PeterD wrote:
snip

Now, a stainless tank I could see... Most tank damage is however due
to the effects of a blown element, the voltage from the element to the
tank causes it to quickly eat a hole in the tank.

I haven't found that to be the case, although most of my experience is
with gas heaters. Those perforate at the bottom, near the burner. I
did have one that perforated at the top, near the flue, but that was due
to bad welding at the factory. I was able to solder it a couple of
times before it became unfixable.

IME, most electric water heater problems are due to sedimentation. That
can be mitigated with a good periodic cleanout; but they all eventually
wear out.

Yeah, stainless would be good, at least for electric units. For gas, it
might be good as well; but when you overheat stainless steel, it
becomes...'not' stainless and subject to rust. I've had that happen to
a couple of pieces of cook wear that boiled dry....

jak