No!
Clients often think regular storage type water heaters sold by the big box stores are the same as professional water heaters sold only to the plumbing profession.
Every water heater we have seen from places like Lowes and Home Depot are made by Rheem including the ones rebranded as G.E.. Rheem is decidedly not an American company.
If the water heater’s computer controlled gas thermostat were to ever stick in the on position on Big Box water heaters that we have seen, a deeply embedded internal glass thermal fuse tube breaks and a spring loaded combustion air trap door springs closed. Plumbing professionals run into this every year.
Next we must remove the entire sealed ignition system, main gas burner, gas pilot and millivolt generation systems and assemblies from the water heater, then use a long tool to vacuum out the shattered glass tube remnants, pull the glass thermal fuse carrier out.
Those proprietary thermal glass fuse tubes are never in stock at our local professional plumbing supply centers. We must order them direct from the water heater company in Georgia after supplying a model and serial number. We depart out clients premises, then two to seven days later on average, the part arrives. We then book a return service visit with the client. Upon arrival we replace the fuse, reinstall the main burner assembly, the pilot light assembly, and depending on the age, the old or a new millivolt generation system. Next we must replace the combustion door panel seal system. Reconnect all the remove systems, turn the gas back on and check for function. This is a tedious procedure that is not inexpensive and represents a significant inconvenience to the client who will have no hot water for that 3 to 8 day time frame.
On a to the profession only water heater like Bradford-White, if the water heater were to experience an excess thermal even, rather than doing any of the costly and inconvenient procedure above, over the phone, we tell clients how to reach down and push an electron reset button, all for free with no waiting.
This is just one of many differences between a foreign owned water heater company sold by Home Depot and Lowes, and a professional water heater made by an American owned company whose water heaters are also made in the USA.
If you need a 24-7 Fast plumber and plumbing firm for a water heater repair or replacement in the Burbank and surround communities, we know exactly what to do, we will give you all your options, we will never hard sell you what you do not need and you’ll be able to you make an informed choice.
We want clients for life, not for a day.
