Was curious if anyone could provided me with a trick to remove my heater element to install a new one.  Have tried element wrench….bent the heck out of that….tried socket and due to the nature of a socket and small thickness of the element nut….that didn't work…..any ideas anyone?

 Hi, the next question is why is it so hard to remove? If and when you get it out without destroying the water heater tank, I would definitely use teflon tape or anti-seize on the new one. If not too late, You need to use a six point socket, so as to not slip or round off the hex.