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155
156<h1 class="topicbar">Water Heaters 101 &gt; Choosing a Water Heater</h1>
157 
158
159<p class="intro">What 
160      you'll find on this page: When it comes to buying a water heater, everybody wants a quick answer, 
161  but there just isn't one. However, there ARE ways of navigating the maze.</p>
162<span class="subtopicbar">The Tough Question</span><br />
163<div class="bodytype">
164<p class="bodytype">Legions of people ask us every year to choose for them, and we won't do it. There IS no simple answer. No water heater is going to be 
165  right for everybody and each person has to figure out which is right 
166  on their own. But we can help you with that. </p>
167<p class="bodytype">There are a kajillion models and model numbers change all the time. We don't even try to keep track of them all. What we can 
168  do, and what we try to do, is educate you about a subject that hardly 
169  anybody knows anything about and set your feet on the path to finding 
170the right water heater for you.</p>
171<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
172<span class="subtopicbar">Longevity and Efficiency</span><br />
173<p class="bodytype">If you've read 
174  very much of our site, you'll likely know that we like to see people 
175  buy a water heater that has an exposed, hex-head, magnesium anode 
176  installed in it. That offers at least the chance of removing it 
177  for inspection without totally destroying it. It also leaves room 
178  in the hot port for what is known as a combo anode rod comprising 
179  an anode, hot-water outlet and dielectric PEX-lined steel nipple.</p><br />
180  <p class="helpfulred">Voice search is available with the Chrome browser</a></p><br />
181<p class="bodytype">If you were 
182  to buy a 12-year-warranty heater, likely the only difference between 
183  it and a 6-year-warranty one would be extra anodic metal: either a larger-diameter 
184  hex anode, or a normal one along with a <i>half-length</i> outlet 
185  rod in the hot port. We'd rather see you put a full-length rod there 
186  -- and save the premium you'd pay for the longer-warranty tank. 
187  And installing it just involves screwing it into the hot port.</p>
188<p class="bodytype">We'd also want 
189  you to install a sediment flush kit comprising a curved dip tube 
190  and ball valve drain assembly if you live in a hard-water area, unless you're already using a water softener, which eliminates most mineral sediment buildup. 
191  Installing these parts may seem daunting, but we make it easier for you with our <a href="https://www.waterheaterrescue.com/water-heater-maintenance/know-how-a-hands-on-guide-to-water-heater-maintenance.html">Know-How</a> page. Oh, and by the way: if you install the flush 
192  kit, don't forget to <i>use it</i> once a year! Put it in your scheduler, 
193  if you use one. The time slips by faster than you think! </p>
194<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
195<p class="bodytype">There has been much talk and a certain amount of e-mail to us regarding instantaneous 
196  water heaters, also known as tankless or point-of-use. If you install a well-insulated 
197  tank-type water heater, you can equal the efficiency of these latter for a 
198  great deal less cost and trouble. You'd think the instantaneous heaters would 
199  be more efficient, but it's not necessarily true. And they're expensive and 
200  finicky compared to the more common tank heaters. If you'd like to know more 
201  about our thinking on this, go to <a href="https://www.waterheaterrescue.com/water-heaters-101/tankless-water-heaters.html" target="_blank">Tankless</a>.</p>
202<p class="bodytype">There <i>are</i> specific circumstances where this type of heater is the preferable 
203  choice, but in general, we suggest going with the simpler, easier-to-live-with, 
204  tank-type heater.</p>
205<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
206<span class="subtopicbar">Needs and Comparisons</span><br />
207<p class="bodytype">Who needs what? <i>That</i> is the question! There are ways to rate one water heater 
208  against another. But what does that mean relative to you? With fuel 
209  bills going up, any logical person simply wants &quot;enough.&quot;</p>
210<p class="bodytype">So before you 
211  read the rest of this page, <b>here is a simple equation.</b> First 
212  use a sizing program (see <a href="https://www.waterheaterrescue.com/general/resources.html" target="_blank">Resources</a>) 
213  to determine what your particular needs are. Then, on the one hand, 
214  compare gallons, Btu input or KwH, first-hour recovery, insulation 
215  thickness (if you can) or Energy Factor. On the other hand, throw in our maintenance parameters: 
216  what metal is the anode made of? How thick is the anode? How many 
217  anodes in the heater? Is there room for a second? Do you have hard 
218  water, and thus, need a sediment flush kit? (People with water softeners can  skip the flush kit unless their heater has an aluminum anode. Softeners eliminate mineral sediment, but the anode creates a different kind.)  </p>
219<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
220<p class="bodytype">Other factors 
221  you're going to run into  will include price, availability and installation options. The things 
222    we think are important may not be important to you. At minimum, 
223    you need to read <a href="replace-water-heater-anodes-to-extend-tank-life.html"  target="_blank">Anodes</a>, and <a href="water-heater-sediment.html" target="_blank">Sediment</a>, With that, you'll 
224  be well on your way to making a decision. But if you're 
225  in too big a hurry to do that research,  you should stand in front of a mirror and say, &quot;You 
226  dummy! Look at the lousy water heater you chose for me!&quot;</p>
227<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
228<p class="bodytype">If you're replacing 
229  a water heater, the greater question is, &quot;Did the old one work well 
230  enough?&quot; Now if the answer is &quot;no,&quot; a good many folks would think, 
231  &quot;I have a 30-gallon, so I ought to buy a 40-gallon&quot; or &quot;I have a 
232  40-gallon, so I ought to buy a 50-gallon.&quot; Don't think only in terms 
233  of gallonage. Think in terms of Btu input or first-hour recovery. </p>
234<p class="bodytype">These terms 
235  involve how rapidly a tank can heat water. A boiler that can heat 
236  a whole apartment complex or skyscraper <i>sometimes has no storage</i>, 
237  only a series of copper tubes running through a very hot fire. The 
238  water is heated instantaneously. Some very powerful commercial water 
239  heaters have very little capacity. For instance, a 75,000 Btu, 100-gallon 
240  light commercial water heater is a good deal less potent than a 
241  250,000 Btu, 65-gallon tank. </p>
242<p class="bodytype">First-hour recovery 
243  essentially combines the hot water a tank can hold with what it 
244  can heat in one hour. Used in conjunction with the yellow federal 
245  energy sticker, it provides a means of comparing different tanks, 
246  along with the other things we've mentioned.</p>
247<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
248<span class="subtopicbar">What Brand Lasts the Longest?</span><br />
249<p class="bodytype">Everybody's. 
250  Nobody's. The vast majority of tank-type water heaters are all made 
251  in the same way, regardless of manufacturer. A ceramic coating is 
252  bonded to a steel tank. But it's an imperfect process and some heaters 
253  get a better coating than others. That's one reason why one tank 
254  will last a long time and one will last a short one.</p>
255<p class="bodytype">
255Get a thousand 
256  plumbers together and some will say A.O. Smith is the best and Rheem 
257  is the worst. Others will say Rheem is the best and Smith is the 
258  worst. Everybody can't be right. What gives? Experiences. If one 
259  plumber gets more good Rheems and bad Smiths, or more good Smiths 
260  and bad Rheems, then he will get the idea that one is better than 
261  the other. Same with homeowners. It's a cinch that if your last 
262  tank lasted 20 years, you'll buy another like it and expect IT to 
263  last 20 more years. Might not happen.</p>
264<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
265<p class="bodytype">On the other 
266  hand, if you maintain your heater as we advise here, it will last 
267  the longest no matter who made it -- unless it's defective from 
268  the start.</p>
269<p class="bodytype">Tankless owners 
270  beware: if you have hard water, your units will need regular, expensive 
271  maintenance or their efficiency will drop rapidly and they'll probably 
272  fail altogether. This is a place where softened water will help 
273  you. It's hard on the anodes of tank-type heaters, but kind to heat 
274  exchangers in tankless heaters.</p>
275<p class="bodytype">And one more 
276  thing: the brand that lasts the longest might be the Marathon, made 
277  by a subsidiary of Rheem. It has a plastic-lined tank and a lifetime 
278  guarantee. But it's also a lot more expensive than the others.</p>
279<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
280<span class="subtopicbar">What Brand Is Most Reliable?
281</h2>
282</span><br />
283<p class="bodytype">Everybody's. 
284  Nobody's. This one covers several facets. As we said above, they 
285  are all made the same way. That said, the federal government mandate 
286  of FVIR systems on gas heaters caused the makers enormous headaches 
287  and generated incredible bad will among buyers, who got stuck with 
288  heaters that broke and had to be replaced or were chronically troublesome. 
289  Those systems are NOT all the same, but the manufacturers have engineered past the worst of the problems, and we don't hear FVIR complaints so much any more. </p>
290<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
291<p class="bodytype">It may be that 
292  some are less prone to shut down, or do it less often because of 
293  the size or position of their air screens. We do not have a complete 
294  handle on this, so we can't tell you definitively this is so. It's 
295  a big marketplace with millions of scenarios. Some people say Rheems 
296  are less prone to dust-caused shutdown. Bradford Whites may have 
297  a bigger air screen, and they were the first to offer a reset button, 
298  but now other brands have that, too. But get used to dusting your 
299  water heater if you want a hot shower.</p>
300<p class="bodytype">Traditional 
301  electric water heaters don't have FVIR devices, but they do have 
302  electric elements and thermostats that fail eventually. This is 
303  function, as opposed to longevity, which is mostly glass lining 
304  and anodes. Don't confuse the two.</p>
305<p class="bodytype">&nbsp;</p>
306<span class="subtopicbar">Beware of Complexity</span><br />
307<p class="bodytype">We're getting 
308  into a time when some people are heavily promoting energy efficiency. 
309  Often that goes hand in hand with complexity. Complex water heaters 
310  have more problems than simple water heaters. About the only thing 
311  that could have gone  wrong with the 37-year-old water heater in my garage 
312  in California was a bad thermocouple. It failed a few years ago. The brand new A.O. Smith in my house in Texas is much more complex, although I did put two anodes and a flush kit in it. It will probably outlive me.</p>
313<p class="bodytype">Power-vent heaters 
314  have controls and a fan that can fail. Heat-pump electric water 
315  heaters have an air filter that MUST be cleaned or the energy-saving heat pump stops 
316  working and you're back to a very expensive resistance-type heater. Condensing gas water heaters are super-efficient, but are 
317  power-vent by nature, and have an acid condensate that users ignore 
318  to their peril.</p>
319<p class="bodytype">Odds are, you 
320  know more about your car than your water heater, even though the 
321  car is far more complex. There are answers to all your questions 
322  here, but you have to read a little to find them. Read and learn.</p>
323<p align="right"><b><i>-- 
324  Randy Schuyler</i></b></p><br />
325  <p class="helpfulred">IF YOU FOUND THIS PAGE USEFUL, TELL YOUR FRIENDS ABOUT WATERHEATERRESCUE.COM</p><br />
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