My Bradford-White is 28 years old.
Don't replace it. Built better than the newer stuff.
A close eye is kept on it but have no plan to replace it.
I was under the impression that they aren't sold at Lowe's type places, only plumbing supply houses. Not sure if they're like the HVAC parts places here but you can't buy from the HVAC houses unless you're a contractor.
Our last water heater (pre-water softener) only lasted ~6 years before the bottom rusted out and leaked. Mistake I made was never draining and flushing it.... It was filled with literal (calcium) rocks !! I did pull the anode rod and it was in very good shape. Certainly much better than I was expecting it to be.
People often think replacing with the same size means the replacement will "fit" in place perfectly (not saying the OP thinks this). Every manufacturer can vary though, there's 'short' and 'tall' versions of the same capacity, and so on though. IMO, don't hard-pipe into the heater, use braided, flex piping for the final connection.
AO Smith. Installed an AO Smith gas (5 year tank) 40 gal. in 1992, replaced it in 2008 as a precaution only. It still worked good. In 2008, I installed another AO Smith (9 year tank) and it is still in use and works great. I flush it 3x per year but never changed anode rods in either...
That's good to hear, we have one going on 9 now....and as I recall it has a 12 year warranty....
Whirlpool and A.O Smith seem to be the best quality so far. When I worked for an apartment complex in maintenance we had numerous Rheem water heaters fail after installation. I'd look for one that says self cleaning on it.
I see that you are installing in a closet. Be certain that there is adequate make up air available and not a sealed closet.
planning on cutting another 3” off the closet door.
I have a Richmond that is 26 yrs old this month, still working fine but I am in the process of preventative replacement of it when I get the time or if it fails lol. I am a fan of AOS gas water heaters as my choice for replacement.
