AO Smith or Rheem 40 gal NG water heater

Both are good water heaters.
I’d purchase the cheaper one.

I own a plumbing company. Both are good. Rheem is easier for warranty.

Make sure to check for new water heater rebates with your gas provider. Our local provider gives their customers a $350 rebate for new natural gas tank and $550 for new tankless.

Same here. Have had both. No problem with either. I have 2 gas units.

Like all of them, corrosion and mineralization will cause them to leak, requiring replacement. Supposedly, you can offset this through a maintenance schedule of flushing them out, but I’ve never done it, and don’t know if anyone actually does this.

Rheem is my go to. In commercial applications I have not had success with AO Smith. They were the go to brand of the Las Vegas Housing Authority and they made a brand change due to so many problems with them. In Houma, I went through 3 in less than 10 years at a restaurant. We had each of them cut open and the tanks did not hold up to whatever the hell they put in the water around here. One Rheem has already surpassed the first two in lifespan in the same application.

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thankless

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I just replaced mine. Stay away from AO Smith. They are using cheaper parts now and the reviews were bad. I know Rheem is on the cheaper side but I ended up purchasing a Bradford White. The Bradford White had better reviews. I replaced a Bradford White that was 22yrs old.

Get a tankless. We’ve had the same one for 15 yrs and it’s great….feeds the whole house and no more paying to heat water just to sit there.

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Go check out AO Smith, Rheem, State water heaters at a locat plumbing supply house like a Ferguson, Coburns, LCR or Souther Pipe. Lowes/Homedepot doesn’t carry all the manufacturer lines

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I think Home Depot owns LCR.

Rheem