We fixed the water heater!! With the help of a 1-1/2" socket and breaker bar, the element came off at last. Once the old element was removed, out gushed a lot of water. Apparantly, the bottom of the tank wasn't cleaned out after all. It was completely covered with sediment - calcium, lime, and all that nasty stuff. I spent some time scooping out what I could before cleaning up and putting in the new element. Also, the old element was completely destroyed. It wasn't even connected, and Jer had to dig out the pieces. So here are some pictures of what I'm talking about:
This is a picture of the lower element and thermostat on the outside of the tank. The hexagon thing on the bottom is the old element that wouldn't budge. You can see the rust and corrosion.
No, I didn't puke. This is the stuff that sits on the bottom of your hot water tank. Gross. Now I know why they need to be flushed out once a year.
This is the old element that we pulled out. The sediment level had risen to the height of the element, and just completely corroded it away. To compare, a picture of a new element:
So I'd like to think that we extended the life of our water heater by at least a few more years. The new element cost $9.99 at Home Depot, and a new water heater is at least $250. I love being able to do things ourselves.
Also, this website came in very handy. Now we just need to solve the problem of our recurring clogged drain. I've used Drano 4 time since moving in here, and it's already clogging up again. Grrrr...
This is a picture of the lower element and thermostat on the outside of the tank. The hexagon thing on the bottom is the old element that wouldn't budge. You can see the rust and corrosion.
No, I didn't puke. This is the stuff that sits on the bottom of your hot water tank. Gross. Now I know why they need to be flushed out once a year.
This is the old element that we pulled out. The sediment level had risen to the height of the element, and just completely corroded it away. To compare, a picture of a new element:
So I'd like to think that we extended the life of our water heater by at least a few more years. The new element cost $9.99 at Home Depot, and a new water heater is at least $250. I love being able to do things ourselves. Also, this website came in very handy. Now we just need to solve the problem of our recurring clogged drain. I've used Drano 4 time since moving in here, and it's already clogging up again. Grrrr...
2 comments:
try taking off the goose neck part of the pipe and look in it to see if there's a major plug or use one of those pipe snakes, its a long flexable metal hose that you push through the pipe, it should dislodge whatever the previous owner tried to put down the drain.
Wow ! Good for you guys. We would have ended up making the situation worse somehow if we would ever try to be "handy" We probably would have ended up needing a new water heater, and a divorce. :)
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