Sacrifical Anode for SHC, 304644

A bit of a job replacing the anode in the Stiebel SHC 2,5 water heater. If the unit is highly accessible the front cover, front Styrofoam and heating element could be removed while still wall mounted. The old anodes have always been easy to remove but often they are completely gone after 2 years. Would a larger anode allow a 2 year replacement cycle?

I installed one of these a year after purchasing my water heater. The next year there was no corrosion. I added one of these on year number two and hopefully my water heater will last into year number three.

Anode mounts inside the tank accessible from the heater. The heater element must be removed (roughly 2" nut) to access the port where the anode is threaded.

I have seven of the 2.5G water heaters. I put new anodes in them 26 months ago. Now the tanks have significant corrosion damage and the anode is completely gone. I guess I will replace them in one year next time. I would hope the anodes would last 2 years as it is a lot of work pulling the units apart to change the anode. I do have a water softener and that may contribute to the problem.

This was my first time using SupplyHouse.com and I am happy with the experience. The ordering was easy. The parts were shipped promptly and arrived undamaged. Unfortunately, a sacrificial anode is now part of the replacement heating element (which I also ordered), so I didn't need this one. But it didn't cost much, so I kept it as a spare.

It is unclear to me which anode is meant for my 2-3 year old 2.5 G Stiebel units. I called Supply house but the "tech" really wasn't familiar with the units. I used these #304644 anodes. They easily screwed into the heat element plug. I think the original anodes may have been placed through the body of the tank but this placement seems fine. The original anodes were consumed totally. It was easy enough to pull the heat element but a bit time consuming as the unit had to be removed from the water supply and dismantled.