Bradford White Hot Water Heater Premature Failure


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Old 01-23-21, 06:06 AM
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Bradford White Hot Water Heater Premature Failure

A friend just had this heater fail in 6 years. When the plumber returned the tank for in warranty credit, they said it failed because of high mineral content in the water and it should be tested and if so a filter should be installed. I live in the same area of New York and we never had a problem with the water. Any opinions? Thanks in advance.
 
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Old 01-23-21, 06:26 AM
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Warranty's of this nature are worth about as much as the paper they are written on. The manufacture is not about to give away a HW tank. There are many reasons why the tank failed. He got 6 years. That is just slightly below average lifetime of a HW tank. Any water supply not filtered can be considered high mineral content. That's not to say it isn't true for the failure. But it's an easy broad cover to not warrant the tank. I wonder what excuse would've been used if in fact the water was filtered? Not flushed every 6 months? To high a temp setting? Too high of water pressure? Corrosive fumes from poor flue draw?
 
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Old 01-23-21, 07:30 AM
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If you are on a well and concerned about your water contact your county's Health or Environmental Services Dept. to have your water tested. After you have the results you'll know.

Do not contact a "water" or filtration company to do the testing as they are in the business to sell you filtration equipment. The state makes no money off your well or filtration needs so their testing can be relied on to be accurate and unbiased.
 
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Old 01-23-21, 08:57 AM
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This is not his water heater, but a friends who's water source apparently is the same as his. His question is, if he should have any concerns with his own heater and the water supply, that has not been a problem for many years.
Having your water tested certainly is not a bad thing to do, but in the context of this post and the fact that you have never had a problem, why would you do this? You might suggest this to the friend.
Again the typical life of any appliance now days is 7 to 10 years. That means some may die sooner and many might last longer. Since the manufacturer claims high mineral content then, yes a filter would help. However in this case, all things being equal (same water supply and piping) as the rest of the area, I believe that this particular unit just lived on the low end of the average. Again assuming all things being equal.
I might ask the OP how old is your current water heater and how long has past water heaters lasted?
 
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Old 01-23-21, 09:32 AM
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Surprised that a brad white failed so quick.. But not enough info really.. Heaters need to be flushed yearly

well water?
city water?
 
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Old 01-24-21, 05:46 AM
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We have NYC water which has a mineral content of 1.8 grains/gal, soft is 0-3.5 grains/gal. The sediment in the tank has been drained once or twice a year. My own house has gone through 3 tanks in 32 years & I now have a Rheem going on 7 years.
 
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Old 01-24-21, 06:25 AM
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So you are getting approximately 10 years per tank. You should not have any complaints. The days of 15, 20, 25 years to a tank are long gone. Things aren't made that way anymore. My last tank was 18 years old (SEARS BRAND), no flushing ever. Nor any of my previous tanks (all averaged about 15 to 20 years). When it came time to drain it for replacement the sill **** was plugged from sediment. I only replaced it because I thought it was too old. It worked perfect until then. I bought Rheem. At the time of purchase they were rated at the top. These ratings seem to change from year to year. I do not see any advantage in buying a Brad-White is any better than any other national brand. I expect my tank to last about 10 years.
 
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Old 01-24-21, 04:30 PM
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The days of 15, 20, 25 years to a tank are long gone.
I disagree. If good quality a water heater will last quite a while. I just replaced a 24 year old Mor Flo water heater in 2019 because I knew it had to be getting close to it's end of life. I also wanted to buy the new unit when the last new efficiency requirements were getting close to going into effect and at that time it was speculated that gas water heaters may have to have electronic ignition to meet those new requirements and I wanted a standing pilot unit. Yes, the new water heater sat in my basement a few years before I got around to installing it. I believe the Bradford-White I replaced it with will last at least 24 years if it gets annual maintenance. I am usually good about flushing annually.
 
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Old 01-24-21, 04:41 PM
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Under certain obscure and uncommon conditions the anode rod can become smoothly coated with lime sediment so it stops sacrificing itself. Then tank corrosion is no longer retarded and the water heater life is shortened. It is depe water chemistry and mineral content
But under similar also uncommon conditions the tank itself can become similarly coated and protected from corrosion so the heater lasts longer.

Some homeowners have been able to re-retard the tank corrosion by inspecting the anode every year or so and scraping off any lime coating.


ndent on
 
 

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