That sounds good to me.I will answer Yes even though I used Home Depot contracted plumbers. I had heaters in my 32-year-old home replaced in the past 18 months. The folks who did the job were from a well-known county-wide plumbing contractor. They were the specialists in their company for replacing heaters day-in and day-out. They were not fixing drains nor toilets; they were removing old heaters, bringing the connections up to current code, installing new heaters, cleaning up, going on the roof to make sure vent was to code, etc.... Does Lowes hire a good plumber?
There is no reason for HomeDepot nor Lowes to be substandard. Talking to the plumbers who replaced our heaters, Lowes contracts with them as well. And why not? Could your speed-dial plumber do as good a job? Sure. And do you even need a better grade of water heater that costs more? I don't because our heaters just work sight unseen. I don't care if the drain valve is plastic or metal because I am never going to use it. I don't care if the anode is thick or thin because I am not going to ever replace it.
I probably wouldn't bring it up to my plumber, but I would want a high quality drain valve because I plan to flush it once a year. Talk's cheap because I've missed a year or two.
On my last replacement, I had the plumber add a drain pan with a drain to the outside along with an alarm/water cut off device. Without me asking, he added a thermal expansion tank. I'd made it 40 years without one. I had to replace it after 9 years when it rusted through and leaked.
Statistics: Posted by hudson — Thu Jan 01, 2026 8:19 am — Replies 42 — Views 1791