At this point is any brand better than the others? Any to stay away from?

Looks like the thermostat is out on my 2008 Rheem gas water heater. I can probably find a new thermostat for ~$150 but given the age it seems better to replace the whole thing, which I can DIY.

I like rheem

I had read somewhere where their big box versions are more cheaply made to meet volume requirements demanded by the stores, but no clue if that is true.

I can get a 50 gal State for $700 or a GE 50gal for $800.

Go to Ferguson and get one as opposed to a big box. That all I got.

We installed a Rinnai tankless years ago and have been more than pleased with its performance and non-maintenance.

I have 20+ "home depot" rheems out there going on 15+ years now and i think only one or 2 has had tank failure and that was after the 6 year warranty had expired.


The last one i bought and installed had a brass drain as well

Rheem Marathon
but A.O. Smith & others been in the know for a loooong time

Once bought a SS Lifetime everything that lasted same as the cheapest Home Depot and am talking storage electric types. Replaced it with a Whirlpool 2008-2022 80gal 5500w dual
Now we have a German Bosch 50g 4500w dual for lack of anything bigger ?!?!?!? or available pronto (and to keep their war factories in biz ... ugh) but impressive as its features are, miss the last one.

Consumer Reports only rates the heat pumps currently.
Sanden $5k ?!?!?!
AO Smith $1.5-2k
Am.Std $2.5k
LG $3.3k in that order