Atwood water heater anode

Both brands of Water heaters (Suburban and Atwood) require you to flush the tank yearly. IF you do that, then then Atwood will not corrode from the inside. It really depends on the mineral content of your water. Yes, Atwood Aluminum tanks can corrode from the inside, but an Anode rod will NOT stop that type corrosion. It takes years to corrode internally and if you flush once or twice a year it will never happen. The ONLY time I have seen massive corrosion on a Atwood tank was 30 years ago and it happened in less than 8 months on a brand new unit. The customer went to the RG valley in Texas and lived for 6 months. In that 6 months the mineral content of his water corroded out the inner tank and he had scores of pin holes. Atwood did warranty the new inner tank. As to that dealer and his tech helper. I have 34 years as a tech and except for the failure I listed above have never seen another failure on a tank less than 10 to 15 years old. I would never advise a customer to use an Anode rod on a Atwood aluminum tank. I HAVE seen gauled aftermarket non plastic plugs and such that you cannot remove because the the different metals welded to themselves. Aluminum thread does not play well with other metals. Doug