Anode rod and drain plug is a one piece assembly.
Drain plug has a steel rod attached and then the anode material is formed around that steel rod.
Remove drain/anode rod between trips to drain/flush water heater and to clean off anode rod.
Forget about easy drain via a pet-cock design etc.
And that Atwood anode rod........aftermarket rip off cause Atwood WHs don't need an anode rod and are not recommended by Atwood.
That's whay they are not a problem.......anode rod not needed/necessary so petcock drain works OK. Personally I prefer draining and flushing as a petcock type drain is too small to get all the crud out.
