Bosch Tronic 3000T ES2.5 Electric Water Heater

colbysmith

Several of us have removed the 6g water heaters and replaced them with the Bosch Tronic 3000T ES2.5, 2.5g water heater. It fits under the sink and works pretty well. I'm not really sure what the life expectancy of these little units are, but they cost around $180 currently. I have not pulled the anode out until today. I installed the water heater in June 2020, so it's now had 4 seasons of use. Water remains in the tank about 5 months out of the year. TO get to the anode, you have to remove the front face plate, and the heating element. My element was covered in corrosion and the anode was fairly pitted. I cleaned everything up and placed it back in the tank. However, I also noticed that while the inside of the tank was glass lined, the outside was metal and rusted. See photos:

A lot of corrosion on the heating element and anode, and the anode was quite pitted.

Little better view of how pitted the anode is after some cleaning

If you look close here, you can see the tank is pretty well rusted on the outside.

A new heating element and anode costs around $90. I think for the price of the tank I will just replace the entire tank, as there are some reviews of it leaking after 3 years.

Just sharing these photos for others that have this heater. With a new tank, I will likely follow the instructions to pull the anode (which means pulling the element) annually to check and clean. I do use a RV water filter when away from home when filling my potable water tank, but that doesn't change the hardness of the water going through the system. Colby

Schuster · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 1:30 pm Post subject:

Looking at the anode I would say it isn't horrible. Yes there is some expected corrosion of the anode which means it is doing it's job. The anode looks to me to be able to be replaced individually. I would research it further and see if you can just buy the anode alone without the heating element. If you find one I'd just replace it and flush the tank out, reassemble and call it good for now. I learned the hard way to replace the anode in the 5th wheel trailer. I wasn't aware that there was an anode to change out. When a neighbor commented that he noticed a drip coming from my heater I did some further investigation and pulled the anode out. It looked like a piece of corroded metal coathanger wire. Needless to say it was not protecting the tank any longer and i had to replace the entire unit. But in your case I would say it is still in very good shape. Not sure if this helped but good luck with it.

colbysmith · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 1:36 pm Post subject:

Thanks Dave, but the main reason I decided to replace the entire heater is due to the rust on the outside of the water tank and numerous reviews of leaks after several years. The cost isn’t overly expensive and I prefer not to wait until it’s leaking. Sad

Colby

Salmon Fisher · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 2:16 pm Post subject:

Thanks for bringing this up to discuss!

Here is a replacement anode:

https://www.amazon.com/Eleventree-Airston-heaters-Replacement-7738007315/dp/B0BN4WBDKD/ref=asc_df_B0BN4WBDKD/?tag=hyprod-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=652458393358&hvpos=&hvnetw=g&hvrand=9967094525758138786&hvpone=&hvptwo=&hvqmt=&hvdev=c&hvdvcmdl=&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=9033354&hvtargid=pla-2188809750188&th=1

We are probably going to buy this water heater to replace our 6 gallon unit.
Seems way more efficient.[/url]

colbysmith · Posted: Thu Nov 02, 2023 4:31 pm Post subject:

colbysmith · Posted: Wed Oct 30, 2024 10:48 pm Post subject:

Just pulled the heating element and anode out of my new Bosch water heater. Same model as the previous one. I've only had this in use one season. And, I've been using a water softening water filter when filling my potable water tank. It appears that this brand and model water heater is eating away at the anode. Here are some photos I took of the element and anode, after soaking them in vinegar for several hours and cleaning them up:

The bottom two photos are just showing different sides of the used anode, along with a brand new anode. There was quite a bit of calcium deposit on the unit when I pulled it out of the heater. I do leave/run water in the heater during the entire boating season. (March thru October.) Colby

Schuster · Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 1:50 pm Post subject:

Looks to be that you did well to check that anode at this time. That is a lot of corrosion after just 5 or 6 months in the water. This is a wake up call for me to check my anode in the RV. Thanks for posting this. How did the tank look this time?

colbysmith · Posted: Thu Oct 31, 2024 2:56 pm Post subject:

The tank itself, looked good. And the heating element looked pretty good after soaking in vinegar for several hours.

WCF · Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 3:01 pm Post subject:

How are you guys winterizing these heaters?

I converted mine to the ES 2.5 earlier this year and didn't think about this until now.

colbysmith · Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 8:21 pm Post subject:

WCF · Posted: Fri Nov 01, 2024 8:30 pm Post subject:

Thanks Colby - I blew air through the whole system a few days ago - Was just making sure I wasn't missing something about the best way to get the water out of the heater.

A little plumbing to make an easy way to blow out the water heater specifically is a great idea.