Lighting water heater pilot light (shouldn't it stink?)

The downward facing galvanized elbow is offset from the upward facing nipple on the top of the tank. A flexible pipe solves that offset.

This is probably a good point, which is why I asked if people "normally" can smell the gas. You say no, but one other person said yes, so, I'm not sure if under normal conditions, if I hold down the pilot knob, that I'd be able to smell gas.

This is good to know, as the gas was inside that glass walled off area.

My wife can smell when the propane tank gets low in my house, and she can smell when I change the detergent when washing my clothes, so, I know what you mean.

I found out why it corrodes in the ends first. Charges line up at "corners" (actually where they concentrate). So, like a lightning rod, the charges concentrate in sharp ends.

If they made the sacrificial anode shaped like a sphere, it would corrode evenly all around.

But since it's a rod, it corrodes wherever lines of charge concentrate, which, apparently, is at the ends.

Has it been your experience also that when you periodically remove the sacrificial anode, that it corrodes from the ends toward the middle?

Had to fix a Kenmore 50gallon gas water heater whose outlet hose was leaking at the top.

Then tried to relight the water heater, but failed to light the pilot. Spent more than an hour on it.

Held that button down for so long my fingers hurt as I pressed the green sparker.

Could see spark, but no flame ever. Never did smell gas. All valves are open as far as I can tell (PG&E feed).

Shouldn't holding the pilot button down for minutes on end result in the smell of gas?

(I have pictures but that's the technical detail.)

Danny: I would be careful with Sears' hot water heater!!?? Few years back I had one of 60 gallons flue actually collapse in it and it was not venting up to flue, when I tried to light it back fire through the lighting port practically into my face, had replace bloody thing under sears Warrantee, and the new one lasted two years, and I had to replace it but no ,not this time I use different manufacture. "Careful Friend"

Oh oh...live dangerously - read alt.home.repair! :)

Given that extremely dire warning over a simple hot water heater, I suspect you'd better NOT read the thread on how to replace your puny garage door torsion springs with beefier springs and winding them yourself!

Garage door torsion spring broken ... and ... I have no questions!

Maybe also you might want to skip where we cleaned the toilet of the brown stuff using straight muriatic acid. Update on cleaning 3 more toilets of brown streaks using HCl (pool acid)

Maybe skip a few thousand other alt.home.repair threads too! :)

There probably is a good thread on picking huckleberries too, as long as there's no dangerous ladder involved.

Ummm... ok.

To me, a water heater is a water heater is a water heater.

Maybe one brand is better than another; maybe not.

Maybe they are all the same.

I don't know.

Certainly they look the same, but, anyway, I think the next water heater I buy is gonna be bought the same way as the last two that I bought, which is by the specifications and then by price.

Someday though, I'll opt for an on-demand water heater if the specs are better than that for the standard type that I am using today.

I've seen replacement ones that are in sections so you can get it in with limited height.

It's a fraction of one PSI. But I don't see why this is an issue, because from your description of the work, it didn't involve disconnecting the gas lines, opening them, etc. If relighting was a problem when you just turn it off, this would be a big problem everyone would have. I had my meter changed last year, gas was off for a week, pilot re-lit right away, no problem.

I know what you mean as Lowes didn't have any of these $46 bendable anodes in stock (they're Internet only). Item # 694251 Model # 1027400

Home Depot had them, but for around $43 to $56 they seem like an expensive replacement part to buy at the store:

It seems that if you replace a 50-dollar part every two years (recommended), then it will cost you almost as much as the tank you're trying to protect, so, the goal would be to get them inexpensively and replace them when needed.

But how do you choose a good replacement anode?

It might be a "science" to get a good deal on an anode though, but it should be simple, right? No moving parts. All it has to do is fit. And work.

Here, for example, is a $12 anode - but would it work?

They all seem to be 3/4-inch 14NPT, but here's what seems to be different:

1. The lengths seem to be different (e.g., 42 or 44 inch versus 54 inch) and some are segmented so that they fit into smaller headspace areas.

1. The material seems to vary from Magnesium to Aluminum (which is better?).

2. The diameter of the rod seems to vary, e.g., 0.900 inch to 0.625 inch.
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So how do you buy the best for price and value?

I presume you want it as long as will fit in the tank. And I presume you want it as fat as can be. But which material is better? Aluminum? Magnesium?

Recommended by the company that sells them I guess.

then it will cost you almost as much as the tank you're

All that should really matter is that it fits and what alloy it's made from.

IDK. I seem to recall something about one being better for people that have certain problems with minerals in their water, ie the wrong one can make the water smell maybe?

I guess you have to factor in price and how big is the one you get for that price.

Me, I decided to just forget about it. Tank is about 15 years old now.

I agree with Oren that home repair is something that this group is all about, so, if there is risk, then we discuss how to ameliorate the risk.

In doing so, we discuss the risk at a far greater level than the likes of "wear safety goggles" while hammering, or "have someone foot the ladder while re-roofing".

We have covered how to wind your own torsion springs, where the dangers are obvious (your hand can be spun off if you get caught in the spring), and yet, we did the job correctly and safely. That's why this group is so great.

This group has the overall experience to do the jobs safely and correctly.

For example I know that if I didn't have earthquake straps in my photos, someone might have mentioned that I needed them. Or if my heater wasn't elevated, someone would have mentioned that. If there wasn't an overflow pipe that goes below the heater, someone would likely have noticed that. etc. If my incoming gas pipe wasn't flex pipe, or if that valved T fitting didn't have an end cap, someone would have mentioned that also.

I've seen guys like Oren and Trader tell me lots of good stuff just from looking at the pictures. This is great and I often go to the archives to look up how to do things.

Understand everything you say. I don't know why it was so hard to light then. But, all is ok now, so, the main question was whether it is supposed to stink if you hold down the pilot knob.

I guess the fact it's mostly closed means it won't stink.

Also the question arose which is a good deal for a sacrificial anode ... Aluminum or Magnesium?

Both of those would be nice additions, since, the water heater is in the garage, the concrete would stop a vehicle (or at least slow it down) and all water heaters eventually leak, so, a drain pan is also a nice thing to have.

Thanks for those two ideas!

I googled so this is all only my first pass at figuring out whether Aluminum or Magnesium (or a mix of both) is best..

1. This first hit says that all new tanks come with Magnesium anodes, but if your water starts smelling like rotten eggs, then you switch to Aluminum.
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2. This second hit confirms that the magnesium rods are better but they can "react with bacteria" to form sulphur smells, in which case the owner needs to switch to Aluminum rods. It says they also make an Aluminum/Zinc rod.
3. This third hit adds the option of a combination of Aluminum, Zinc, and Tin, but again, the Magnesium rod wins out. It does say that water softeners that use Sodium will shorten the life of the rod (and hence, the tank). It also says the life of a Magnesium rod is less than an equivalently sized Aluminum rod, simply because they're more effective at what they do. It says the Zinc mix works as a heavy metal contaminant to inhibit the bacteria that cause the rotten egg sulfurous smell. It says the Aluminum rods are the worst effectively, but the cheapest overall - but they last the longest.
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One directly opposing view is that the link above says most water heaters come with the cheaper aluminum rods (which makes business sense).

1. This fourth hit explains why, in the water lines, copper on steel is a bad idea, using the same principle as the sacrificial anode:
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That fourth article also discussed the pipe tape that I used, saying they've seen it often, and they always have continuity, even when the pipe-seal tape is used!

They also advocate adding two anodes per tank (unless bacteria are a problem). I wonder if that second plug on the top of the tank is a threaded hole for a second anode?

If you add a second rod, they say it must be the same material as the first (or they will consume each other, essentially).

Interestingly, this says Magnesium rods have a BUMP on top (mine had a bump so it is a magnesium rod!). It doesn't always work though.

The article explains what a bad rod will look like, where, if I read it correctly, it says my Magnesium rod is bad. Specifically, it says if it's just rough, it's OK but if you see at least six inches of wire, then it need to be replaced. Under those rules, mine needs to be replaced.

They give a half dozen reasons why they don't like Aluminum anodes, although the last reason is downright silly.

Anyway, it seems pretty clear what to do after reading those articles: a. Mine is magnesium (due to the bump) b. Six inches of wire exposed means mine needs to be replaced c. Magnesium is better than Aluminum or combo, as there is no smell d. Any length is fine as there is plenty of clearance

Page 5 of this PDF says the MAXIMUM gas pressure is about 1/2 psi in the gas line going into a hot water heater.

They measure things in "w.c." (water column), so 1/2 PSI is apparently 13.8 w.c. where the minimum gas pressure is 4.5 w.c. for Natural Gas and 11.0 w.c. for Propane.

If the units are linear, 4.5 w.c. means about 1/3 times 1/2 psi for the minimum gas line pressure from PG&E, which is downright puny at about 1/6th of a psi).

Water Column to PSI conversions are here but the numbers are puny.

So, the folks who said the gas pressure was very low weren't kidding!

I saw a guy do that once and it was very modularized and everything came out and went back in quckly. 10 or 15 minutes start to finihs. But if you've never done it or seen it, I don't think it will be nearly as clear where to disconnect things. He had to disconnect a pipe not right at the item, but elswhere where he could get a wrench on it.

Newer gas water heaters, IDK. But the ones I've been involved with, up until ~2008 vintage, it's very obvious where they come apart and only one way to do it. The burner is attached to the gas valve with one fitting, the pilot light with another, both are the only connections and they are right at the gas valve. Disconnect those two and the whole burner assembly comes right out in one piece.