Water heater recommendation needed please

Looks like I’m in the market for a new water heater. Anyone have any suggestions for a good brand?

It will be gas and need to service a 4 person household.

Also, roughly what would a person expect it to cost to have it installed?

Mike W. should be chiming in.

I had mine replaced (Original in house, approx. 35 years old) about 9 years ago, about 4-years later replaced again under warranty.

Both times it came about as I walked down stairs at O’Dark Thirty to go fishing and floor was all wet, water running and thus ended my fishing plans for the day.

I got a Rheem now, 1st replacement was a A.O.Smith.

I have a GE from Home Depot, have had ii about 15 years and have not had a problem a 50 gallon 12 year warrenty is about 500 do not know what they get for install.

when I was working (doing service work)
A.O. Smith was a good brand

I had mine replaced (Original in house, approx. 35 years old) about 9 years ago, about 4-years later replaced again under warranty.

why is it that our advanced tecnology only produces appliances that last for 10 years ?? when old school water heaters lasted 35 years ?

Where ever you buy it from make sure you can get same day parts. My son bought a water heater from Menards last year and had an issue with it two days before Christmas and a house full of people. Menards didn’t carry part for them and the repair guy didn’t handle them either. Parts were available from North Carolina sometime after Christmas Now he has a new water heater and an old one still under warranty in his garage.

A.O. Smith was a great water heater years ago, simply not the case anymore since they were bought out. Rheem/Rudd is a very good unit as there are other good ones too. Purchase it from a plumber and have him install it. Too many times folks think they are saving money by going to a local retailer only to find out many contractors won’t work on items purchased in the retail market. There is a plumber out of Oregon/Madison that may help you. Email me for his contact information.

Thanks everyone for the advice. This morning it was leaking, but still making hot water so I thought I had a bit of time. This afternoon the pilot light was out and the issue is urgent. Hopefully our local guy can get to it quickly. Heating water on the stove to bathe the kids and wash dishes is going to get old fast.

Yep. Home stores sell cheap water heaters with nice extended warranties. Like stated above good luck with those warranties. They will get them fixed for you. You just need to give them some time. Keep in mind the average amount of time your wife will put up with no hot water is very short. Less than half a day if I had to guess. Dont worry she will let you know her take on this.

The other thing you get with a home store water heater is a low price quote on installation. The installers are payed next to nothing for installation. The way they make it up is on the prices for extras that are needed. New code approved 1/2 gas valve, $240. New 3/4 cold water shut off, $300. Venting up date, $500 to $600. If you decide to not have them do the work one your hear these additional prices there is also a cancellation fee for them to go away. Dont fault the installers for these prices as they need to cover their cost on this work. Look at the home store that dictated the original low price to them.

Seen plenty of home store, appliance center, gas supplier installs with low quality water heaters, substandard installations and the customer ends up paying more than what we would of charged for a quality water heater that we stand behind. Not a good deal.

For a family of 4 you should be able to get by with a 40 or 50 gallon water heater. Most family that size go 40 unless you have some high water needs. Rheem Pro 40 gallon water heaters with gravity vent is our most common sold. That is a metal vent that come off the top and goes out the roof as opposed to a power vent that goes out the side of the home. They come with a 8 year warranty when a licensed plumber does the install. Last year they qualified for a rebate from our local gas supplier to. Not sure if they still do for this year. Those standards keep going up.

A. O. Smith, Bradford White, State are other common brands that plumbers sell. GE, Honeywell, Whirlpool, American are some brands that the home stores, appliance centers and so on sell. If you are looking for a no frills, low price install your self water heater this is where you might find your best deal. Dont worry about a extended warranty then as you can change it out faster than dealing with the warranty center.

If you have the time water heaters are pretty easy to install. I put a Rheem power vent in from Menards 12 years ago and it’s still going strong. With as hard as our water is and the buildup we see on everything else i’m surprised it’s lasted this long.

Mike,
I’ve got a Rheem energy miser low boy (as I remember the name from I think now 30 years ago). Dad and I did the install. He was a plumbing contractor and I was a young general cont. myself.

IS Rheem still as good as it gets quality? I still buy from wholesale houses and from the other stores, so, what do you really suggest? I was thinking either another Rheem or State.

What do you suggest?

If you have a water softener they will last twice as long. That is if you do the yearly maintenance on the water heater. I bought a whirlpool and it’s still going at 11 years.

Thanks Mike, that’s a ton of good info. As tempted as I am to do it myself, I don’t have the time and don’t trust anything sold by home improvement stores. I would rather have a warranty that my local plumber honors.

We have real good luck with the Rheem pro series water heaters. Pro 40 gallon gravity vent is the most common heater we sell. Cant even remember the last time I had a call back to work on one so cant complain.

30 years is a fantastic run on a water heater. My guess would be that scale built up on the inside of it and protected the tank from rusting. Dont see many that go that long but there are a few. As far as what brand lasts I think its more luck of the draw than brand. Far more its the controls that go out and then you have to ask if its worth putting money into a old water heater. There is no repair for a tank that leaks and you just never know when they will start.

I have some customers that I tell if the heater is not going to cause any damage when it leaks you might just want to wait until it goes. On the other hand nowadays with the many finished basements if a leaking heater is going to cause damage you need to be proactive on changing it out. Have even heard of a few insurance companies asking about age of water heaters in insured homes now.

There can also be some fuel cost savings to not running a water heater forever to. When you hear that popcorn sound in your water heater when you turn it on that is scale build up in the bottom. It also means your heater is not running as efficiently as it once did. Newer water heaters have a lot more insulation on them to. We find many newer 40 gallon heater to be two to three inches bigger than older models just due to more insulation. Is this enough savings to off set the cost of a new installation? Not sure. Maybe just some more info to use when deciding if its time for a new water heater or not.