Quote:
Originally Posted by timun
An aluminum heater? WhoTF builds an aluminum heater? Granted I don't work on residential stuff, but I've never seen an aluminum tank...
Magnesium rods will tend to "do better" in the sense that Mg it's more electronegative than aluminum.
That said, because it is more electronegative and more readily corrodes, it will also react more readily with minerals in your water supply. What can happen with Mg anode rods in hard water—like Calgary's—is that the Mg rod reacts so readily with mineral ions in the water that it becomes covered in scale and stops effectively protecting the tank long before the supply of Mg is actually depleted. I've seen functionally useless Mg anode rods pulled out of tanks covered in white crust.
As such, more often than not, in my (admittedly institutional/commercial/light industrial) experience, anode rods sold in the Calgary market are de facto aluminum.
I'm surprised Rheem has any particular material recommendation at all.
|
You will find aluminum water heaters in RVs, which is where I got my experience with them. You want to use an anode rod that reacts with the water contaminants more readily than the body of the heater does. Inspect yearly if not even more frequently and change out as needed. The idea is to avoid buying a new heater.