<div dir="ltr"><div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">Well, eager beaver guys who like to tinker will drain/remove/inspect every 2 years or so. <br>Most folks wait until the water starts getting discoloured(I did this the 1st time), but for the last 2 decades at least, </div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">I just replace it every 5 years as the body count is 4 is the house. After 5 years, the rod is at least half-gone.</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">If you have less people in your home, then increase the # of years between replacement.<br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">I am increasing to 7 years as there is now, on average, only 2 people at any give time in the 2 homes we live in.<br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">Our distant home is in Saskatoon and talking to locals there, they say the water is much softer that water here in Ontario so anode replacements should be even less often since the water should be less reactive. <br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">I am sticking with 5-7 years though, just in case.</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">The wait time for draining is the most annoying along with cleanup, allocate about 3 hours for the full job if you are not a DIY guy. I'm not, and it takes me about 3 hours and a few expletives..</div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default"><br></div><div style="font-family:tahoma,sans-serif;font-size:large" class="gmail_default">Hope this helps.</div><br clear="all"></div><div><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_signature" data-smartmail="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><i><font size="4"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif"><br></span></font></i></div><div><i><font size="4"><span style="font-family:comic sans ms,sans-serif">Ron S.</span></font></i></div></div></div></div><br></div><br><div class="gmail_quote gmail_quote_container"><div dir="ltr" class="gmail_attr">On Wed, Feb 11, 2026 at 5:25\u202fPM D. Hugh Redelmeier <<a href="mailto:hugh@mimosa.com">hugh@mimosa.com</a>> wrote:<br></div><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="margin:0px 0px 0px 0.8ex;border-left:1px solid rgb(204,204,204);padding-left:1ex">> From: Ron Singh <<a href="mailto:ronsingh149@gmail.com" target="_blank">ronsingh149@gmail.com</a>><br>
<br>
> Also, keep a spare sacrificial anode around to replace the one in your<br>
> water heater, and your unit will work for many decades. Time-consuming<br>
> doing an anode replacement but well worth it.<br>
<br>
How can you tell whether an anode needs replacing? Without major surgery?<br>
<br>
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