Water heater, anode rod, electrolysis, and teflon tape

donn0128 wrote:
No. According to Suburban the anode rod uses a chemical reaction NOT electrical.
It could be totally isolated from any metal and will still perform its intended function. Think sacrifical anodes on a boat for an example.

Did you take chemistry in high school? Chemical reactions generally are electrical. I only took one semester so I can't say that all chemical reactions are electrical, but the ones I remember from class certainly were.