Tell me about your water heater....

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ZZman

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I have a 40 gal Lochinvar natural gas water heater right now. I was going to change the anode rod as it has never been changed. I then realized it is 14 years old so I decided to just get a new one.

Going with a A.O Smith 40 gallon this time with a 9 yr warranty. Getting it as Lowes.

Going to try to maintain this one better. More flushes and anode rod checks/changes.

So what do you have, and are you good at maintenance on it?
 
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I have a 40 gallon gas Sears 9yr. (AO Smith) that I installed back in 2008. I have always flushed it twice a year but never changed the anode rod in any of my tanks. Mostly because of accessibility. No headroom to R&R the rod and would have to uninstall, move it or lay it on its side it to get the rod out and new one back in.. The previous one was also a Sears and I replaced it at 16 years old even though it had no issues,
 
I have a home in Indonesia with 3 baths and Rinnai LPG instant heaters. House uses about $100 worth of LPG/year with one bottle for stove.

I can buy a heater for approx $150, but this brand is very reliable. The combo washer dryer internally heats water to steam clean.
 
glock19 said:
I have a Navien NPE-210A tankless. So far, no complaints.
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Hi, you and Aredeem like your Navians. We are looking at a new combi heat and water. Our installer recommends Navien. Can you expand your thoughts? I don't have any personal or close experience with them. Do they always keep up even w/ two showers going? Maintenance? Thx.

This is a lake house that is not used that often and it is a waste to heat 75 gals (20 yr old water heater) even to vacation setting then bring it all up to temp when arriving.
 
We've got a 40 gallon State Select natural gas model from 2018, and have had a few similar ones from different brands (A.O. Smith, etc.) over the years. I usually try and drain them once a year or so out the bottom valve, and clean the lower filter at the same time. It's cheap to run and no complaints here, but a bit more capacity would be nice (should probably have gotten a 50 gallon model).
 
It is very difficult to discern quality differences between the most popular 3: Rheem, A-O Smith, and Bradley White. Units built today are probably not similar to ones over 10 years old. My current one is a Michigan built Bradford White of mixed reputation. I dislike that the anode rod is part of the water connections, not separate. My last "quality comparison" made me think Rheem slighty edged out the 2 others, but who knows?

Internet chatter on the pro sites suggest that the Lowes offering is a dumbed down, lesser quality version, and maybe difficult to warranty or get parts? It is VERY difficult to verify this.
 
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I've had great luck with A.O. Smith (Sears) water heaters. First one lasted 25 years. The one I have now is 11 years old.
 
AO Smith electric ..12 or so years old changed out one heating element but has been a great water heater
 
Bradford White, 50-gallon natural gas heater at both my place and my Mom's.

In Mom's case it replaced a 25-year-old Rheem heater that was already a discontinued model when Dad installed it. No issues other than Mom needing peace of mind that the old heater wasn't going to go out any day... ;)

In my house, it replaced the 50-gallon Bradford White heater that came with the house and lasted 17 years. That one had a very tiny leak, so it needed replacing. Even the plumber who installed it was surprised at how long the one one lasted. They're good but apparently he didn't think the were *that* good.

And sadly, In both cases I have to admit to not being religious on maintenance.
 
Lubener said:
I have a 40 gallon gas Sears 9yr. (AO Smith) that I installed back in 2008. I have always flushed it twice a year but never changed the anode rod in any of my tanks. Mostly because of accessibility. No headroom to R&R the rod and would have to uninstall, move it or lay it on its side it to get the rod out and new one back in.. The previous one was also a Sears and I replaced it at 16 years old even though it had no issues,
Click to expand...
They do make sectioned anode rods that bend for tight clearance problems.
 
opus1 said:
Bradford White, 50-gallon natural gas heater at both my place and my Mom's.

In Mom's case it replaced a 25-year-old Rheem heater that was already a discontinued model when Dad installed it. No issues other than Mom needing peace of mind that the old heater wasn't going to go out any day... ;)

In my house, it replaced the 50-gallon Bradford White heater that came with the house and lasted 17 years. That one had a very tiny leak, so it needed replacing. Even the plumber who installed it was surprised at how long the one one lasted. They're good but apparently he didn't think the were *that* good.

And sadly, In both cases I have to admit to not being religious on maintenance.
Click to expand...
I am afraid older ones may have been made better. Maintenance is probably even more important today.
 
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