Wednesday, April 4, 2012

Preparing for the Next Move

(DeFuniack Springs, FL) Hi 75 Lo 61 – We waited for the storms from Texas to come our way, but we never got anything, just clouds. More tornadoes hit Texas yesterday. We’re hoping that’s the end of it for awhile, and that no more good people suffer losses.

Our blog has attracted some new followers lately. It was nice to receive comments from two businesses we recently visited, MyRVMail, and Long View RV Superstore. We also received a comment from a family here in the park. Thanks for all the comments, it makes the blog easier to do.

Jim did a little maintenance on our water heater today. He changed the anode rod. The anode rod protects the insides of the water heater from corroding by attracting the elements that cause rust and corrosion. It slowly deteriorates over time. Here's a photo of the old one (top) compared to the new.
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We have a 10 gallon water heater, and when Jim drained it all kinds of particles and sediment came out. You can see the round hole where the rod goes at the bottom of the panel below, under the gas tube. It still has a little water draining from it.

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After flushing out the tank a few times with our hose he screwed in the new rod, and we're set for another year.

It was cooler today so we opened all the windows and aired out the RV. I swept the floors and put away a few things. Jim checked the tires for the trip tomorrow. Our son said the days seem to be going faster now that we’re on the move.

I did my walk around the park and Jim did the laundry.

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While I was walking I kept hearing a clinking sound. We saw this small pavilion yesterday but had no idea what it was. Today a lady was there playing a game and she explained it’s Holey or Washers. You stand on one of the blocks and throw big washers to the second block. It’s different points for each hole. This was something we've never seen before. This lady was playing alone, but they have several blocks and benches and they have tournaments.  Interesting what people come up with to play.

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We didn’t do much the rest of the evening. Everything is ready to hitch up tomorrow for a three hour trip to Montgomery, AL. We have reservations at the Maxwell-Gunter AFB Famcamp. We're hoping for good weather.

I'll leave you with this cartoon that I found on Facebook.

photo

5 comments:

Rod Ivers said...

Just for the record, there is nothing wrong with your old anode rod. They will corrode clear down to the metal rod that is in the center of the give up metal. It is about the thickness of a welding rod. You can scrape off some of the corrosion with a blade and just put it back in. If you look at the end of the new one you can see the center rod that doesn't corrode. I too have changed this thinking that the white stuff made it bad, until a fellow at the camper supply store let me in on the little secret.. LOL

Tumbleweed Jim said...

Rod, point taken. When I changed the last rod it was worn down to almost nothing and it was only 11 months old. The one I took out today was in for 1 yr 3 mos and has some life left in it. I figure if I just replace it on a one-year schedule it'll be cheap peace of mind. Thanks for your insight. Jim

Bob and Jo said...

I am in the once a year for peace of mind camp.

Anonymous said...

Just a FYI... but RVGeeks have a great YouTube video on cleaning your water heater with vinegar... really good.

Ron

Ron and Cynthia said...

I enjoy your blog and read it every day. We hope to be full timers one day. Thanks for the lessons.

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