40 gallon gas water heater

just replaced a 75 gallon GE with a 50 gallon electric AO-smith from lowe’s for my brother in law. only limiting factor is the incoming water temperature in Oregon is cold so in high demand water doesn’t stay hot very long. i reccomended a small tankless in front of the tank to raise inlet temperatures but he didn’t want me cutting holes in sheetrock to pull another circuit. tried to persuade him into a heat pump as well but wanted as cheap as possible. GE was built in 2004 and was nearly 400lbs after draining due to settlement/calcium in the bottom
 
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Jay3702 said:
My Bradford White is 10 years old. I’m looking to replace it soon. Which gas 40 gallon should I go with?
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AO Smith or Whirlpool. My Whirlpool has been flawless for several years. I Can't confirm but when I worked maintenance several contractors told me that Rheem is the only brand thst uses reverse fittings and to stay away.
 
BrendanC said:
just replaced a 75 gallon GE with a 50 gallon electric AO-smith from lowe’s for my brother in law. only limiting factor is the incoming water temperature in Oregon is cold so in high demand water doesn’t stay hot very long. i reccomended a small tankless in front of the tank to raise inlet temperatures but he didn’t want me cutting holes in sheetrock to pull another circuit. tried to persuade him into a heat pump as well but wanted as cheap as possible. GE was built in 2004 and was nearly 400lbs after draining due to settlement/calcium in the bottom
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That's a lot of sediment.
 
Donald said:
Plumber tells me you get a better quality unit from a plumbing supply house than Home Depot. I am not sure.
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I've heard this so many times too, but I don't buy it. The SKU's are generally the same for most items

Its like when people from other countries compare Walmart to their much more expensive grocery store. Yeah, Great Value products suck compared to Brand X you get, but no one is forcing you to buy Great Value items...
 
SupremePossum said:
I've heard this so many times too, but I don't buy it. The SKU's are generally the same for most items

Its like when people from other countries compare Walmart to their much more expensive grocery store. Yeah, Great Value products suck compared to Brand X you get, but no one is forcing you to buy Great Value items...
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If the models are the same then I agre, same item.

But Lincoln MIG at Home Depot has plastic gears and cheaper than one from a welding supply company which has metal gears.
 
Donald said:
If the models are the same then I agre, same item.

But Lincoln MIG at Home Depot has plastic gears and cheaper than one from a welding supply company which has metal gears.
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which models? surely not the same model number?
 
Rand said:
which models? surely not the same model number?
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No different model at Home Depot vs ,welding supply. But if you go to Home Depot and buy a 180 amp Lincoln MIG welder you will be unaware there is a better one available at a welding supply. But maybe the one a Home Depot is fine for the people shopping at Home Depot. Weekend welder. You assume a professional welder will deal with a welding supply all the time.
 
SupremePossum said:
I've heard this so many times too, but I don't buy it. The SKU's are generally the same for most items

Its like when people from other countries compare Walmart to their much more expensive grocery store. Yeah, Great Value products suck compared to Brand X you get, but no one is forcing you to buy Great Value items...
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Water heaters at HD are not exactly the same as a plumbing supply house. For example Rheem used a brass drain but sold at HD it is plastic.
 
Had a couple ao smiths directly from plumber , last about 5 years on the dot and tank rusts out (leak).

went to the Rheem also from plumber supply, 2 years gas control goes out, 15 minute repair, later down the road clumps of magesium or something turning hot water yellow, then it immediately dissapeared and its been couple years , this Rheem is pushing 6 years, but Im not sold that its any better.

my expansion tank was reading about 40 psi, and would cause squeak in pipes, ran it up to 80 psi and not heard ipe noise in a couple years.
 
Mackelroy said:
Had a couple ao smiths directly from plumber , last about 5 years on the dot and tank rusts out (leak).

went to the Rheem also from plumber supply, 2 years gas control goes out, 15 minute repair, later down the road clumps of magesium or something turning hot water yellow, then it immediately dissapeared and its been couple years , this Rheem is pushing 6 years, but Im not sold that its any better.

my expansion tank was reading about 40 psi, and would cause squeak in pipes, ran it up to 80 psi and not heard ipe noise in a couple years.
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Water heaters since the late 90's are all price point junk IMHO.
 
My water heater was donated by a friend doing a major home renovation, when my old unit died. Coming up on 12 years old in the spring. 48 gallon Rheem Classic Professional. After some recent home improvement projects, where the gas was turned off, the pilot pizo sparker didn't work. I opened up the viewing port window, stuck a long lighter inside, and got the pilot working...where I sit today.

Does anyone have experience with this model? Is it worth milking along longer?
 
Nessism1 said:
My water heater was donated by a friend doing a major home renovation, when my old unit died. Coming up on 12 years old in the spring. 48 gallon Rheem Classic Professional. After some recent home improvement projects, where the gas was turned off, the pilot pizo sparker didn't work. I opened up the viewing port window, stuck a long lighter inside, and got the pilot working...where I sit today.

Does anyone have experience with this model? Is it worth milking along longer?
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I have installed a number of those Rheem Classic Professionals. It is a roll of the dice.

BTW......Rheem seems to be the best of the bunch.
 
Nessism1 said:
My water heater was donated by a friend doing a major home renovation, when my old unit died. Coming up on 12 years old in the spring. 48 gallon Rheem Classic Professional. After some recent home improvement projects, where the gas was turned off, the pilot pizo sparker didn't work. I opened up the viewing port window, stuck a long lighter inside, and got the pilot working...where I sit today.

Does anyone have experience with this model? Is it worth milking along longer?
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When I last had an issue with my piezo ignitor, I removed the burner assembly and did some minor bending to get the ignitor stick closer to its ground point. That did the trick and no problems since.

If you regularly serviced your tank and it works good, I see no reason to replace your soon to be 12 year old tank. My Sears Kenmore (AO Smith) is 17 years old. I attended to it twice a year since new. At this time, I have no plans on replacing it.
 
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Lubener said:
When I last had an issue with my piezo ignitor, I removed the burner assembly and did some minor bending to get the ignitor stick closer to its ground point. That did the trick and no problems since.

If you regularly serviced your tank and it works good, I see no reason to replace your soon to be 12 year old tank. My Sears Kenmore (AO Smith) is 17 years old. I attended to it twice a year since new. At this time, I have no plans on replacing it.
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There in lies the rub, "service". It's never been serviced, other than I drained it when moving it from my friend's home to mine. At that time, I tried to remove the anode, but couldn't get it out without brute force, and I was afraid of breaking something. I'll take another look at the pizo starter, and see what's involved with replacing it. I can drain it also. I think this unit is a common 6 year warranty jobby, so not sure it's worth spending much on at this point. I just retired, and I've been trying to get the home in order, so I don't need to fuss too much into the future.
 
Nessism1 said:
There in lies the rub, "service". It's never been serviced, other than I drained it when moving it from my friend's home to mine. At that time, I tried to remove the anode, but couldn't get it out without brute force, and I was afraid of breaking something. I'll take another look at the pizo starter, and see what's involved with replacing it. I can drain it also. I think this unit is a common 6 year warranty jobby, so not sure it's worth spending much on at this point. I just retired, and I've been trying to get the home in order, so I don't need to fuss too much into the future.
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If you have never drained it before in the 12 years , you might be better off not draining it.

You shouldn't have to buy anything. Just turn it off and remove the burner. It's a good time to clean it while it's out. Chances are the ignitor stick is too far away from its grounding point. A small amount of bending will draw it closer. When you are done and fire it up, apply some soapy water on the two fittings you just reattached to make sure they do not leak.
 
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