A Sacraficial Anode is Exactly that A Sacrafice! It is used to protect the Suburban Brand Water Heaters! I would not be worrying about it one iota! If it melts away in six months or three Years ,it is doing what it was designed to do and that is protect that expensive Water Heater from the Harmful elements that are present in the Water!
I tried one of those Combination Anode ..Easy Drain models once. it plugged up with so much gunk that I had to remove it to drain the Tank anyway. So I tossed it in the Scrap Metal Bin and replaced it with the proper one from Suburban!
