O/T: Who makes a good gas water heater these days?

Terry Keeley · Dec 14, 2020

I got a 50 gal Rheem "Powervent" ten years ago and it's been a POS since the day I got it.

Three blower fans, two gas control valves and a thermal release device. It finally started to leak - I won't miss it.

Who makes a good replacement these days? Anything more "commercial"? Stainless steel tank etc?

I'm hoping for something to last twenty years, am I dreaming?

Turbowerks · Dec 14, 2020

Ten years is the new normal. Build em cheap , light weight and expensive, i mean affordable. Lol i like your stainless idea , but probably have to buy a industrial laboratory model or build it. But then when your house burns down from the bad lightswitch they will deny the insurance cause the damn water heater wasn’t listed. Smh

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tdmidget · Dec 14, 2020

Haven't bought one in 12 years but when I did it was a Bradford White. . Replaced one 18 years old. No problems since. Made in USA.

Bill D · Dec 15, 2020

Do you still need 50 gallons or have the kids moved out? I think all the tankless ones are stainless steel.
Bil lD

eKretz · Dec 15, 2020

I switched to a tankless several years ago and am very happy with it. Mine is a Rinnai.

neilho · Dec 15, 2020

Me too. Bought a Paloma (no electricity required) in '86 and it's still working great. Have to run some vinegar through the heat exchanger every ten years or so, but that's it.

The best thing about it is the floor space it saves.

wippin' boy · Dec 15, 2020

go to a 40 and you don't have to have the blower shit. kids are gone and thats all i need
i shower with the washer running and still cant use enough hot water to run out
im shocked at how well an new old fashioned $400 reem does

michiganbuck · Dec 15, 2020

My son in law just needed to put one in the Alzheimers home. A big one that costs over $5K. It was only 10 years old.
The maintenance man put it in or that likely install would have been another $500 or so.

They only last that long..10 years or so said the retailer.

At his home, he has two Munchkin tankless. they seem now out of business and are OK/good but need cleaning about every 5 years or so.. He is not handy to do that simple job so pays a few hundred for cleaning service.

Yes, one can go on youtube and see the cleaning process...

g-coder05 · Dec 15, 2020

Joven on demand units is pretty much the standard in Asia. I think mine were about $40 each for the showers and kitchen and truckin right along for over 10 years each now. simple 220 outlet and inline plumbing. From 0-scalding in about 5 seconds.

Spud · Dec 15, 2020

eKretz said:
I switched to a tankless several years ago and am very happy with it. Mine is a Rinnai.

Tankless Rinnai here also. No issues since it was installed almost 2 years ago. Tankless is the way to go.

kb0thn · Dec 15, 2020

Last LP water heater I did was an AO Smith Vertex. Supplyhouse.com has great pricing on it. Has nice LCD with diagnostics on it. I was using it for combined potable water and heating the house. It had a ton of cycles on it and we would periodically go through ingniters. But we are talking multiple cycles per hour. It's all kept track of on screen.

If you want better quality, then I would look into something like the Vertex or other commercial water heaters.

And I would buy a set of replacement consumables to have on hand for it. The local hardware store doesn't stock ignitors for commercial water heaters. I discovered this on a Sunday before a holiday Monday and a week long work trip out of town. With baby in the house. It was -25F outside. We lived off grid, so had to run the screaming 3600 RPM backup electric generator and space heaters to keep the house from freezing.

GregSY · Dec 15, 2020

Man, can I help you. I bought one 2 years ago for a 'customer'. I used a Rheem that I bought from these guys:

Water Heater Installation | Houston Water Heaters

This is a non-Home Depot grade heater and best of all it uses none of that new computerized bullshit for diagnostics or safety. Just a well built, old school heater.

aribert · Dec 15, 2020

I have no familiarity with tankless HW tanks.

I'm a small time landlord - I have 6 or 7 Bradford-White 40 and 50 gal HW tanks plus one Lochinvar (built just like a BW). None w/ power vent. Not uncommon for a gas valve to fail just out of the 6 yr warranty. I'm only having BW HW tanks installed as replacements.

Not like a few decades ago. I bought a POS Richmond HW , 6 yr warranty, at one of the big box stores, installed it, lit the pilot and 13.5 years later replaced it because the house was between tenants and it was a convenient time to replace. All of the newer style explosion resistant hot water tanks seem to be sensitive to household dust clogging the intake and tripping the pilot. The BW has a two piece burner access cover - allowing access to the burner chamber without removing the gas and thermocouple lines to the burner. I vacuum out the burner chamber and then I use my special blow gun - with an 18 inch long tip to blow dust away from the intake grill since you can not access the backside of the grill without removing the tank and dismantling it.

rons · Dec 15, 2020

I looked at tankless heaters a few years ago. The exhaust ducts with zinc plated surfaces should be replaced with stainless because of the increase in heat.

Terry Keeley · Dec 15, 2020

GregSY said:
Man, can I help you. I bought one 2 years ago for a 'customer'. I used a Rheem that I bought from these guys:

Water Heater Installation | Houston Water Heaters

This is a non-Home Depot grade heater and best of all it uses none of that new computerized bullshit for diagnostics or safety. Just a well built, old school heater.

I was looking at that very one last night, strange it's not available at Big Box.

Agreed, tankless looks like the way to go for longevity but I'm just not up to the extra complexity (re-doing venting, gas lines etc.) at this time. Maybe next time I'll be too old to DIY and just call someone, but it'll be a pre-emptive strike, not an emergency.

Just the two of us so 50 gal. works. Never heard of Bradford White but like the comments/reviews. Plus they're employee owned and made in MI.

So I think it comes down to the Rheem (I swore I'd never buy another) "Professional Classic": https://s3.amazonaws.com/WebPartners/ProductDocuments/CEC7F721-4DAB-4F54-9902-0E006D22791A.pdf

Or the Bradford White: https://s3.amazonaws.com/bradfordwh...ower_vent_naeca_compliant_specsheet_c1261.pdf

Any comments on those two?

TIA.

eKretz · Dec 15, 2020

rons said:
I looked at tankless heaters a few years ago. The exhaust ducts with zinc plated surfaces should be replaced with stainless because of the increase in heat.

Not sure which one you looked at, but my Rinnai is all stainless in the burner department.

blcksmth · Dec 15, 2020

We built a new house in 1996 after a fire in 1995. This summer the 5th gas water heater was installed. It is a Rheem from Home Depot and replaced the previous Rheem which was still under warranty. They all leaked. Why? We still do not know. A couple heaters back I was ready to go electric figuring they were glass lined and that would eliminate leaks. Apparently not true. Also looked into the heat pump type but the customer reviews convinced me that technology was not ready for prime time. I also discussed the tankless option with the plumber but after explaining the necessary exhaust ducting needed, the cost was prohibitive. I would need close to 30' of exhaust duct because of where all utilities are located. Considering our age, this maybe the last one.

Bob
WB8NQW

MCritchley · Dec 15, 2020

You will be money ahead with a tank type water heater. The average family uses something like 40 gallons of water a day, and that might cost 50 cents.
State makes a good water heater and is built in Tennessee.

Also- do not forget to drain your water heater tank annually and occasionally check your anode.

Scottl · Dec 15, 2020

We have an AO Smith ProLine Commercial Grade and it's been very reliable.

GregSY · Dec 15, 2020

For you guys with the tankless heaters....how long do you have to wait for hot water?

My tank heater costs almost nothing to run. I use gas for the water heater and clothes dryer, and still it's hard for me to use more than $18/month in gas. That's in the summer when I'm not using the house heater.

It's not enough to go by a brand name. Most brands have cheaper and better lines. A cheap Rheem will be a POS. A pro-quality will be good. Before you blame Rheem or any other maker, know that for every person who will pay 5% more for a better heater, there are 10 who will cheap-ass out at every corner.

O/T: Who makes a good gas water heater these days?

Titanium

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Diamond; Mod Squad

Titanium

Diamond

Diamond

Titanium

Diamond

Stainless

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Diamond

Titanium

Diamond; Mod Squad

Cast Iron

Stainless

Diamond

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