Electric water heater brand preference

AZjeff

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My daughter needs a new water heater and it looks like the options locally are Rheem at HD and AO Smith at Lowe's. I can't find any meaningful comparisons between the 2, any thoughts or experience appreciated. Water heater tech isn't something I keep up on, who knew you should/could monitor and control your water heater from your smart phone?? We just want hot water when we need it.
 
AO Smith appears to have a slightly better reputation with plumbers, but I think it was due to the older models produced in the 80's and 90's. However, I installed the cheapest 40 gallon Rheem unit (with the 6 year warranty) from HD in 2010 and it is working trouble free today. This is in spite of the fact that I have done zero preventative maintenance in the past 13 years. My experience is only with electric units, so I can't attest for natural gas water heaters.
 
Locally here in PA, Bradford White water heaters are what the pros install. Assuming that you don’t have those where you are, I think AO Smith and Rheem are both decent options. I’d say get the best model you can afford.
 
Locally here in PA, Bradford White water heaters are what the pros install. Assuming that you don’t have those where you are, I think AO Smith and Rheem are both decent options. I’d say get the best model you can afford.
Bradford White can only be bought and installed by a plumber. Changing out an electric water heater is in our skill set. FYI they're made in Pa.
 
I bought a Noritz tankless, because energy costs are so high here. 5 years later, so far so good.
It is nice to get the garage space back; this thing sits on the wall.
 
Jeff, I am curious.....do you have to do any regular de-scaling process with the unit you have? Do you have any idea what your water quality hardness scale is out of the tap?
 
Electric prices are going nowhere but up. If the install location/climate is suitable and they have the money up-front, a heat pump(hybrid) unit will save them a good amount of coin in energy costs over a resistive unit.

Mine varies from using about 1/4 the power in the summer to about 1/3 in the colder weather we have here in GA.

There are tax credits and usually rebates available as well.
 
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Jeff, I am curious.....do you have to do any regular de-scaling process with the unit you have? Do you have any idea what your water quality hardness scale is out of the tap?
If you mean me and not JeffK the water here is moderately hard. I don't know about de-scaling but we drain the tank every 6 months and a fair amount of white scale flakes come out. Electric heaters don't have a long lifespan here. A hybrid was considered but would require new plumbing so on top of the up front cost of almost $1900 for a Rheem add $500+ for a plumber and there's nowhere for a condensate drain to go. The house has hot water recirc so a tankless is out and reportedly they plug up with the hard water. The tank is 7 years old and I don't know if the anode rod has ever been changed but since I didn't do it for her I doubt it.

There is no place other than big box within 75 miles that I know of. The tank has a slow leak of unknown origin that was just discovered so replacement soon in necessary. A moderately priced unit and an insulation blanket is probably the most cost effective route. Maybe AO Smith and Rheem quality are too close to call.
 
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Just like an AC unit, the condensate can be pumped. Other than that, the install isn't any harder than a resistive unit. Maybe another $100 in parts between the pump and fittings.

I pumped mine into the relief piping that was prexisting. The pressure relief and condensate drains both go into the pump.

Picured before I finished. The pump pumps into the the small drain coming out of the wall just to the right of the fan grill. The pump now also sits in a small pan with an overflow drain that does the same thing as the one that the unit is sitting in, just in case the pump stops the condensate will drain into the garage instead of the house.

I've also 3d printed and ducted an intake that gets the intake air futher out in the garage instead of in that cubby, ohh and insulated the discharge pipes.
 

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I put in a new A.O. Smith from Lowe's about 3 years ago. No issues so far. Just go with the full on copper flex connectors. I went with the braided Stainless Steel and had one start to corrode at the crimp point. (By the red washer). I replaced it with copper. The other has held up fine.

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My daughter needs a new water heater and it looks like the options locally are Rheem at HD and AO Smith at Lowe's. I can't find any meaningful comparisons between the 2, any thoughts or experience appreciated. Water heater tech isn't something I keep up on, who knew you should/could monitor and control your water heater from your smart phone?? We just want hot water when we need it.
The reason you cannot find any meaningful comparisons is because they likely are made by the same company. Buy for your needed capacity, price and warranty, not by brand.

Others saying "I have a three year old tank with no problems" is meaningless.
 
I purchased a water heater a few years ago, and consulted my uncle who is a professional lifetime plumber. I asked him this exact question...his response is that like car batteries, there are less than a handful of companies that make them, under many different names. You are ONLY paying for the warranty, with little to no difference in quality. Safety regs. really dictate most of the important components. Just buy the cheapest unit with the capacity (water and heating) you are looking for.
 
AO Smith and Rheem are both high-quality manufacturers. I don't consider myself biased, I am actually a Bradford White fan, but I hear their quality has dropped in the last few years, maybe not. BW is / was known for great gas water heaters.

I can tell you from working for Rheem as a consultant, they put a lot of research and development into their products. They make a LOT of water heaters and probably have more market share than many think.

With that said, I have a Rheem Performance Platinum LP Gas burner..... and for the second time in less than 8 years, I had the burner assembly taken apart while laying on my laundry room floor this weekend to clean the fouling off of the pilot assembly from the oil in the propane. It's not Rheem's fault, it the fact that my tank is nearly 30 years old, we've let it get down to less than 1% twice in the last 7-1/2 years....

I'll say that trying to find a new burner / pilot assembly without a serial number has been a complete PITA. Why don't I have a serial number? Well, I bought this at a scratch-n-dent store that sells a lot of HD stuff and paid about 1/2 price back then. Today, that price is about 1/3 of the cost of a new water heater.

If your daughter has the water heater in a location that will benefit from air conditioning most of the year, a heat pump water heater will cut her energy use on the water heating by 50% or more. You just have to know that in heat pump mode, they put out a lot of air conditioning to the space they are in.
 
When it was time to replace the water heater at my moms house I got an A.O. Smith from Lowes because it was made in the US vs the Rheems at Home Depot. Not saying they are better because they are made in the US, but it makes me feel better.
 
The house has hot water recirc so a tankless is out and reportedly they plug up with the hard water. The tank is 7 years old and I don't know if the anode rod has ever been changed but since I didn't do it for her I doubt it.
Tankless can work with recirc pumps, and yes they to take more maintenance with at a minimum an annual flush.
 
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