My State Industries electic, low profile, 40-gallon, six-year water
heater is almost 10 years old. I'm going to replace it before I have a
failure.

Are the water connections on the top of the unit standard spacing? I'd
like to install the replacement without having to do any plumbing. The
spacing appears to be the same as the ones I've seen at Lowes, but it's
really hard to tell for sure. The water heaters at Home Depot were in
cardboard boxes, so I could not see the connections.

Are the State units any better or worse than others?