Anode Rod
All the water heater talk had me out inspecting mine today. I've never changed out an anode before. Is this typical of a worn rod? A good deal of white sediment came shooting out when I drained it. ...
Forum Discussion
Wishbone51 wrote:
.. Atwood.. "No anode required" .. what they do different to not require an anode? Maybe a better coating?
From rvforum.net:
Suburban uses glass enamel over a steel tank. If the enamel was applied perfectly and stays in perfect condition, water never contacts the steel and all is good. But any pinhole exposes the steel to water, so the anode is needed for protection.
Atwood uses an aluminum tank. Aluminum doesn't corrode, so in theory there's no reason to use an anode. But they use a steel threaded insert for the drain, which is in turn welded to the aluminum tank. Guess where my last two elderly (>10 years old) Atwood heaters developed a leak? I don't know if an anode would have protected the weld or not.
