I just got a new water heater and furnace installed, and the contract
I signed says they would be putting in a Rheem water heater, although
no model number was specified. Now that it's been installed, I notice
they actually put in an AO Smith Promax Plus 50 gallon water heater.
I don't know anything about water heaters, so is there any difference
in quality between the Rheem and AO Smith water heaters? Also, I was
surprised to see it uses a pilot light whereas my furnace has an
ignitor so there isn't a pilot light always burning. Are pilot lights
still the norm on gas water heaters?

Thanks,
Ed