Question about water heater warranty

[TANSTAAFL]

Kudos on a new tank with a 50 gallon capacity. That's 50 gallons of water you could use if a water emergency occurs. As for tankless they require maintenance and no supply should the worst happen. What is disturbing to me is water heaters at one time lasted much, much longer. Now the engineers have designed them so well that a tank with a 6 year warranty will die at 73 months. Yes, they have become ridiculously expensive. What ever happened to manufacturer's warranties?

 

[swampratt]

Knock on wood my house and the house next door have the same ones since at least 1998 when I moved in here.
I just looked at mine it is a State 40 gallon natural gas from 1991.
I do not drain it /flush it.
I did see a small puddle under it 4 years ago and it went away.
I am on borrowed time.
The one next door is electric 40 gallon and I replaced the elements 2 times since 1998.

 

[Letfreedomring]

Supposedly the secret to a long life for a water heater is periodic drain and flushes and replacing the anode rod(s) every 5 - 8 years. With the minimal cost-cutting engineering that most modern appliances have these days I'm not sure it's still applicable though.

 

[Snattlerake]

From the NAECA
After March 16, 2015, the National Appliance Energy Conservation Act went into effect, requiring higher energy efficiencies for almost all residential tank-type gas, electric, oil and tankless gas water heaters manufactured in the U.S.

Every hot water tank is labeled with an efficiency rating, called an energy factor (EF). The higher the EF, the more efficient the tank will be. The rating measures efficiency in two ways: when it converts the power source – gas, propane or electricity – into hot water and how well it reduces the amount of energy lost. The higher the EF, the less your tank will cost you to operate every month.

In the meantime, protect the water heater you have. You can do that by following some easy maintenance tips:​

• Drain the tank twice a year. Write date on tank with a sharpie.
• Keep your tank temperature at or below 120 degrees Fahrenheit
• Use the “vacation” setting when you’ll be out of town for a longer period of time on gas water heaters.
• Check the area around your tank regularly – when you see water leaking or a rust build-up, it may be time for a water heater checkup.
• Have a drip pan installed under the water heater.
• Check water pressure, if too much it can be a problem.

 

[Snattlerake]

Taking the advice from my plumber, I contacted Bradford White and after about 3 emails asking the same two questions over and over and getting canned responses, I finally, FINALLY got them to say in the email I do have the standard 6 year warranty on my new tank but I cannot pay for any extended warranty. I HAVE IT IN WRITING! Saved to a file and printed it off in the water heater file.





From: Snattlerake
Sent: Tuesday, March 28, 2023 3:49 PM
To: Melanie Franks <[email protected]>; Renae Hardy <[email protected]>

Subject: Re: Question about a warranty on new Bradford White water heater

To be clear, I still have the 6 year standard warranty on the new heater but not eligible for the extended warranty?





From: Melanie Franks <[email protected]



To:

• Snattlerake
• Renae Hardy
  Re: Warranty

Tue 3/28/2023 2:58 PM



Yes, that would be correct.


Have a good day,

Melanie Franks
Warranty Service Coordinator
Bradford White Water Heaters