I'm told Bradford-White and Rheem are good brands. How is State? Thanks.

JP

1. Bradford White
2. Rheem
3. state

In that order.

1. Bradfordwhite
2. Lochinvar Or Rheem
.
.
. State

Not a big fan of state they make allright water heaters but brands listed make better.

Indiana Plumber

Bradford-White,No call backs
Tankless Noritz

All similar.

Breaks down like this ...

Rheem makes Rheem, Ruud, Richmond and General Electric.
A.O. Smith, makes A.O. Smith and State.
Bradford is itself I think, and makes nothing else.
A.O Smith also makes Kenmore's tanks.
Rheem also makes GE's tanks.

I've never had any problems with the three you mentioned, but would stay away from Home Depot and Sears brands .. etc...

Hey, what about Bock? Nobody mentioned Bock yet.

I would love to see some reliable figures, across the industry, on tank life and other issues. Unfortunately that info would never be shared by any manufacturer with more problems than someone else, due to its toxic effect on sales.

Is there a nationwide distributor out there with a poorly-compensated or recently laid-off person handling water heater returns and warranty claims? That's where I would look for the best info.

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Links to the State of Wisconsin Plumbing Code:
[docs.legis.wisconsin.gov]
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I am not a plumber.
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Bock oil fired units rock.
I replaced a 71E last week that was just over 20 years old.
[bockwaterheaters.com]

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Probably okay now, but they are no longer sold in Arizona.

You missed AO Smith and American.

Replaced a leaking 5 year old Bradfore White gas heater Sunday, so they are not categorically the "best" heater with no problems.

There is no way a company can control tank life, and if you check the water heater bone yards you will find almost the same number of EVERY brand in the scrap bins.

Instead of

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Good Plumbing is not cheap and cheap Plumbing is not Good. Take the extra two minutes to do it right!!

doing

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Good Plumbing is not cheap and cheap Plumbing is not Good. Take the extra two minutes to do it right!!

The replies ar to specific postings, not a contiuous dissertation. If you follow the "arrows" and read them in context it will make sense to you.



Edited 1 times.

One way to increase tank life is to install an electrical bridge between the hot and cold entry/exit nipples on the tank. Don't'ask me why but in my area, (Ketchikan, AK) it sure helps tank life.

Get two elec. ground clamps and bridge a piece of copper grounding wire between the clamps.

That is what I do when a tank suffers premature failure. Often caused by stray electrical currents too small to track, which get "trapped" in the tank because of the dielectric nipples.

seems like HOYT built their tanks too well, cause they're gone but i still come across their old water heaters

Thanks everyone for your input. I expect that all of the top brands will last the same amount of years. However, I want trouble-free years. Therefore, I went with Bradford-White. Thanks again.

Same here, but only see one about once every four or five years.

You could have pulled a name out of your hat, and had the same chance of making the right decision.

Yep .. earlier I said, "I would stay away from sears".

I pulled a Sears tank out of a house a day or two after I posted that. The warranty expired in 1976. Figure it was a 10 year warranty?

It sprang it's first leak three days ago.

My old Day/Night gas water heater will turn 40 years old this April.

Yes, I do drain off a gallon every few months and have flushed it out years ago or, it would have failed as my neibors have over the years.

32109,7+42 Spring has Sprung!

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Which proves the point that you cannot tell how long a heater is going to last by just its brand. At that time the heater might have been made by State, the new ones are AO Smith.

The electrical wire from hot to cold pipes is called 'bonding' , and it is required in NJ.

I just had to replace my 2 yr. old Bradford White so they are NOT the most reliable.