FencingNerd t1_jabtjtg wrote on February 28, 2023 at 8:19 AM

Reply to comment by ShortUSA in Maintain your water heater just once a year; it will last forever. by flyeaglesfly777

Breaking it isn't easy. There's a 3/16 stainless steel core rod in the middle of mine. I had to hack saw it out while it was partially out.
Not worth the effort.

FencingNerd t1_ja6gbda wrote on February 27, 2023 at 4:44 AM

Reply to comment by Mysterious-Salad9609 in Maintain your water heater just once a year; it will last forever. by flyeaglesfly777

I replaced my anode rod last year. My conclusion, the anode rod lasts the lifetime of the water heater, which is defined by the lifetime of the anode rode.

There's a fundamental design problem. The anode rod is installed in the water heater at the factory. Removing the rod requires that you have 5ft of clearance ABOVE the water heater. If you don't have that, it's darned near impossible to replace. So it's effectively a lifetime item.