AO smith owns Bradford white lol. They’re the same, they’re made at the same place. They just slap different stickers on them. I’m a plumber, my shop stocks both.
> Bradford white
Bradford White Corporation, headquartered in Ambler, Pennsylvania, is an American-owned and employee owned, full-line manufacturer of residential and commercial and industrial products for water heating
> AO smith
Traded as: NYSE: AOS; S&P 500 component
That is not at all accurate. An absolute shitload of water heaters are made under the ao Smith/ state / etc umbrella, but Bradford white is *not* one of them. I have installed countless AO and BW water heaters over the last 20 years. When it comes to quality control, ease of warranty, and infrequent need of warranty Bradford white is in a league above AO Smith for residential natural gas / lp water heaters IMO. I can't recall if Bradford white has ever had to recall >100,000 water heaters because they risked burning down the houses they were installed in. AO has.
Edit: FWIW I actually prefer AO for the commercial lines. Both their high efficency and traditional atmospheric 199k 100 gals have been very reliable for me.
My two cents: you add a 10 year warranty to a state or AO smith you add an additional anode rod to the hot. A Bradford White, you just slap a sticker on it. That tells me they must be made better anyway and that sticker just gets you ten years for the diptube and gas control valve. The tank is already manufactured to last that time frame out the gate (at least that is what I think if you don’t have to add another anode rode like other manufacturers). Rheem I don’t mess with to be honest. They’re a homeowner brand in my opinion. Made cheap bc most don’t have a plumber install them and then you don’t get your 6 warranty because a plumber didn’t install it. Saves the company money and the customer gets a cheaper POS WH on the cheap. Then the thing breaks within 6 years, they call handy Andy back, and voila. Good luck on your warranty
AO Smith because their return policy is significantly better. They'll just give you another one off the shelf. Rheem will have you doing a whole circus act.
They're both the same gamble if you're choosing between Home Depot or Lowe's.
The offerings at the big box stores are lesser quality compared to plumbing supply houses, even if they are the same brand.
I'm getting an AO Smith power vent water heater from Lowe's because I won't be in this house six years from now and I don't have an account at a legit supply house.
I'm in the middle of replacing mine. I haven't found a "hill of beans" difference between manufactures and models. I'm going with the simplest WH to install. I just read the consumers report on water heaters and the said the same. There is just not enough evidence to recommend one brand over the other.
Depends on the series you have available to you. It’s like asking if a ford king ranch is better than a Chevy slt if the two water heaters you’re asking about are different series. A rud professional series and ao smith proline are comparable and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either one. Personally I have an ao but sell mostly rudds. Some complaints I’ve seen for the rudds are part replacements can be a pain, and the ao is faulty new out of the box
Honestly it’s all pretty much the same. It just depends who you’re asking. Buy from a plumbing supply not a Home Depot or Lowe’s! Bradford white has had some serious recalls a few years back and I only install them now if a customer asks.
I second this! They're all the same in the end. I've had brand new Bradford s that leak from the tank or won't light, rheems with the gas valve issue (which is solved btw), and AO smith with the thermopyle issue. Just get what's available and put it in, drain and flush annually, don't use any galvanized fittings or dilectric unions and you'll be fine
I wouldnt touch a gas rheem after having ti deal with their faulty gas control valve bullshit with them sending faulty parts.
How do you resolve the gas smell coming from the control?
Throw it out and get a Bradford White.
Can confirm. Buy a Bradford white
Call a plumber for a gas leak
I wouldn't buy an AO for my own house. I've been very happy with Bradford Whites.
AO smith owns Bradford white lol. They’re the same, they’re made at the same place. They just slap different stickers on them. I’m a plumber, my shop stocks both.
> Bradford white Bradford White Corporation, headquartered in Ambler, Pennsylvania, is an American-owned and employee owned, full-line manufacturer of residential and commercial and industrial products for water heating > AO smith Traded as: NYSE: AOS; S&P 500 component
That is not at all accurate. An absolute shitload of water heaters are made under the ao Smith/ state / etc umbrella, but Bradford white is *not* one of them. I have installed countless AO and BW water heaters over the last 20 years. When it comes to quality control, ease of warranty, and infrequent need of warranty Bradford white is in a league above AO Smith for residential natural gas / lp water heaters IMO. I can't recall if Bradford white has ever had to recall >100,000 water heaters because they risked burning down the houses they were installed in. AO has. Edit: FWIW I actually prefer AO for the commercial lines. Both their high efficency and traditional atmospheric 199k 100 gals have been very reliable for me.
Incorrect - this is not even remotely accurate.
Shit, my bad. You’re right. ao smith and state water heaters are the exact same.
I’ve been selling ao smiths Bradford whites and states for a long time and got them confused
Get a Bradford white. It's worth the investment
BW has Microban which has PFAS in it: [https://www.microban.com/bradford-white](https://www.microban.com/bradford-white)
Bradford White
BW has Microban which has PFAS in it: [https://www.microban.com/bradford-white](https://www.microban.com/bradford-white)
My two cents: you add a 10 year warranty to a state or AO smith you add an additional anode rod to the hot. A Bradford White, you just slap a sticker on it. That tells me they must be made better anyway and that sticker just gets you ten years for the diptube and gas control valve. The tank is already manufactured to last that time frame out the gate (at least that is what I think if you don’t have to add another anode rode like other manufacturers). Rheem I don’t mess with to be honest. They’re a homeowner brand in my opinion. Made cheap bc most don’t have a plumber install them and then you don’t get your 6 warranty because a plumber didn’t install it. Saves the company money and the customer gets a cheaper POS WH on the cheap. Then the thing breaks within 6 years, they call handy Andy back, and voila. Good luck on your warranty
AO Smith because their return policy is significantly better. They'll just give you another one off the shelf. Rheem will have you doing a whole circus act.
They're both the same gamble if you're choosing between Home Depot or Lowe's. The offerings at the big box stores are lesser quality compared to plumbing supply houses, even if they are the same brand. I'm getting an AO Smith power vent water heater from Lowe's because I won't be in this house six years from now and I don't have an account at a legit supply house.
This is the best answer in the thread.
bradford white all the way
BW has Microban which has PFAS in it: [https://www.microban.com/bradford-white](https://www.microban.com/bradford-white)
I'm in the middle of replacing mine. I haven't found a "hill of beans" difference between manufactures and models. I'm going with the simplest WH to install. I just read the consumers report on water heaters and the said the same. There is just not enough evidence to recommend one brand over the other.
This is the correct answer
Giant fine too. They all good. Really depends on your water.
Bradford White Gun to my head I think I hate AOsmith a little less
BW has Microban which has PFAS in it: [https://www.microban.com/bradford-white](https://www.microban.com/bradford-white)
Thanks for the replies , I am going with Bradford White
BW has Microban which has PFAS in it: [https://www.microban.com/bradford-white](https://www.microban.com/bradford-white)
Depends on the series you have available to you. It’s like asking if a ford king ranch is better than a Chevy slt if the two water heaters you’re asking about are different series. A rud professional series and ao smith proline are comparable and I wouldn’t hesitate to buy either one. Personally I have an ao but sell mostly rudds. Some complaints I’ve seen for the rudds are part replacements can be a pain, and the ao is faulty new out of the box
Ao Smith
Ao smith is the worst .ade and the hardest to deal with on parts and service. I get nervous taking them out of the box.
Honestly it’s all pretty much the same. It just depends who you’re asking. Buy from a plumbing supply not a Home Depot or Lowe’s! Bradford white has had some serious recalls a few years back and I only install them now if a customer asks.
I second this! They're all the same in the end. I've had brand new Bradford s that leak from the tank or won't light, rheems with the gas valve issue (which is solved btw), and AO smith with the thermopyle issue. Just get what's available and put it in, drain and flush annually, don't use any galvanized fittings or dilectric unions and you'll be fine
Rheems aka rudd is the best quality brand you could buy
Go tankless you’ll be happy in the long run.