How to Replace an Electric Water Heater Anode Rod

This video from Sears PartsDirect shows how to replace a broken anode rod in some electric water heaters. The anode rod helps prevent tank corrosion by aggressively attracting oxidizing compounds that would normally corrode the tank. If your hot water smells like rotten eggs, you may need to replace your anode rod with a zinc-aluminum anode rod.

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The video includes these parts. Look up your model to make sure you get the right parts for your water heater.
Anode rod
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Transcript:
The anode rod helps prevent tank corrosion by aggressively attracting oxidizing compounds that would normally corrode the tank. If you hot water begins to smell like rotten eggs, replace the anode rod with a zinc-aluminum anode rod using the steps in this video. Before you begin, wear work gloves to protect your hands. Switch the two house circuit breakers dedicated to the water heater to OFF. Turn off the cold water supply to the water heater. Attach a garden hose to the drain valve and run the hose outside or to a location where the water can drain. Open a hot water faucet in the house or flip the relief valve open on the water heater. Open the drain valve and allow the tank to drain about 5 gallons of water. Then close the drain valve and remove the garden hose. Pry the plastic cap covering the anode rod off of the top of the water heater. Remove the foam insulation then unthread the anode rod and pull it up and out from the tank. Wrap pipe thread-sealing tape around the threads of the new anode rod. Thread the new rod into the tank and tighten it firmly. Reinsert the plastic cap. Turn the cold water supply on to the water heater and allow the tank to fill with water. Once you see water coming out of the hot water faucet, turn the hot water faucet off. Warning: Don't restore power to the water heater until the tank is full of water. Flip the house circuit breakers to the ON position.