Anode rod
Our fresh water overflow problem is back. After mysteriously disappearing two months ago, it reappeared after I (belatedly) replaced the anode rod in our hot water heater a couple of days ago. To perform that little task, I had to turn off the water supply for about 20 minutes. A few hours after turning the water on again, the overflow reappeared. Drip, drip, drip. Torture.
Now please understand that the hot water heater cannot be blamed. Yes, water could flow from the fresh water tank to the hot water heater if the water pump was activated, which it was not. Turning off the water was a simple act of closing the valve at the utility post. I did not do ANYTHING with the water controls in the RV. So I cannot think of any reason why this simple task would cause the problem to resurface.
Several attempts to “fix” the problem (i.e., make it disappear again) – by turning the 4-way water flow valve that was replaced earlier this summer – have had no effect.
Frustrating.
For those of you who have no idea what an anode rod looks like, see the photo. This is a zinc rod which has the effect of protecting the innards of the hot water heater from corrosion by sacrificing itself to corrosion. A chemical engineer could probably explain it further.