Symptoms of Anode Rod Failure

The Corrosive Effect of Water

• While essential to sustaining life on Earth, water is also a highly corrosive molecule that will oxidize and destroy metals over time. This characteristic has significant consequences for water storage, because any tank used to hold water will become demolished by its contents given sufficient time. Water is a polar, covalently bonded molecule that exhibits hydrogen bonding between molecules. It will spontaneously form charged ions that will bond with adjacent metals and oxidize them, leading to the familiar phenomenon of rust.

Sacrificial Anodes

• The use of a sacrificial anode rod is one way to help slow this natural degradation of metal in contact with water. The corrosive effects of water tend to focus on one type of substance at a time, so a substance that is relatively more susceptible to corrosion when placed within a tank of water will decay before the walls of the tank. Such an anode can incorporate a material that will only emit rust when near failure, which will discolor water and indicate the time to replace the sacrificial anode.

Symptoms of Anode Rod Failure

• The primary symptom of anode rod failure in water tanks in general is the presence of discoloration in the contents of the tank. Most liquids --- even those that are not pure --- have a distinct color that can change if the chemical makeup of the liquid changes. The liquid stored in a metal tank will change color as the anode rod fails and emits rust particles into the tank. This color change can provide the first concrete sign of anode rod failure.

Signs of Anode Rod Failure in Hot Water Heaters

• The symptoms of anode rod failure in a home hot water tank remain the same as those in any other kind of tank, with an added detection problem :Finding the source of rust-colored water in a home can prove difficult. Pipes can decay just like tanks, and municipal water systems can have discolored water for many reasons. The best way to isolate the source of the rust and assess anode rod failure is to run only the hot water, then only the cold water, at a faucet closest to the tank. If only the hot water is discolored, this is a strong sign of anode rod failure.