So it's RV maintenance time again! We had a few things to do on the RV this time like replacing the black tank vent cover, fixing a pipe "air" leak from the black tank, re-painting the cover on the back bucket, cleaning out the water heater from scale and replacing the anode rod. Oh, by the way, did I mention it was freezing outside, oh so much fun!
We replaced the vent cover on the roof of the RV with a "non-movable" 360 degree siphon vent instead of the "movable" tail fin vent we installed when we left the house 3 years ago. It was time, and the movable one was not so great when the wind blew in the right direction, if you know what I mean.
The anode rod needs replaced about every 6 months to a year depending on where your water source comes from. What does the anode rod do and why is it important to replace it. Well, in short, it keeps your steel water tank from rusting and leaking. So, if you dont replace it you will surely get a leak and no one wants to have to deal with that!
Cleaning out the water heater from scale is normally not that bad, but when its freezing outside...yeah, its fun! This maintenance is also essential if you want to keep the scale from building up in your tank and ruining the electric heating element. Scale comes from different minerals in the water and when heated it calcifies causing very hard materials that will actually cause your heating element to overheat and split.
The bucket cover for the back of the RV was a very faded blue and just looked bad so Melissa painting it gray to match the RV and it looks SO much better! Its not very often we have to do this much maintenance but it is required to keep everything functioning properly and looking good.