Rheem vs lochinvar water heaters - city permits

salyem07

We are new house owners and our water heater broke and warranty is not there. A local plumber quoted $695 with 38000 BTU water Rheem water heater with magnesium anode rod and brass drain value without the city permit.

A local company quoted $1006 for lochinvar water heater with 40000 BTU with the city permit and $1200 for 50000 BTU with city permit.

Is one brand better over the other. Any suggestions on which route we should go?

Or should we buy a unit from Home depot / lowes and find a plumber to install it?

thank you

hot_rod

If the city requires a permit and inspection, it may be wise to find a plumber that will assure it is installed up to code and inspected. At least from a liability standpoint.

To assure tank warranty it may need an expansion tank, maybe other local code requirements like seismic restraint?

salyem07

I just looked up the permit at our city and it is only $50 unlike what others told us, given that is rheem better than lochinvar ?? and does higher BTU make a different we live at Illinois and family of five people with two full baths and one half bath

pecmsg

I care more about the Name on the Truck and the people installing it then the name on the box.

hot_rod

salyem07 said:

I just looked up the permit at our city and it is only $50 unlike what others told us, given that is rheem better than lochinvar ?? and does higher BTU make a different we live at Illinois and family of five people with two full baths and one half bath

I like the Lochinvar brand, I believe they still make all their tanks in the US of A if that matters.

ScottSecor

Permit fee may in fact be $50. However, someone has to fill it out, drop it off at city hall and call for inspections. On some rare occasions contractor has to be present when inspector arrives.

BTW, we do not discuss pricing on this site.

I agree with this:

pecmsg said:

I care more about the Name on the Truck and the people installing it then the name on the box.

ScottSecor

Almost forgot, our local wholesaler has been carrying Rheem for at least 30 years, we've had very few problems with them. We've also put in AO Smith and Lochinvar with similar excellent results.

delta T

salyem07 said:

Or should we buy a unit from Home depot / lowes and find a plumber to install it?

While the pricing difference may be attractive, keep in mind that if you have a warranty problem, you will have to go back to the big box store and get them to honor it. As a contractor, I cannot warranty anything I didn't buy in the first place. You will have to do all the leg work of getting a new heater, filling out the paperwork, etc. If I buy a heater and install it for a customer, then I will be able to go pick up a new heater from the wholesaler and have it swapped out right away if there is a problem. I have heard some bad horror stories involving the warranty process for the big boxes.

FYI most warranties (especially water heaters) do not include labor. If the tank fails prematurely, then there will likely be a labor cost associated with the swap out even though the replacement tank was free.

RomanP

That’s one cheap plumber. Or maybe has no idea what he’s doing? I mean, replacing the water heater isn’t a head scratcher but for that cheap??! Lol

Expect to see flexible connectors, sharkbite fittings, pex runs or combination of all of the above

RomanP

If you have a backflow preventer on your main or pressure reducing valve, you will need an expansion tank

Also, for a family of 5 with 2.5 baths I’d say 38000 or 40000 btu HWH would be too small. Unless, you create a shower schedule. I’d go with tankless if budget permits.

Steamhead

ScottSecor said:

BTW, we do not discuss pricing on this site

THIS.

Also, we won't install anything from A.O. Smith. One of the members of this board had a very bad experience with their service and support. Since there are plenty of other brands to choose from, there's no reason to put up with their lousy service. EDIT- found the thread:

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1376536#Comment_1376536

We like Bradford-White units.