Water heater recommendation...

[littletemple]

I just found that my water heater is leaking from the bottom and I need to replace it...it's been over 14 years now, and I was wondering where I should get a new one from and what brand? I was thinking of either going to Home Depot or Lowes but I was leaning towards Home Depot. It looks like HD carries mainly GE and Lowes carries mainly Whirlpool. Anybody have experience with HD or Lowes installation? Also, many of the water heaters have a 6, 9 and 12 year variety. I was also thinking that it probably doesn't matter much and I should probably get the 6 year because it's like $100 cheaper. I would be needing ~40 gallon natural gas heater. Thankx.

 

[manly]

Get a good tankless water heater.

 

[cavemanmoron]

I had a 6 year warranty GE from Home Depot,
at 5 years old it started leaking,
I called the 1-800 number on the decal on the heater;
they said take the old one to Home Depot.

I asked if I could upgrade to the 9 year warranty, if I paid the difference;
sure no problem.

:thumbsup:

 

[sohcrates]

dont rule out sears. we got a new one through them and it was pretty reasonable installed

 

[drnickriviera]

I like the ones at lowes because they have the piezo lighter to light the pilot. No more matches.

 

[imported_surferdude]

i have 3 of the whirlpool 50 gallon with the 9 year warranty
and i love them.

 

[DougK62]

Stay away from Lowes and their Whirlpool heaters. They're really bad and people always complain about them - check the internet.

 

[olds]

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I like the ones at lowes because they have the piezo lighter to light the pilot. No more matches.

FTW

 

[littletemple]

Cool, thanks...probably leaning towards the GE at Home Depot. BUt I might check out sears too. I love Ananatech...

 

[Zach]

Originally posted by: oldsmoboat

Originally posted by: drnickriviera
I like the ones at lowes because they have the piezo lighter to light the pilot. No more matches.

FTW

I did this too. PLUS, some Lowes have scratch and dent. Mine had been around a while and was almost half off because of some dents and a bent leg. Only the outer skin was harmed. Three years and going strong. Warranty still counts too, they say.

 

[littletemple]

check online and i saw complaints from GE and Whirlpool....and how Home Depot and Lowes wouldn't honor the warranty...now I'm unsure of which one to get..

 

[drnickriviera]

What kind of complaints do they have? Not like these things are super complex. There's only a half dozen parts in them and none are too hard to replace. I've replaced 4 water heaters over the past 2 years in my rentals. No problems with either brand.

 

[NuclearNed]

Originally posted by: manly
Get a good tankless water heater.

Seconded. If I were buying a new water heater today, it would be tankless.