water heater anode rod

garyp4951 wrote:
On my last fw I replaced mine with a plastic plug.

If you have a suburban WH you MUST have an anode rod. If not your tank will destroy it'self. Anode rod is sacrificial. you wanna spend $15 or $300.00

Rwake901 wrote:
This is the first RV that I’ve had that has an anode rod our other campers/motorhomes just had a plug. I took the anode rod out to drain the water heater and I thought it looked pretty ate up after only one season. Is this normal?

Yes. I consider replacing it just a part of annual maintenance. And this is my first MH with a Suburban heater. All the others were Atwood. This will also be my last MH with a Suburban.

Lynnmor wrote:
It all depends on water quality and the quantity used. I replace when it is about half depleted or the wire looks weak near the fitting.

This is a good method. According to Suburban you should drain the heater when not in use, so plenty of opportunities to check it. The rods are cheap as is teflon tape around the threads, and I suppose Suburban has a good reason for using them in their water heaters.

This is the first RV that I’ve had that has an anode rod our other campers/motorhomes just had a plug. I took the anode rod out to drain the water heater and I thought it looked pretty ate up after only one season. Is this normal?

It all depends on water quality and the quantity used. I replace when it is about half depleted or the wire looks weak near the fitting.

On my last fw I replaced mine with a plastic plug.