Best Electric Heater?

[Cliffy]

What is the best standard electric heater? Smith, Rheem? Bradford White?

I'm a plumber in Florida and have been using AO Smith for about the last 10 years. For about the last two years the number that leak within the mfg warranty has been ridiculous. This month alone I've had 3 that were less than 2 years old start to leak. I get a new heater but it leaves a real bad taste in the customer mouth. I'd like to try another brand but would like to hear if anyone has had better experience with someone else. Switching would be a huge inconvenience because we would still have to have some Smith's around to replace leakers for the next 6 years but if there is a better product that's what I want to be installing.

Any pro's with a strong opinion on this?

Thanks for taking the time

 

[Terry]

I've been installing the Pro Classic series from Rheem
https://www.rheem.com/group/rheem-r...professional-classic-series-standard-electric

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Cliffy]

May I ask, have you been happy with them? What made you choose them over the other brands?

I used to stock Rheem years ago but switched when I switched my main supply house. Was really glad I did when they started showing up in HD, seems like a slap in the face to plumbers. I understand it but wish they would just use a different brand name for the retail line.
I am a big fan of their Marathon series but most customers aren't eager to spend the extra money for the premium product.

 

[hj]

They DID use a different brand name, until recently. It was GE. EVERY wholesaler has dozens of "warranty" heaters at any given time. There is no agreement on which is better.

 

[Dj2]

Questions:

1. What's up with the water in your town?

2. Do other Ft Myers plumbers report a high number of leaks with other brands?

3. Are the water heaters leaking from the tanks?

 

[Cliffy]

1. I can't narrow it down to one source of water. We do a lot of work on home with wells, some with nice water treatment and some not so nice. When the TDS is high that's an obvious reason for a premature leak. But at the same time alot of the leakers are on city water from various municipalities.

2. I haven't talked to any other local plumbers about. Of course the supply house reps for the other brands tell me they don't have a lot of problems.

3. Yes, from the tanks. We can't always pin point where of course. But it makes it's way thru the insulation and onto the floor. Last week I had one 19 months old gently spraying out the bad of the top seam against the wall. Going to one today that is 3.5 years old.

 

[Reach4]

I agree the water is going to play a big part.
I don't think TDS is a good measure for that. Calcium and Magnesium raise TDS, and I think those may help protect the WH (although they can reduce efficiency with time). Replace those with salt, and the TDS does not change much. But I think that water after being softened will be tougher on the WH where there is a crack in the glass lining.

For the WH, I suspect it would be better for the WH to bypass the softener for a while early in the softener's life. I don't expect that is going to happen.

For comparison factors, I think pH would be one simple number that would be a better predictor of WH life, but if you have one of the
Corrosivity ( Langelier or Ryznar) Index numbers, that should be better. The water report people could add a useful calculation of what the expected corrosivity index would be after softening. With softened water, I think the anode has more importance.

Last week I had one 19 months old gently spraying out the bad of the top seam against the wall.

That one sounds like a defective seam rather than common corrosion.

 

[TipsMcStagger]

What is the best standard electric heater? Smith, Rheem? Bradford White?

I'm a plumber in Florida and have been using AO Smith for about the last 10 years. For about the last two years the number that leak within the mfg warranty has been ridiculous. This month alone I've had 3 that were less than 2 years old start to leak... I'd like to try another brand ...

If the OP is subscribed to this thread, now that some time has passed, I'd like to know if you've switched brands and if you've had fewer call backs for leaks since doing so?

 

[Fitter30]

Rheem marathon top on the line plastic tank.

 

[Bannerman]

If the OP is subscribed to this thread, ...

If you click on the OP's name, you will see he/she last visited TL Forums was in March 2017.

 

[TipsMcStagger]

If you click on the OP's name, you will see he/she last visited TL Forums was in March 2017.

Thank you. I realize the OP hasn't visited the site in several years. That's why I wrote, "if the OP is subscribed to this thread..."

If the OP chose to subscribe with email notification, they would receive an email advisory of thread activity, regardless of how long it has been since they last visited or logged into the site.

 

[WorthFlorida]

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