The sacrificial anode is there to protect the steel tank. It lasts a long time.
This is a hard water problem as everyone else is saying, and a water softener would solve the issue.
*Edit: check the very bottom of your tank since you have the elements out. It most likely has a pile of calcium and other minerals sitting on the bottom.
In NA, steel is standard. I’ve never seen a copper hotwater tank in Canada. I think that used to be somewhat common in Europe, but copper is freakin’ expensive now so that’s gone by the wayside, as well.
The sacrificial anode is there to protect the steel tank. It lasts a long time. This is a hard water problem as everyone else is saying, and a water softener would solve the issue.
*Edit: check the very bottom of your tank since you have the elements out. It most likely has a pile of calcium and other minerals sitting on the bottom.
-a plumber
Steel tank, not copper?
In NA, steel is standard. I’ve never seen a copper hotwater tank in Canada. I think that used to be somewhat common in Europe, but copper is freakin’ expensive now so that’s gone by the wayside, as well.
Steel tanks, that’s why the sacrificial anode is there so the water eats it away instead of the tank.