Thanks so much for this detailed video. I would never have thought to buy a rod and cut it down to size without your help. I saved a lot of money. People like you who help others (and not just do something for themselves ) are hard to find. Your labor is much appreciated.
Great instruction. I made 2 mistakes . 1. Forgot to turn off my water valves. Stupid mistake! 2. I took off the second nut under the wire sensor. When I began to remove the old rod , the large nut on the old anode rod came off and the old rod plunged into my tank. Called a plumber and he said you cannot get the old rod out when that happens and just leave it inside the tank . So I installed the new rod and I guess all is ok. The old one will just disintegrate over time (I hope!). Just a warning for future DIY people like me . 😅
For anyone watching this (excellent) video and is looking for the rod he used, it is a SP11524C, and is available from the following as of September 2023: Repair Clinic - RC Item #2639362 Menards - Part # SP11524C Grainger (for Commercial users only) - Item #45W405 Supply House - Part #SP11524C There are several others I found, but these have them for a reasonable price of $31 to $32 or so from Menards and Repair Clinic, and around $45 to $50 from the other two...
Great video. I'm going to have to replace mine because the Anode sensor is going off. I'm not sure why it's not resetting. It makes me feel like it is better that it's not resetting. I will have to replace the Anode and try resetting it afterwards. Thanks for your time and video.
Great video and easy to follow instructions. Thanks! When I pulled out my Anode Rod, to my surprise all that came out was a very thin wire attached to the top knob. No outer rod just a thin almost like a wire hanger for clothes. Now my question is: did the old outer part of the original rod totally disintegrated (you can see water in the hole) or did I get the chinese version of Anode Rod in my GE Geospring Hybrid water heater? Any comments/suggestions? 😲
I have the GE hybrid water heater one generation before yours. It's not 13 years old and going strong. The anode rod part from GE is no longer available either. I've been very satisfied with this heater. But at thirteen years old I'm now considering changing it. Today's heat pump water heaters are quite a bit more efficient. And there are huge rebates in my home state. I still may consider changing the anode rod based upon your video. Thanks
Have a GE Geospring Hybrid and just got an F16 Anode Rod Depleted error code. Bought home new, Geospring came with house. Found out a while ago that GE offloaded water heaters completely, they don’t make my model anymore & Bradford-White picked up the slack. After some research, GE Manual, QR code, GE website, GE phone call that bounced me to Bradford-White, another call to B-W distributor, dog chased cat, that ate the rat, that…well…found out that the original OEM anode rod has that connector (to purple wire in vid) as a sensor (like you said) so that it knows a problem & can throw that code when the rod is done for. OEM replacement is pricey - of course - but I decided to bite the bullet since this heater is only 6 yrs old. I’ll be checking it more regularly, hoping to get 15-20 yrs out of it, AND I’ll probably buy a spare OEM rod in case they go scarce on me. That said, I’d be surprised if you can’t just replace it with a regular rod, and disable the anode sensor (also like your other vid) Great job & thanks for the good info!!!
A strong magnet might pull the rod up in that little "well". I've got a tall 80 gallon tank and never thought about how I would replace the rod in a basement with 8' ceiling. So I will have to use the multi piece rods. My red geo spring doesn't have the anode rod sensor.
Thank you for the video. Really helpful as our GEH50DEEJSCA water heater indicates the anode rod requires replacement. My owner's manual says to torque to 50 ft-lbs and I see you torqued yours to 9 ft-lbs. Quite a difference, wonder why?
Just a heads up. You may find that your teflon tape occasionally comes undone when you are screwing your rod/pipes in. When applying teflon tape pretend that the tape is a female fitting otherwise the tape can kind of "unwind" when you are trying to screw the pipe in. It works most of the time the way that you did it but the days where it doesn't work is when everything else is going wrong on your project.
Is the diameter critical for the rod? I don't see exactly a .840 in diameter rod generally available. If it is .75 or .90 in would that work? It looks like most or the specs say 1 in width but the rod diameter can vary.
I have the older red model. No anode sensor on it. I dont think its necessary. Its just extra "smart" functionality. But yeah, I get the feeling GE just went all in on water heaters to cash in on that government money that they were offering for water heater upgrades and bolted once it was over.
Thanks so much for this detailed video. I would never have thought to buy a rod and cut it down to size without your help. I saved a lot of money. People like you who help others (and not just do something for themselves ) are hard to find. Your labor is much appreciated.
Glad I could help!
You do nice work. Very neat. I dig your style.
Great instruction. I made 2 mistakes . 1. Forgot to turn off my water valves. Stupid mistake! 2. I took off the second nut under the wire sensor. When I began to remove the old rod , the large nut on the old anode rod came off and the old rod plunged into my tank. Called a plumber and he said you cannot get the old rod out when that happens and just leave it inside the tank . So I installed the new rod and I guess all is ok. The old one will just disintegrate over time (I hope!). Just a warning for future DIY people like me . 😅
Just replaced mine. Great instructions. I went with the Bradford White . I actually got 8 years before the light came on. We have good water 0:06
For anyone watching this (excellent) video and is looking for the rod he used, it is a SP11524C, and is available from the following as of September 2023:
Repair Clinic - RC Item #2639362
Menards - Part # SP11524C
Grainger (for Commercial users only) - Item #45W405
Supply House - Part #SP11524C
There are several others I found, but these have them for a reasonable price of $31 to $32 or so from Menards and Repair Clinic, and around $45 to $50 from the other two...
Great video. I'm going to have to replace mine because the Anode sensor is going off. I'm not sure why it's not resetting. It makes me feel like it is better that it's not resetting. I will have to replace the Anode and try resetting it afterwards. Thanks for your time and video.
Great video and easy to follow instructions. Thanks! When I pulled out my Anode Rod, to my surprise all that came out was a very thin wire attached to the top knob. No outer rod just a thin almost like a wire hanger for clothes. Now my question is: did the old outer part of the original rod totally disintegrated (you can see water in the hole) or did I get the chinese version of Anode Rod in my GE Geospring Hybrid water heater? Any comments/suggestions? 😲
They disintegrate over time, hence the reason why they have to be replaced.
I have the GE hybrid water heater one generation before yours. It's not 13 years old and going strong. The anode rod part from GE is no longer available either. I've been very satisfied with this heater. But at thirteen years old I'm now considering changing it. Today's heat pump water heaters are quite a bit more efficient. And there are huge rebates in my home state. I still may consider changing the anode rod based upon your video. Thanks
I was able to find a compatible rod by calling a plumbing supply and they found it.
Excellent video - thanks dude.
Have a GE Geospring Hybrid and just got an F16 Anode Rod Depleted error code. Bought home new, Geospring came with house. Found out a while ago that GE offloaded water heaters completely, they don’t make my model anymore & Bradford-White picked up the slack. After some research, GE Manual, QR code, GE website, GE phone call that bounced me to Bradford-White, another call to B-W distributor, dog chased cat, that ate the rat, that…well…found out that the original OEM anode rod has that connector (to purple wire in vid) as a sensor (like you said) so that it knows a problem & can throw that code when the rod is done for. OEM replacement is pricey - of course - but I decided to bite the bullet since this heater is only 6 yrs old. I’ll be checking it more regularly, hoping to get 15-20 yrs out of it, AND I’ll probably buy a spare OEM rod in case they go scarce on me. That said, I’d be surprised if you can’t just replace it with a regular rod, and disable the anode sensor (also like your other vid) Great job & thanks for the good info!!!
Where did you get yours?
Mine just went bad too. Where did BW direct you to get the OEM replacement?
Do you know if it's the Bradford White 415-52675-00?
The anode light on my GE Geospring started blinking. So I guess I'm replacing mine. I'm going to try and find one with the sensor wire.
$750 parts and labor.
Needle nose vice grips are good for grabbing the loose old rod
A strong magnet might pull the rod up in that little "well". I've got a tall 80 gallon tank and never thought about how I would replace the rod in a basement with 8' ceiling. So I will have to use the multi piece rods. My red geo spring doesn't have the anode rod sensor.
I have a geospring but it doesn’t have that “Anode” sensor on the front.
I’m hoping that means I won’t have to deal with the wire and first nut.
The wire is for the sensor, so I’d think you wouldn’t have it
Thank you for the video. Really helpful as our GEH50DEEJSCA water heater indicates the anode rod requires replacement. My owner's manual says to torque to 50 ft-lbs and I see you torqued yours to 9 ft-lbs. Quite a difference, wonder why?
Not sure.
Mid America Appliance Center sells those rods for 61 dollars shipping and taxes included
Just a heads up. You may find that your teflon tape occasionally comes undone when you are screwing your rod/pipes in. When applying teflon tape pretend that the tape is a female fitting otherwise the tape can kind of "unwind" when you are trying to screw the pipe in. It works most of the time the way that you did it but the days where it doesn't work is when everything else is going wrong on your project.
I’ve not had that happen, but I do make sure I wrap it in the proper direction.
the instructions say you need a 12" socket extension. Mine is 9", is that long enough?
You can try it. It may/may not work.
How do you switch off the anode rod indicator after this? Mine keeps blinking.
GE Geospring Hybrid Water Heater: How-To Disable Anode Rod Sensing
th-cam.com/video/Jyvm6qDAin0/w-d-xo.html
What’s the diameter of the rod you bought from Home Depot.
Not sure, but the link is in the Description
Is the diameter critical for the rod? I don't see exactly a .840 in diameter rod generally available. If it is .75 or .90 in would that work? It looks like most or the specs say 1 in width but the rod diameter can vary.
I think that would be fine. I don’t think it’s super critical. The diameter will definitely vary over time anyways, as the rod corrodes.
How long is it taking you guys to actually do the swap? The video makes it seem super quick.
It’s not that bad of a job, assuming you can loosen the rod. Less than an hour for sure.
Thanks
I have the older red model. No anode sensor on it. I dont think its necessary. Its just extra "smart" functionality.
But yeah, I get the feeling GE just went all in on water heaters to cash in on that government money that they were offering for water heater upgrades and bolted once it was over.
Can’t believe GE went with the electronics for anode monitoring rather than just install active (induced current) cathodic protection.
why did they put that down in a hole .
Don’t know…
It is a sensor wire. It does sense when the rod is end of life
Might be able to go a couple more years he says lol.
Maybe. Not sure. But it’s new now!