Water Heater Brands: Rheem, A. O. Smith, Bradford White and More

Four names account for most of the storage tanks pulled from Austin homes: Rheem, A. O. Smith, Bradford White and State. All four make gas, electric and, in most cases, heat pump models, and all four use similar parts families. A thermostat, element, relief valve or thermocouple for a tank installed in a Round Rock garage in 2015 is generally something a plumber can match in a single trip.

State Water Heaters is an A. O. Smith brand, which is why a State and an A. O. Smith tank resemble each other inside. Bradford White is made in the United States and is sold mainly through plumbing wholesalers, so you find it less often on a home-center shelf. Rheem and A. O. Smith are the names that home centers stock most visibly.

Navien, Rinnai and Noritz sell the units most often installed when Austin owners move from a 40- or 50-gallon tank to on-demand heat. A condensing tankless model vents through plastic pipe and drains acidic condensate, which has to be piped to a drain, while a non-condensing unit uses stainless steel venting and runs hotter. Neither fits a closet the way a tank does, since a gas tankless unit needs a larger gas line and a clear vent path. The gas and vent upgrades for tankless covers the gas and vent upgrades, and the tankless repair page covers error codes.

Brand loyalty matters less with tankless than with tanks. The fault codes, descaling steps and flow sensors are similar in kind, though each maker's parts and service tools differ.

For a tank, rarely. The failure pattern is set by the design: a steel tank, an anode, an upper and lower element or a gas burner. A repair on a Rheem looks nearly the same as one on a State or a Bradford White. What differs is how easily the parts are matched. Older models and discontinued lines may need an adapter, and a lower element thread type or a gas valve mount can limit options.

What does vary is the age. A tank manufactured more than ten years ago is cheaper to replace than to chase with parts, whichever name it carries. The serial number on the data plate encodes the build date; you can read it on the manufacturer's site, and the lifespan guide explains how.

The yellow energy guide and the silver data plate give you everything you need to describe your heater to a plumber.

1. Brand and model number, which tell the plumber the parts family and capacity.
2. Serial number, whose first digits usually encode the month and year of manufacture.
3. Fuel type, gas input in BTU or element wattage and voltage, which determine whether a part will fit.
4. Capacity in gallons and the first-hour rating, which affect how it performs for a household.
5. Warranty length on the tank and parts, which differs by model and should be read from the paperwork.

For a house served by Texas Gas Service where the heater sits in a garage, any of the four main tank makers does the job. What decides longevity in practice is the pairing of a good tank with a PRV, an expansion tank, an anode that gets checked, and a flush every year. Moderately hard Austin water, about 4 to 7 grains per gallon in the city's own report, shortens the life of all of them without that care.

Tankless owners should weigh gas line size and venting first, then pick between the two or three makers a plumber supports. The replacement page works through capacity and fuel choices, and the tank versus tankless guide covers the economics.

Several of the tank makers above sell ENERGY STAR heat pump models. Austin Energy customers can get $1,000 back on eligible units that are at least 40 gallons, but the rebate depends on the model appearing on the ENERGY STAR qualified list and on the maker covering major components for six years or more, so check both before buying. The heat pump page lists the full eligibility conditions.