General information

Troubleshooting

Common Water Heater Problems

A hot water heater is one of the most important appliances in your home but often taken for granted. Unless it’s been turned off for some reason, such as while you’re on vacation, a water heater is used every single day. Like any other appliance, problems can come up.

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Reviews

Best Water Heaters for Residential Use

When it comes time to replace a dishwasher, microwave, or even a furnace, you try for the best model you can afford. But what about when the water heater needs to be replaced whether due to age or an unfixable leak?

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Manuals

A.O. Smith Water Heater Manuals

Whether you lost your original A.O. Smith water heater manual or the previous homeowners did not leave it behind, below you’ll find links to download user manuals in pdf format for the most popular A.O. Smith residential water heaters.

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Troubleshooting

Hot Water Smells Like Rotten Eggs?

There’s nothing worse than coming home from a rough day at work, drawing a tub of nice hot water to soak in, and walking back into the bathroom to a terrible sulfur smell coming from the hot water.

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Maintenance

How to Replace an Anode Rod (6 Steps)

Water heaters use an anode rod to attract and remove sediments from the water being heated. An anode rod will corrode and deteriorate over time until it’s no longer capable of functioning and has to be replaced. This is a common problem with older water heaters and in certain parts of the country.

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Maintenance

Lighting a Hot Water Heater Pilot Light

On gas water heaters, the pilot light makes sure that there’s always flame available when the burner needs to kick in and heat water. If you run out of gas, install a new water heater or have to shut it down for some reason, lighting the pilot is the first step to turn on a water heater.

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General Info

Types of Plumbing and Pipe Fittings – Names and Pictures

The principles of your home’s plumbing are fairly simple. Fresh water comes in under pressure to fixtures such as sinks, bathtubs, showers and toilet tanks. Water is heated by passing through a water heater (see: How Does a Water Heater Work?) before traveling to the fixtures.

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Troubleshooting

Is Your Water Heater Leaking From the Bottom?

A water heater leaking from the bottom is not always an indication of tank failure. Before you resign yourself to replacing the entire water heater, take a few minutes to determine where the leak is actually coming from, and you may be able to fix the leak yourself with little or no cost.

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Troubleshooting

Is Your Water Heater Making Noise?

Water heaters may make a wide variety of noises, sometimes indicating a problem, and sometimes nothing to worry about at all. On the other hand, identifying the noises being made can give you early warning of components that need maintenance or replacement.

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Maintenance

8 Ways to Extend the Life of Your Water Heater

Water heaters are often ignored until a failure occurs. You don’t realize how much they do for you until they stop working. To help protect yourself from unexpected issues, it’s important to look out for signs of trouble and stay on top of smaller maintenance checks over time.

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water heater install
Guides

Water Heater Buying Guide – Tank Type

One of the joys of modern technology is the ability to simply turn a knob and — presto! — hot water flows forth. It’s made cleaning our dishes and laundry to cleaning our bodies much easier than the old-fashioned method of heating water on a stove or over a fire.

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Troubleshooting

How to Reset a Water Heater (and Why You’d Need to)

You turn on the hot water faucet, wait for the water to heat up, and after almost a minute, it’s still running cold. Maybe you stepped into a nice, hot shower, but the water gets cold within just a few minutes and ruins your nice relaxing shower.

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