Hot water tanks

[Rat Rod Mac]

I need a new 40 gallon gas fired hot water tank. Nothing fancy, just your basic. I have it down to two manufacturers, Rheem and A O Smith. Any pros or cons on either one of these. Prices are close enough not to be an issue. Or maybe there is a better one than these two out there? RRM

 

[reb]

What area the chances that they are both made by the same manufacturer? When I replaced my electric water heater a few years ago, I found that mine were different brands, but made the same place.

 

[mddorange]

No, AO Smith and Rheem are NOT the same company. Both make good water heaters. If you just want a basic water heater, then go with which one is cheapest but has the longest warranty.

 

[mikester]

Buy the one with the longest/best warranty

 

[Ritothebull]

Don't know much about Rheem's water heaters but I do see more A O Smith around here than any other brand, I had one in my last house and the one I have now is 16 years old and works fine. Also AO Smith specializes in water heaters and boilers so that's usually something I look for in a manufacturer whenever possible.

 

[prichard]

Rheem, A O Smith and Bradford White are 3 separate and only US manufacturers AFAIK

 

[mddorange]

I remember in the 1960's when Sears switched it's Kenmore water heaters from being supplied by AO Smith to Rheem, that it hurt AO Smith enough that they had to lay some people off and the laid off people swore that they would never shop at Sears again. :laughing:

 

[RNeumann]

We stopped installing AO many years ago because of early failures. I’d avoid AO. Rheem, BW are both good. BW had some nicer parts like a curved dip tube but I don’t know how easy they are to find outside a wholesaler.

 

[tjkubota93]

I installed an ao Smith 50 gallon gas 6yr 3 years ago. I bought at supply house. Cheaper than Lowe's and had a metal drain. Lowe's had plastic drain.

 

[Rat Rod Mac]

Now this came up at work today,,,, in front of the Lowe's store is a row of John Deere garden tractors, but according to two guys at work these are not the real deal, these are made by MTD. The real John Deere tractors are sold by a JD dealer. So my question is,,, are the A.O. Smith water heaters sold at Lowe's inferior to ones sold at a supply house to plumbers? Are there good Smith water heaters and cheaper ones sold by the big box stores? RRM

 

[tjkubota93]

Now this came up at work today,,,, in front of the Lowe's store is a row of John Deere garden tractors, but according to two guys at work these are not the real deal, these are made by MTD. The real John Deere tractors are sold by a JD dealer. So my question is,,, are the A.O. Smith water heaters sold at Lowe's inferior to ones sold at a supply house to plumbers? Are there good Smith water heaters and cheaper ones sold by the big box stores? RRM

I think that's how it is.

Lowe's and hd are like Wal-Mart. They want the cheapest stuff to make the most money and have the lowest advertised price.

Lowes- hey we need to save 2.5 million dollars on the 2 million water heaters we are thinking about ordering

AO Smith- ok we will put a different drain valve on

Lowes- sounds great

Lowes- anybody in China want to sell us a 2 million $1 brass drain valves we can hang up in the aisle next to the water heaters we bought with the crappy plastic drain valves?

Diy dude- I saved $400 putting in my water heater so I will upgrade to this $12 drain valve and It will be a job well done.

 

[Deere Dude]

I switched from a 50 gas to a 40 gas and after reading ratings and comments I concluded HD had a better class of 40 gal heater than Lowes. I forget the name but put it in and never a problem.

 

[RNeumann]

Now this came up at work today,,,, in front of the Lowe's store is a row of John Deere garden tractors, but according to two guys at work these are not the real deal, these are made by MTD. The real John Deere tractors are sold by a JD dealer. So my question is,,, are the A.O. Smith water heaters sold at Lowe's inferior to ones sold at a supply house to plumbers? Are there good Smith water heaters and cheaper ones sold by the big box stores? RRM

AO is the inferior brand.....avoid them!

 

[dragoneggs]

Last fall I sold my house I built in 1986. I wish I remember the brand of Nat Gas water heater I had. It still had the original water heater! It was installed upstairs in the master bedroom closet so we would have the shortest wait for water in the morning! Don't know if inside upstairs location had anything to do with longevity, but anyone I ever told couldn't believe how old it was. I think it was the only appliance I didn't replace in the time we lived in the house.

 

[tjkubota93]

AO is the inferior brand.....avoid them!

Just wondering, not arguing. I do not know much about this.

Why?

I got the AO because the local supply sold them. I would have had to drive a ways for a different brand.

 

[RNeumann]

Just wondering, not arguing. I do not know much about this.

Why?

I got the AO because the local supply sold them. I would have had to drive a ways for a different brand.

We had and see a lot of failures with the AO. The dip tube is cheap which prob causes some of the issue. The tank lining, I’m assuming, isn’t quite as good as the failures were tank failures.

Our closest wholesaler sold AO so we switched to the other wholesaler for Rheem. We also started stocking BW- they seemed to be top of the line with regards to features but the wholesaler was about 30’ away.

Also consider where the T&P and anode comes out- it may make a difference in a tight install.

 

[tjkubota93]

We had and see a lot of failures with the AO. The dip tube is cheap which prob causes some of the issue. The tank lining, I’m assuming, isn’t quite as good as the failures were tank failures.

Our closest wholesaler sold AO so we switched to the other wholesaler for Rheem. We also started stocking BW- they seemed to be top of the line with regards to features but the wholesaler was about 30’ away.

Also consider where the T&P and anode comes out- it may make a difference in a tight install.

Should I change the dip tube out for something else?

 

[Gator6x4]

Now this came up at work today,,,, in front of the Lowe's store is a row of John Deere garden tractors, but according to two guys at work these are not the real deal, these are made by MTD. The real John Deere tractors are sold by a JD dealer. So my question is,,, are the A.O. Smith water heaters sold at Lowe's inferior to ones sold at a supply house to plumbers? Are there good Smith water heaters and cheaper ones sold by the big box stores? RRM

If you buy a John Deere D series mower at the Dealer or Lowe's it was made at he same Deere Manufacturer. Now if you move up to the X series of mowers you can only purchase those from a Dealer. The Difference Between John Deere Lawn Tractors - Consumer Reports

So don't assume because you purchased a D series mower from the Dealer it is different than the one sold at Lowe's. When an owner of a D series mower purchases parts they do not have to differentiate if the mower was a Dealer or Box Store purchase.

 

[RNeumann]

Should I change the dip tube out for something else?

If you have a choice a curved dip tube churns the sediment, which seems to help the tank last a bit longer. The straight tube or tube with reverse holes in the side don’t seem to do as good of a job. Also pull the anode and make sure it isn’t some short or thin POS.

 

[drizler]

Its a good idea especially if you are on a well to try to think to flush it once a year. I know nobody dies it but its so simple and all you need is a garden hose for a drain. Then get a new annode before the warranty comes up and change that. You don’t even have to drain the tank to put an annode in and its dirt easy.