replying to Arthur Conan Doyle , vq wrote:
dont wrote:
[...]
Truth is there are only a handful of water heater manufacturers in the US
and
there is no difference in the quality of the warranty vs the length of the
tank.
The preimum paid for longer warranty heaters just goes to pay the couple
of
extra claims they get and to help increase the margin.
If you have hard enough water that mineral buildup in the heater is a
problem,
you really should have a softener.




I checked the 40-gallon natural gas models from Rheem at Home Depot with
the 6, 9 and 12-year warranty (about $350, $450 and $550 respectively).

Only the 9 and 12 year models have the mechanism to stir the mineral
deposits around.
And they have a better anode and insulation, or something like that...
The 12-year model has a brass drain valve; the 9-year model has a plastic
one.
I figured if I was going to mess with that drain valve annually, I better
get the brass one.

In retrospect, maybe I should have gotten a water softener installed when
I bought this house (new) in 1998.
But I hear water softeners can erode the anode in water heaters at a
faster rate?

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