[Nords]

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Originally Posted by El Guapo From what I saw, the key to hopping the last few points are a little item you can add on to an existing water heater that came standard on mine...little plastic or metal ball valves in the cold and hot pipes that inhibit thermal migration from the tank to the pipes when the heater isnt on. I peered into mine and saw them. Without them, the heat from the water in the tank is inducted away to the pipes in the house. Insulating the pipes helps, but doesnt completely solve the loss.

I've learned from the solar guys that those little balls melt above 150 degrees. Ah well. I'm astounded at how much natural circulation our system has (ahem, must be those sleek corners & great solder joints) even past the spring check valve. The pump cycles on for about 20 seconds every half-hour all night long, but I never hear it so it's no bother.

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Originally Posted by ERD50 I tried to replace the anode rod in our heater also. It was so tight, I figured I was very likely to damage something if I tried to put any more force on it. So I gave up.

Sorry, I neglected to mention the six-foot cast-iron cheater bar that I gently applied to the end of the socket wrench... it's easiest if the tank is still full of water and hardest if the tank is empty.

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Originally Posted by sailor Also after reading many war stories on the internet, I started with PB Blaster on the old one - worked like a charm.

How's the hot water taste? Any stomach flu or diarrhea in the house recently? Just kidding...

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Originally Posted by sailor PS: Why deep socket? Regular worked for me just fine.

Now I'm jealous. Both of the rods I worked were inside the outer shell buried below an inch of insulation. Even the deep socket barely cleared the interference-- after a bit of hammering percussive adjustment, anyway.

Hey, let me share a little home-improvement tip I learned this evening-- the hard way. Everyone in the world knows to upgrade the rubber water-supply hoses to their washing machine with steel-braided hoses that you religiously replace every 10 years... right?

How many of us do that with our dishwashers? The steel braid looked fine, too, except for those two pinhole leaks spraying out of it and simultaneously soaking both the kitchen cabinet and under the dishwasher. Thank goodness we were home and found the water (or it found us) before bedtime. The hose was 10 years, three months, and eight days old.