Never had to replace one, but it is drawing near. There are more options than I thought there would be. Mine were installed in 2007. The ones on the depot website are listed for 5 years at $530, 9 years at $660 and 12 years for $1000. Pretty sure these options didn't exist back in 2007 and I am going on 15 years with these, so whats the deal here? My usual is to just pick the one in the middle and hope for the best. Any advice? Not interested in going tankless at this point.

Depending on the brand, I think they are the same bones or identical with varying levels of warranty. Might check online by brand or someone here has more info.

I'm pretty sure they are the same thing. You're just paying extra for the extended warranty.

Buy one from a plumbing supply like Ferguson. They are cheaper and have better parts - particularly the valve.

I've had to replace numerous water heaters over the years. Not a DIY for me. I DO NOT recommend going through HD or Lowe's. I found a local reputable plumber and got it done.

Not what you're asking but buy one at Ferguson. You have massive parts availability. Same price or cheaper than the depot too

As everyone is saying, but at Ferguson. I bought a tanked Bradford White from them 60 gallons gas, for like $300 in 2012. Been running great since.

Bought a house 2 years ago and we replaced both water heaters with Bradfords before we redid entire floors (hardwood). Glad to hear you are having a nice little run with them. Ours have been flawless to date.

Replacement isn't hard as long as it isn't in the attic. Often the biggest challenge is draining and removing the old one. They are heavy and awkward.

Personally I have never had an issue with one from home depot. Generally the tanks are all made by the same companies and then the brands buy them and put the perripherals on and label them. I generally buy the mid or high end ones. Buy where ever.

I usually tell people 12 years is about as long as you should go if it is in a place that a catastrophic failure would cause damage and an insurance claim. 8 to 10 if it is located in an attic.

Like everything else, prices have gone up a lot. I got a 12 year gas at HD last year for 700 to 800.

I've changed out a few in the attic. Not too hard.

You are working with flammable gas and lethal voltage so not a job if you have no experience working with those hazards- call a plumber!

Some key points

Make sure the height of the replacement heater will fit in the attic space. Measure the old one first.

Turn power or gas off. Isolate water. Open drain and monitor, open Safety valve ( T&P) to vent. Let cool and take old one out.

This is a good tip I learned years ago : If you have a flex copper line for the heater connections, connect an old flex hose from the heater's hot and cold nipples to make a handle for lifting the new one in and lowering the old one out.

If in an attic and if possible, get the biggest drain pan possible for the space for the replacement if original has a small pan. Make sure it's routed to a drain.

Replace all the flex lines and nipples used on the old tank.
Replace the safety valve ( temperature & pressure valve).

Make sure you have vertical room to replace the sacrificial anode, that can be key to long heater life.
I buy a spare anode that matches when I buy the heater. I label it and set it adjacent to the heater.

Make sure you have horizontal clearance for replacing elements on electrical heaters. They are easy to replace, I think they take an 1-1/4" socket, it's been a while.

Fill it, check for leaks. Turn power and gas on and monitor for leaks after it heats up. Check it again thoroughly for leaks the next day.

Adjust thermostat and check actual temperature at bathtubs and faucets so you don't scald someone. Don't trust the thermostat labeling.

Usually the thermostat is set too low. Each electric heater element has its on thermostat, be careful that is an energized wire with lethal voltage adjacent to the heater thermostat adjustment.

planoaggie123 said:

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Bought a house 2 years ago and we replaced both water heaters with Bradfords before we redid entire floors (hardwood). Glad to hear you are having a nice little run with them. Ours have been flawless to date.

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Ya I won't put any tanked brand in a house I own except Bradford white. The internals are well above industry standard and better than anything you will find at HD or Lowes. Helps a significant amount of the water heater are made in the USA as well.

For my main home I put in 2 high efficiency tankless Rheems, and those have been fantastic.

Aggie71013 said:

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Depending on the brand, I think they are the same bones or identical with varying levels of warranty. Might check online by brand or someone here has more info

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For some, I noticed that the ones with the longer warranties just have two sacrificial anodes instead one. Save yourself a lot of money and change it out yourself every few years.

Brother you are reading my mail.
Done them all, even a "forever" with shortest life of all of them.

1. Shop top of the line
2. Research reviews & life & anode rod details
3. Get a hands-on for the best drain plug, e.g. brass, if possible ... because you'll be using this at least 2/year for longest life
4. Get a high rated plumber to do it all
5. Obtain a high quality RUBBER garden hose for exclusive WH drainage use, attach and roll it up next to WH
6. Display a Date Log chart on WH side, also note of software calendar WH flush every 6 months.
7. When flushing to outside or tub, allow approximately 1/3 the tank to exit ... when it gets older, you'll HEAR the junk bucking around until it run clean & clear again

TIP: when they are working on your street water supply "repairs", more dirt is expected so you might move up your flush data then

Bottom line
Top of the line purchase
Expert installer
Flush 2/year

Building a house now. 3200 sqft one story and builder wants me to put in two hot water heaters I think because he wants to use two of the pex manifolds? I dont want two of them when I think one 50-60 gallon tanked would work. On the flip side is if we do a foam insulation house I may have to go to a tankless version....I assume that with tankless I would only need one as arent they hot water on demand?

Pretty sure with tankless you don't have a tank. Or, they did a really crappy job naming it.

Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Pretty sure with tankless you don't have a tank. Or, they did a really crappy job naming it.

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Ha yes but I have zero experience with a tankless...does it perform with an endless supply of hot water or is there sizes that equate to something like a 50-60 gallon tanked hot water heater?

From my understanding, it is pretty much just coils with natural gas fire on them. When you ask for hot water, the fire kicks on. Once you move out the old water in the pipes, your water should be hot. I don't think there is any sort of hot reservoir.

Jack Pearson said:

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Milwaukees Best Light said:

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Pretty sure with tankless you don't have a tank. Or, they did a really crappy job naming it.

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Ha yes but I have zero experience with a tankless...does it perform with an endless supply of hot water or is there sizes that equate to something like a 50-60 gallon tanked hot water heater?

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They have tables/sizes for number of fixtures. So a 3.2 GPM unit is estimated for (making up numbers) 2 sinks and 1 shower and 1 appliance (washer/dishwasher). If you have more, you go up in size (4 GPM, 6 GPM, etc.)

Once you get hot water, it keeps making hot water. So if the unit is far from the manifold or heater, it will take a minute to heat up, but then stay hot. You can put a smaller unit in than is needed, but if you start taxing the system, the hot water won't be as 'hot'.

Tankless also only go up to 120 F; my old one could be bypassed to get up to 125 F. While there are the safety factors to work out, that might be an issue for you. There are times in which I want hotter water (cleaning things) and I'll increase my tank heater to get hotter water, then turn it down afterwards.

And there is a twice-a-year maintenance (or yearly, depending) that needs to be done on the unit. 2 short hoses, 3 gallons of vinegar and a sump pump to backwash the unit, depending on the water hardness. Since the water heater has nothing to place the sediment in (no tank), it can accumulate in the HEX where the flame is or in your faucets. The faucets you use the most will clog up the fastest.

In my old house, I ended up putting a hot water filter in the outlet line. Cheapest canister filter with the largest pore size I could find. Every 6 months, after installing it, I would dump out about a golf-ball sized collection of rocks. Before, I was taking apart the master bath sinks and kitchen sinks faucet screens to get the rocks out of them. Water in Houston (municipal well water) was kind of hard...

~egon

Some bad info. You can easily exceed 120F with tankless depending on model. My Navien can go to 183F.

My old Rennai would not go above 120F.

You had to remove the cover and flip a switch to go to 125F. That's it.

Short of reprogramming the system, which I wasn't going to do. Mine was an inside the home unit, not the exterior unit.

~egon

Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Some bad info. You can easily exceed 120F with tankless depending on model. My Navien can go to 183F.

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Do you know what model you have?

Curious on the tankless hot water heaters, as well. I have short little thing in the attic of my condo that can't fill my tub sufficiently, without running out of hot water.

I've been told the natural gas ones can get hot enough, but the heat is definitely my one concern. Not too worried about the cost of the unit, just need it to perform well.

Jack Pearson said:

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Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Some bad info. You can easily exceed 120F with tankless depending on model. My Navien can go to 183F.

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Do you know what model you have?

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Not the person you replied to, but the gas powered Takagi tankless water heater I have is more than capable of handling the 3.5 bathrooms in the house. It's 1 floor and a mix of copper and PEX plumbing running off two main lines from the water heater (think "L" shape if it were laid out over the floorplan) and the water heater is at the corner of the "L" so the farthest shower is maybe 40-50' of pipe away.

It tops out at 120 but since the water heater is so large and connected with appropriately sized plumbing it delivers water hot enough for people to complain about if they don't mix it with cold. Sizing of the water heater and plumbing is definitely not something to overlook with these.

I do plan on adding a mini tank water heater for a half bath that's at the end of the plumbing line but I'd need that regardless of what kind of heater I use for the rest of the house.

Jack Pearson said:

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Mr. AGSPRT04 said:

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Some bad info. You can easily exceed 120F with tankless depending on model. My Navien can go to 183F.

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Do you know what model you have?

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It's the 240a I believe

Jack Pearson said:

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…builder wants me to put in two hot water heaters…

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Can't believe I'm the first to point out your builder is ripping you off.