Looks like I`m late to the game..
Heaters typically fail due to 1- thermal expansion, and 2- internal corrosion.
If you have a newer home, you probably have a thermal expansion tank installed on the cold water line. These have an air bladder inside that controls the expansion of water. If the air bladder goes flat, the tank is useless. Air pressure in the tank should be within 5psi of the house static pressure, but must be checked with no water pressure in the expansion tank. Expansion is the #1 killer of tank style water heaters, and usually causes a dramatic, large failure.
The anode rod on most bradford heaters is on the hot outlet nipple, meaning the hot outlet pipe must be cut to remove+replace the rod. Other brands (including AOS) have a seperate 1-1/16" threaded plug for the anode.
If you're like most 5-10yr old homes, you probably have a standard atmospheric (chimney) operated water heater. (metal pipe off the top). AO Smith makes a very efficient atmospheric unit, the Effex. Its one of the only atmospheric heaters to qualify for the Energy Star rating..
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www.hotwater.com/water-h ··· s/effex/Or, if you have a power vent heater (plastic pipe off the blower), I would recommend an AO Smith Vertex heater. I install these all the time, the fan is very quiet, they are 94-96% efficient, and make a helluva lot of hot water.
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www.hotwater.com/water-h ··· /vertex/If you have a large family, or have large groups of people over for the holidays, a tankless would work well.. They are typically 2x-3x as much as a tank heater, depending on install. But they do last twice as long, take up 1/4 the space, do not require an expansion tank, and when they leak, its a slow dripper, not a flood. I would highly recommend a high efficiency Rinnai.
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www.rinnai.us/tankless-w ··· 237ffud/Both the high efficiency Vertex and the Rinnai qualify for a 10% fed tax credit
Any detailed questions, PM me
-j