I'm looking at replacing a water heater at my son's place. In the past I would have ordered a Kenmore heater, but with Sears wheezing on it's death bed, I'm hesitant. The Kenmore is better than the box store's offering, but a warranty is only good if the store is there to honor it.

So is Kenmore still safe, or should I search elsewhere?

Any suggestions beyond Sears? He would like an in-line, but it would mean a major rewiring and just isn't cost effective.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

I don't know anything about Sears or who may buy the name if they go under. Kenmore is course made by several others. Find out who makes the particular thing you're interested in. I know GE makes water heaters as does Whirlpool, so probably one of those two?

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deckeda
Kenmore is course made by several others. Find out who makes the particular thing you're interested in...

Go here and read this

I'd find a good local shop. We have one that offers installation options.

As for manufacturers, I thought we only have one in the US - whirlpool/maytag.

We purchased a Bosch dishwasher made in a US factory, however - so there are some exceptions.

....probably as safe as......safe sax..............???

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I reject your reality and substitute my own!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 07:51AM by NewtonMP2100.

appliance purchases have become a crap shoot in the last few years.
Although I've had small issues with our Whirlpool stuff (they make some Kenmore as the above link shows), I'd still go to them or their rebadged stuff first.
I find their support to be very good. In the end, if your whatever fails, support is a good thing to have.

But a 20 year 40 gal water heater is a different beast. I'd say as long as it's US made you should be OK.
Maybe ask around here or here, as a water heater is more plumbing that appliance.

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Nobody remembers their first download, but everyone remembers their 1st LP.

Just some info (I've done some homework)

Kenmore water heaters are made by A.O. Smith (which also makes State and a couple regional brands). The only WH still made in the states is Branford White. All others are from Mexico.

My reason for Kenmore is I can pick up the WH and install it myself. The others are sold only through plumbers and self-installation is a no-go (the Kenmore 12-yr WH is identical to the AO Smith 6-year)

Rheem is now sold through Home Depot but has some significant issues with it's thermocoupler. Lowes sells either maytag or whirlpool (can't recall which) but both now have severe reliability issues and should be avoided.

So it was Kenmore as the choice. However, there are issues as parts can only come through Sears and if they shut the doors as expected, that could create problems down the road.

I miss the days when stuff like water heaters and washing machines were pretty much bullet proof and lasted 20 years.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late

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deckeda
I don't know anything about Sears or who may buy the name if they go under. Kenmore is course made by several others. Find out who makes the particular thing you're interested in. I know GE makes water heaters as does Whirlpool, so probably one of those two?

I was wrong; one 2012 source I just bumped into names GE made by Rheem and Whirlpool and Kenmore water heaters made by A.O. Smith.

Dunno if that's relevant in 2015/2016 still. But the OP's question seems more about warranty than anything else, if Sears goes kaput.

State Water Heaters is a company also. I have been through several water heaters in my time with various brands. Water heaters tend to seek me out for some reason. Some I have installed myself others a plumber did for us. Current one is a State Select with I believe a 10 year warranty or longer. Can't remember. Has been very good so far. Owned it about 5 years so far without a problem. It was pricey however. I have a service contract with a HVAC/Plumbing company for tunes up on my heat pump and a plumping check once a year in which includes draining the water tank to clean out the crud. It's a 50 gallon electric. I have no experience with gas or oil models.

The sky's the limit on water heaters now days along with prices to match. Some will self clean, others have high efficiency ratings and others have heat pumps, etc.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 08:56AM by jh.

Bought my Whirlpool from Lowe's 3/2014 and installed it myself. 11 months later the thermocouple failed to engage once. I rebooted the water heater and it's been perfect since then. However, that was 11 months ago ...

Speaking of code, HD or Lowe's had a flyer regarding the local county plumbing codes for self install. I searched online and never found anything like it, only some statewide info that was so generic as to be useless. I'll let you know this summer if I installed it correctly back in 2014 (when the house gets inspected ...)

Our water heater is a State. I hope I don't jinx it by discussing it but it's been working perfectly for 12 years (aside from a problem caused by the city of Baltimore for which the city paid the repairs all over our neighborhood). We bought it from a plumbing supply store not a consumer store.

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There are really only a handful of places building water heaters. If you shop around you'll realize that many of them look nearly identical but have different brand names. I purchased my water heater a few months ago at Lowes, but I later found the exact same model, with a different name, at Ace Hardware for almost half the price. So it pays to shop around.

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MacResource User Map: [www.zeemaps.com]#

The plumbing supply mention is spot on; find one and ask.

The other consideration is to install one with a removable anode, so you can replace only that. Some models apparently have an anode in links to remove in tight spaces.

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Hurts like a bastid...

Two years ago my water heater died and a local plumber installed a Bradford White, 40 gallon, electric, for $995 (plus a few other odds and ends I requested, for which I paid extra). I didn't have the skills, nor the time and tools to get it installed myself. I was glad I found one who did the job quick and used a US made appliance.

Later next week I looked online and I was able to find the same model for $300-350 (I can't recall exactly) plus what appeared to be free delivery. There is a web site that sells these to contractors, I can't recall which one but if I find out I will come back and post.

so yes, it is possible to get a Bradford White yourself if you can wait a few days for delivery.

BTW, is is Bradford White, not Branford.


EDIT: here is the web site

[hdsupplysolutions.com]



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 11:41AM by space-time.

$tevie, that dog surely looks like the dogs James Thurber drew.

I don't know about their water heaters, but I bought Kenmore appliances for decades. The last two purhcases, fridge and dishwasher, have been the first disappointments from them.

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space-time
BTW, is is Bradford White, not Branford.

My bad.. Branford is one of the places where I go cave diving

Thanks for that link.

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“No persons are more frequently wrong, than those who will not admit they are wrong.” -- François de La Rochefoucauld

"Those who cannot accept the past are condemned to revise it." -- Geo. Mathias

The German word for contraceptive is “Schwangerschaftsverhütungsmittel”. By the time you finished saying that, it’s too late



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 12:30PM by Ombligo.

I tried to install a Kenmore water softener two days ago to replace a 25 year old Kenmore where the head had leaked and sprayed water all over the solid state electronics (and Sears charges an intolerable amount for its parts). But it turned out my existing copper installation was not compatible with the new softener so I called my plumber just to save me the grief. He said he had just installed a Kenmore softener in his home. I asked him if he wasn't worried about Sears going under and his thought was that any bankruptcy would be a reorganization, not a liquidation, and the warranties would be honored. And he added that this was a common question asked of him, FWIW.

Unrelated, but I had the same plumber install our second to last water heater (a State) a number of years ago. I also had him install something to close the flue so it wasn't always open to the outside so we could keep our heat inside. That water heater failed on day 363 (leaked). The labor warranty expired on day 365 so I got lucky because it didn't cost me one dime for the new heater installed. In addition, the state code had changed over that year and now flue shut-offs were required. The plumber told me the shut-offs were now twice the cost of what I paid.

So yesterday I asked him about installing a new sacrificial anode in that now years old heater. He said it was unnecessary with our city water, that if he pulled the anode it would look like new and that a new one wouldn't make the heater last any longer. Hmmm.

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 01/21/2016 12:49PM by Speedy.

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clyde
$tevie, that dog surely looks like the dogs James Thurber drew.

You are correct, sir!

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$tevie
Our water heater is a State. I hope I don't jinx it by discussing it but it's been working perfectly for 12 years (aside from a problem caused by the city of Baltimore for which the city paid the repairs all over our neighborhood). We bought it from a plumbing supply store not a consumer store.

Twelve years means that it is time to replace the anode rods. The rods are sacrificial and get eaten up by corrosion instead of the tank corroding. Once the anodes are gone it is bye bye water heater in fairly short order. A typical anode lasts six years under somewhat corrosive water conditions. Water heaters come with either a six or twelve year warranty, which corresponds to having either one anode or two installed. A water heater can last almost indefinitely if the anode rods are replenished. Most of them fail because most people don't bother with this maintenance. See here: [www.waterheaterrescue.com]

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"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan

Thanks for the information, davester. I'll show it to my husband. When it comes to appliance repair we are still gender driven in this house.

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yep, in-laws have a 30+ year old electric water heater.

elements replaced when they fail, anode rod checked every couple of years, drain is unscrewed and crud in the bottom vacuumed out with a wet/dry vac annually.

davester, thanks for the great link!

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Saint Cloud, Minnesota, where the weather is wonderful even when it isn't.

Cave diving. I don't know what that is but it sounds insane. Please, back to water heaters.