uscpsycho: Most of the parts on a water heater (controls, etc) are made by couple of manufacturers. Within the standard gas or electric tank water heaters much is going to be the same. Bradford White I believe is still only sold to licensed plumbers (they aren't available at Big-Box hardware, for example). Plumbers like to install them because the end customer can't see the retail cost of the unit (and the markup for the plumber). The brand has some "reputation" for quality because that's what the homeowner is told as a justification for the higher price. In addition, a professionally installed heater will generally have fewer issues overall. The point being that the hardware may not be better, but because Bradford White isn't installed by do-it-yourselfers, it can claim a reputation for better reliability. I'm reading the same issues about warranty that you are. In general my feeling about standard tank water heaters is that they are pretty much a commodity item. I've had good luck with Rheem - and a 40 gal, 12 year warranty is $560. Avoid too many bells and whistles that don't really add value (do you really need your water heater to like you on Facebook?) There are other types of water heaters - as you learned in your other post that went wildly off track (sorry about that). But I think that JRB451 is closer to right than wrong. If you start getting into condensing, or hybrid electric, or even fiberglass tanks - then things are different.

Out of those 3 brands, I would suggest Noritz. You may also want to consider a hybrid water heater. Here is a link that might be useful: Our Site

Contrary to what your plumber told you this a residential heater. I purchased a 40 gal Turbo 25 yrs ago on the advice of a few plumber friends. It was made by State and probably the best appliance I've ever purchased. Not cheap but it was worth every penny. The design was similar, it had a coil in the tank that preheated the water which dumped out on the bottom of the tank. This keeps the tank clear of sentiments thus maintaining efficiency and extending tank life. That tank is still running flawlessly today. Here is a link http://www.statewaterheaters.com/lit/media/catalogs/res-catalog.pdf Another major benefit , we never ran out of hot water. Two adults and three children

That's is real good advice. I think every company that makes product lines for those Big-Box-Stores do make different products in mass production to fit the order needs of those stores. And when you substitute speed for accuracy we all know what happens; you compromise quality. For instance: Kohler products that ship out to HD and the same product you get from a plumbing supply house, (which will be a little bit more expensive) the 2 same products will be produced, packaged and checked by quality control different. Big-Box-Stores will only buy these products at a unit price lower that the companies list price which forces these companies to produce products cheaper. As for AO Smith, I still think they are a good product, I just can't recommend them anymore. According to a sales rep at my local plumbing supply house (who I trust) informed me that AO Smith had closed their plant in Illinois and moved operations south of the border. I'm not saying that just because their "international" is the reason. I am noticing little things about their assembly, and packaging, that are making my job more difficult. Just like the dip tube being short; I had discovered that after checking the dip tube everytime I open the box. I check the dip tube now because of a hard lesson I learned from AO Smith, shipping cheap plastic dip tubes which are sometimes cracked. And the final straw was 2 years ago when we ordered 8 water heaters and 3 of them had broken (smashed) control valves, and there was no apparent damage to the box, they were shipped that way. So you see I just cant recommend them anymore... Getting back on track... Yes look for a good warranty and sorry about the Rant..