came down to the fact that I simply could not budge it with the breaker bar, and with the impact gun it was a breeze.This is really a very simple project and a $30 anode rod can get you years and years more out of your water heater. That's a great deal. The steps I used:1. Turn off electricity. Flip the breaker to the water heater at the electrical panel. It's marked. Use a non-contact voltage tester on the water heater to make sure it's off.2. Dig out foam insulation around old anode rod and suck out the loose bits with a vacuum cleaner. No sense in having them fall down into the tank.3. Drain off a few gallons with the water supply open to flush the bottom of the tank, then turn off the water supply and let a few more gallons drain out. I also opened a couple taps around the house to make sure all pressure was relieved.4. Using a 1 1/16 impact socket and a corded impact gun get out the old socket (so easy with the impact gun!).5. Put old rod in the recycling and be disgusted as how gross and corroded it was. My Lord, was that in my drinking water?!?6. Wrap teflon tape around top threads of new rod, going around four times.7. Put new rod in and snug it down pretty right using a regular old socket wrench. I put it in about about 50 foot pounds of torque. Couldn't find any suggestion for how tight to put it in online. It hasn't blown out yet and no leaks.8. Open water supply and go around open all hot water taps around house for about 30 seconds each. I was disgusted by the gray burst of water that comes out at the start. I'm told that's perfectly normal. Letting the hot water taps run for a bit purges air from the system and protects you from blowing out an element if there's air in the water heater.9. Tell wife I'm a home repair stud, go the basement to play video games.10. Four hours later wife says there is no how water for her shower, she's irate, I tell her she's crazy, she says I'm an idiot, I remember that I never turned the electricity to the water heater back on. Go do that.

Perfect fit for our 17 year old Lowe's Whirlpool 30 gal. electric water heater. The diameter of this anode rod is thicker/larger than some others I've researched, which is great because it will last a little longer. The old rod in my water heater was totaled...calcified, and eaten away. Taking the old anode rod off was easy with an impact gun and 1 1/16" socket, which is standard for all anode rods. It is NOT necessary to use the impact gun to tighten the new rod. I used a socket wrench and tightened it by hand, be sure it's tight!If you think you can flush out the accumulated cr_p at the bottom of the tank by removing the top or bottom covers, you can't. Just wanted to save you some time if you were thinking of doing this. The only way to flush it out completely, is via the drain plug at the bottom of the tank. Our heater had a lot of what looked like chunks of calcium...big chunks...at the bottom, because I had never changed the anode rod. Luckily, blasts of water from the hose were able to break the chunks up and our heater is now beautifully clean. The best way is to completely drain the tank, and unhook it so you can take it outside. The reason for this is so that you can move the tank around (to swirl the accumulated debris towards the drain). When you're done with this, it's a good idea to also replace the nipples, the T&P valve, and the heating elements (purchase heating elements with the same voltage and wattage). You can find all the supplies you need for this particular water heater on Amazon. I don't believe in buying a new water heater or anything for that matter, if the current one is working fine. They don't make things to last anymore, but this particular water heater is glass lined, and I guess that's why it continues to work, and work well. Regular maintenance is the key. Good luck.

Hard to say how well this 32" Magnesium anode rod performed. But what I can say is, the photos show what the anode rod looked like after exactly 13 months of being in our water heater.Unfortunately 13 months after installing the rod, we were in a prime position to have a new water heater installed for a descent price, so I removed this rod and photographed it before they brought the old tank to the scrap pile.We are on city water. And the interior of the tank was in fairly good shape when the rod was installed. A bore camera inspection revealed only a couple of places where there was visible rust when the rod was installed. But there was a lot of white scum at the bottom of the tank. Not sure if these factors play a role in the life (or degradation) of the rod. But to me this is evidence that the rod should be replaced as needed to prolong the life of the inner wall of the tank.