# My Bradford White Nightmare has just begun



## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Its bad enough I got to deal with a defective gas valve on Rheem,,,, but
now Bradford white has a defective anode rod in their heaters and it 
makes the faucet spit air and all sorts of god awful stuff out of all the 
hot water faucets......

So I go out to change the rod in one and it turns out it needs a socket set 
and a cheater bar to change the frigging thing out and I got the wrong one..
I lose my cool and just tear the dam thing out and install a Rheem electirc for the 
lady in less than an hour..... 
I drain the 5 week old bradford white electric in the driveway and the stuff pouring 
out of the heater looks like donkey cum.....

they got troubles now too.....when will it all end???


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

years ago I forgot what brand, but the dip tubes disintegrated into little white pieces and they had a campaign to replace them, they were paying some cheapo price for plumbers to do it, again it was long ago and i dont remember the details...it wasnt worth it because the customer expected you to clean all the airators on the sinks and wherever else the crap collected and caused issues..and I can bet where most of the problem parts came from..CHINA...


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> years ago I forgot what brand, but the dip tubes disintegrated into little white pieces and they had a campaign to replace them, they were paying some cheapo price for plumbers to do it, again it was long ago and i dont remember the details...it wasnt worth it because the customer expected you to clean all the airators on the sinks and wherever else the crap collected and caused issues..and I can bet where most of the problem parts came from..CHINA...
> [/QUOTE]
> 
> That was Smith back in the 90s...they got the brunt of that problem
> and that was a cluster/uck.....


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

ShtRnsdownhill said:


> years ago I forgot what brand, but the dip tubes disintegrated into little white pieces and they had a campaign to replace them, they were paying some cheapo price for plumbers to do it, again it was long ago and i dont remember the details...it wasnt worth it because the customer expected you to clean all the airators on the sinks and wherever else the crap collected and caused issues..and I can bet where most of the problem parts came from..CHINA...



Yep the company I worked for was a Bradford White factory rep. There was a bad plastic mix and the dip tubes disintegrated plugging everything including dishwashers, faucets, etc. The manufacture sold dip tubes to several WH manufactures. We were seeing people having to replace washers, dish washers. WH companies were not standing up. I got ahold of my local county newspaper ands since I was a local inspector they ran the story. May have helped some home owners re-coupe the costs since al the WH manufacture would cover was the dip tube replacement.


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## Wolynge (Feb 11, 2021)

Master Mark said:


> Its bad enough I got to deal with a defective gas valve on Rheem,,,, but
> now Bradford white has a defective anode rod in their heaters and it
> makes the faucet spit air and all sorts of god awful stuff out of all the
> hot water faucets......
> ...


Curious if you were ever able to get the anode rod out, how that looked? I've had pretty great luck with bradford white


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Wolynge said:


> Curious if you were ever able to get the anode rod out, how that looked? I've had pretty great luck with bradford white


He couldn't get it out, that's why he replaced it.

Ever seen cheap diecast handles/tub spouts/shower trim corrode to nothing? White rust and dark grey? That's what that anode rod looks like.

My guess isn't that it's a bad anode rod, but the wrong anode rod. There are 3 or 4 different alloys and they ship water heaters to different parts of the country with different anode rods for different water qualities. Probably got a load of different region heaters.

Never under-estimate the effect differing water quality will have on two otherwise identical plumbing systems. It's the reason some guys love one brand while other guys hate it, they have different water.


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

skoronesa said:


> He couldn't get it out, that's why he replaced it.
> 
> Ever seen cheap diecast handles/tub spouts/shower trim corrode to nothing? White rust and dark grey? That's what that anode rod looks like.
> 
> ...


ding ding another winner...


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

skoronesa said:


> He couldn't get it out, that's why he replaced it.
> 
> Ever seen cheap diecast handles/tub spouts/shower trim corrode to nothing? White rust and dark grey? That's what that anode rod looks like.
> 
> ...


I did not have the deep socket wrench with me to tackle the anode rod buried 3 inches down in the heater...
sort of glad I just changed it out because I probably would have been flushing that pig out
for 2 hours just trying to get the grey matter out of the unit....
I am still gonna turn in a warranty call for 200 bucks to bradford-

I might attempt to wrestle that rod out of that heater tomorrow morning...
I was in the flow today and was too busy to fool with it or lunch too--- 
did 3 heaters in all and was home at 4.30....


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Master Mark said:


> I did not have the deep socket wrench with me to tackle the anode rod buried 3 inches down in the heater...
> sort of glad I just changed it out because I probably would have been flushing that pig out
> for 2 hours just trying to get the grey matter out of the unit....
> I am still gonna turn in a warranty call for 200 bucks to bradford-
> ...


Looking at the heater size they are so damn slim, that's why you can tackle twisting stairs unlike me. Our heaters are way wider!


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tango said:


> Looking at the heater size they are so damn slim, that's why you can tackle twisting stairs unlike me. Our heaters are way wider!


I am not really argueing with you, 
I am just wondering why you throw in 60 gallon units??? 
why is that the common one in canada...??


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

skoronesa said:


> He couldn't get it out, that's why he replaced it.
> 
> Ever seen cheap diecast handles/tub spouts/shower trim corrode to nothing? White rust and dark grey? That's what that anode rod looks like.
> 
> ...



In our area if you have a water softener the Rheem units last a lot longer than Bradford Whites....
The Bradfords might last the warranty life or not and go out a few weeks after 6 years....
most Bradfords fry out at about 5 years old around here....
The sodium in the soft water eats the bradfords alive....

No water softener in the home and both will last 10 + years......


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Master Mark said:


> Its bad enough I got to deal with a defective gas valve on Rheem,,,, but
> now Bradford white has a defective anode rod in their heaters and it
> makes the faucet spit air and all sorts of god awful stuff out of all the
> hot water faucets......
> ...


I have come across the air in faucet also but why is a anode rod able to cause air to so it out at the faucet???I never did figure that one out yet


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

sparky said:


> I have come across the air in faucet also but why is a anode rod able to cause air to so it out at the faucet???I never did figure that one out yet


as the rod dissolves I believe it creates a gas, and thus gets pushed to the faucet.....like fermenting mash for liquor, you can see the bubbles forming...


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

sparky said:


> I have come across the air in faucet also but why is a anode rod able to cause air to so it out at the faucet???I never did figure that one out yet


You'd have to figure out what chemicals/elements are in the mix and then look at which ones can become gases. A couple off th top of my head would be sulfur, chlorine, oxygen, and nitrogen. I think nitrogen would be the most likely culprit as you haven't mentioned a smell. Nitrates and nitrites are common compounds you might find in water.


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Master Mark said:


> I am not really argueing with you,
> I am just wondering why you throw in 60 gallon units???
> why is that the common one in canada...??


We have either 40 gallons or 60, remember that 60 canadian gallons is 74 US gallons


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Tango said:


> We have either 40 gallons or 60, remember that 60 canadian gallons is 74 US gallons


So a 40 in canada is basically about 55 gallons us and a 60 is 74 gallons us......huh

You must have a lot dirtier butt-holes in canada too need all that much hot water...


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## Dontbitenails (Oct 16, 2020)

I installed a Bradford White Natural gas water heater last week. Customer wanted it added to his system as his large family was using up all the hot water in existing heater. Usually connect 2 heaters parallel to each other. Someone had exchanged original nipples on top with brass for Watts recirculation pump system . I went to replace nipples on new heater to match existing one . Pulled hot side and 
Anode rod is attached to outlet nipple. Never seen that before. Change of plans . Put nipple with anode back in . Connected heaters in series and all is good . You all know the difference between series and parallel? 
Are the anodes the same with Bradford White electric models ? 
I have had good luck with Bradford White heaters . Made in the USA . Entire bottom of combustion chamber is screen for air intake, unlike the rest that use a 4 X 10 screen that get blocked easily.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

Dontbitenails said:


> I installed a Bradford White Natural gas water heater last week. Customer wanted it added to his system as his large family was using up all the hot water in existing heater. Usually connect 2 heaters parallel to each other. Someone had exchanged original nipples on top with brass for Watts recirculation pump system . I went to replace nipples on new heater to match existing one . Pulled hot side and
> Anode rod is attached to outlet nipple. Never seen that before. Change of plans . Put nipple with anode back in . Connected heaters in series and all is good . You all know the difference between series and parallel?
> Are the anodes the same with Bradford White electric models ?
> I have had good luck with Bradford White heaters . Made in the USA . Entire bottom of combustion chamber is screen for air intake, unlike the rest that use a 4 X 10 screen that get blocked easily.


it depends on where you are in the usa.... just get ready for complaints
about spitting and sputtering air out 
of all the faucets,,, then sediment later on...


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## Tango (Jan 13, 2018)

Master Mark said:


> So a 40 in canada is basically about 55 gallons us and a 60 is 74 gallons us......huh
> 
> You must have a lot dirtier butt-holes in canada too need all that much hot water...


Did you read my soaps?? Lots of soap needed for dirty A-holes!  

I went to check the specs sheet, a 41Imp gallon(what we call a 40 for a 2 person house) says it's 49 US gal. Pretty confusing crap when we are supposed to be metric for the last 40 years but plumbing is still dominated in Imperial numbers.!



https://giantinc.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/GI-FT-152STE-En.pdf





https://giantinc.com/wp-content/uploads/docs/GI-FT-172STE-En.pdf


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Tango said:


> Did you read my soaps?? Lots of soap needed for dirty A-holes!
> 
> I went to check the specs sheet, a 41Imp gallon(what we call a 40 for a 2 person house) says it's 49 US gal. Pretty confusing crap when we are supposed to be metric for the last 40 years but plumbing is still dominated in Imperial numbers.!
> 
> ...


Sounds to me like they're just calling 4 litres a "Gallon". Not really confusing when you realize they just swapped 4 litres for the 4 quarts you'd normally find. Basically your "gallon" is just a bit bigger than ours. I guess you could say you have a "metric gallon".

Kind of like what they did with the "Ton". A short ton, or US ton is 4,000lbs while a long ton, or metric ton is 4,400lbs because a long ton/metric ton is 1,000kgs and a kilogram is 2.2lbs.

.


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## Sushison (Nov 24, 2013)

had a customer show me their "bubbling on the hot-side yesterday". Needless to say, i was perplexed.


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## Lee'sPlumbing (Jul 30, 2018)

Dontbitenails said:


> I installed a Bradford White Natural gas water heater last week. Customer wanted it added to his system as his large family was using up all the hot water in existing heater. Usually connect 2 heaters parallel to each other. Someone had exchanged original nipples on top with brass for Watts recirculation pump system . I went to replace nipples on new heater to match existing one . Pulled hot side and
> Anode rod is attached to outlet nipple. Never seen that before. Change of plans . Put nipple with anode back in . Connected heaters in series and all is good . You all know the difference between series and parallel?
> Are the anodes the same with Bradford White electric models ?
> I have had good luck with Bradford White heaters . Made in the USA . Entire bottom of combustion chamber is screen for air intake, unlike the rest that use a 4 X 10 screen that get blocked easily.


I was just going to mention that I remember the Bradford white anode rods being installed on the hot water outlet nipple(nat gas) haven’t installed any of them in a few years. 
if I ever install 2 heaters, I always install them in tandem(parallel). I always figured that installing them in series would definitely overtax the first heater, causing it to fail quicker than the 2nd one. 
I wonder what other people think about this topic?


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## skoronesa (Oct 27, 2015)

Lee'sPlumbing said:


> I was just going to mention that I remember the Bradford white anode rods being installed on the hot water outlet nipple(nat gas) haven’t installed any of them in a few years.
> if I ever install 2 heaters, I always install them in tandem(parallel). I always figured that installing them in series would definitely overtax the first heater, causing it to fail quicker than the 2nd one.
> I wonder what other people think about this topic?



Since redwood isn't here, I must tell you that you should be installing them using the "reverse return" method.


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## Master Mark (Aug 14, 2009)

skoronesa said:


> Since redwood isn't here, I must tell you that you should be installing them using the "reverse return" method.
> 
> View attachment 128078


I think Redwood blew a gasket when Trump got elected he
has a thing for Hillary...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

Dontbitenails said:


> I installed a Bradford White Natural gas water heater last week. Customer wanted it added to his system as his large family was using up all the hot water in existing heater. Usually connect 2 heaters parallel to each other. Someone had exchanged original nipples on top with brass for Watts recirculation pump system . I went to replace nipples on new heater to match existing one . Pulled hot side and
> Anode rod is attached to outlet nipple. Never seen that before. Change of plans . Put nipple with anode back in . Connected heaters in series and all is good . You all know the difference between series and parallel?
> Are the anodes the same with Bradford White electric models ?
> I have had good luck with Bradford White heaters . Made in the USA . Entire bottom of combustion chamber is screen for air intake, unlike the rest that use a 4 X 10 screen that get blocked easily.


yes.....same as batteries...


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## ShtRnsdownhill (Jan 13, 2016)

maybe these guys will set you straight on what water heater to use...


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## Dontbitenails (Oct 16, 2020)

skoronesa said:


> Since redwood isn't here, I must tell you that you should be installing them using the "reverse return" method.
> 
> View attachment 128078


"1st one in , last one out" is what I have always called this method . I have installed 3 in a row with this method. Like your term better than mine. Have always tried to connect 2 together parallel. As long as both units are the exact same and equal distance to the tee's that split cold and then hot water , usually both burners kick on within a few seconds of each other when used .


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

Dontbitenails said:


> "1st one in , last one out" is what I have always called this method . I have installed 3 in a row with this method. Like your term better than mine. Have always tried to connect 2 together parallel. As long as both units are the exact same and equal distance to the tee's that split cold and then hot water , usually both burners kick on within a few seconds of each other when used .


If I'm doing two or three heaters together I will do it like this if for myself,if done for joe blo customer I run cold in one and then that hot goes into heater #2 cold outlet,I want that heater to wear out quick so I can make that money again


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