Gas hot water tank and removing the rod

You should have your water tested at least every other year. The results will show all the trace minerals and contaminants in your water and will most likely show you where the smell is coming from.

Only then can you intelligently devise a plan to treat the water.

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Removing the rod will fix the problem because your tank will corrode away in a few years. That's not the fix you had in mind I'm sure. The anode rod exists to prevent corrosion, corrosion that the glass lining process can't protect against. (the process can't get to every nook & cranny inside the tank)

Change the rod every few years and your tank will last decades. Mine has lasted 28 years. I've only owned this house for the past 1.5 years so I'm sure the rod has been replaced, or it's a damn good tank. (It's a combo rod, so I can't easily tell if it's been removed)

I don't understand people who say a water heater tank has a life expectancy of about 10 years. I guess it would have that short a life if you didn't do anything to it, but replacing the anode every few years costs much less than replacing the tank & is much easier too.

Did you test the smelly water?

Yes I did test the smelly water and the lab says there is no harmful bacteria. Its a smell of rotten eggs. We changed to an aluminum rod about 1 month ago and the smell is still there. Removing the rod is not the way I want to go as it will kill the tank in 3 or 4 years. I'm now at a loss of what to do since the aluminum rod isn't making the smell go away. Anyone else with an idea how to fix this ?

DK wrote:

Of course the 3 foot thick mound of sediments on the bottom may impact its lifespan too, but then the anode was never designed to prevent cold water contaminants from settling on the bottom and hardening into pseudoconcrete.

I dont understand people who expect a hot water tank to last forever. Because its inconvenient and messy when it fails I believe in replacing the tank at least every 10 years or so. If I dont the tanks gets very noisey from sediment in the bottom of the tank..... besides in my adult life its not very often and few major appliances are so cheap.

just think of how much is spent on vehicles in the same time span. hot water tanks are actually a minor expense.

few things last forever and new models often cost less to operate or offer better features......

Because locally the crud that must accumulate in the tank doesnt dissolve and drain out I tend to leave the tank undisturbed till its replaced... I tend to replace the tank before it fails after all its cheap insurance.

my current tank is 50 gallons 75K BTU I DONT like running out of hot water. my next tank will likely be larger, since the added cost divided by years is actually minor.

The OP should try removing the anode completely and remember some tanks have 2 to see if that fixes the smell. They can always replace the anode later if they want.

if the smell is both hot and cold its probably not the tank......

have they called a water filtratrion company, there are a wide variety of fiters available for taste and odor.

should be easy to solve:)

Section 31.....You mention that the COLD water smells also? How would the rod in the HOT water tank effect the COLD water?

The rod in the tank is used as a sacrifice. The rod erodes away saving the tank. If the rod is still intact, then I don't see this as your problem. You should check the rod annually.

Do you have any filtration on the well water? You should have some form of filtration on the well. This will keep the sediment down. One of your filters should be a charcoal filter. Now many will say that this filter is for taste, but it may improve the smell as well. In your case I would go with three filters, 20micron, then 5micron, then charcoal.

I have a well at my house. The water taste and smells fine. I have a two filter system. The first filter is a 20micron for large particles and the second filter is a 5micron used to catch everything else. Start with filtering your water first.

Paul