hot water suddenly rusty

Time for a new hot water tank its about to start leaking the glass lining has probably failed.

how old is the tank? gas or electric?

Time for a new tank. It may be a defective tank, or it may have been a cheap tank and water that is hard on tanks.

I just called the manufacturer (American Water Heater) about the warranty. They said to change the anode rod. I'm in the process of trying to get it off (no harm in looking). But, does this seem credible. There's really a lot of rust, and it did start very abruptly.

Thanks, George

Good luck do you have the hedroom to clear the rod vs cieling?

ut, does this seem

Yeah, lots of room above. The question is, do I have the torque? It's a 1 1/8* hex head, screwed into the top of the tank. So far, I haven't been able to budge it.

George

Squirt some penetrating oil or WD-40 on to it, let it sit overnight and try again. Whenever you do get it out, if you do, put the new one in with some teflon tape.

Don't chance a flooded house, or no hot water for a while. If this is an older unit, replace it. If it's under warranty, contact the manufacturer.

tom @

As far as flooding, it's in the (very unfinished) basement. Not a big deal. As noted, the mfr is adamant that we try a new anode rod. That's not a big deal either, except it seems to be a PITA to get out.

I don't have a clear answer on the temp setting. A couple of months ago, we started getting 'not very hot' water from the tap. At that time, I found the t'stat set to the high end of "warm", which I think is

And, we do have pretty hard water.