A.O. Smith Signature 100 40-Gallon Tall 9-year Warranty 40000-BTU Natural Gas Water Heater

Replaced a 25 yo Maytag with this one

My 25 yo Maytag(made by State Industries) worked great until the last month went the gas control valve (obsolete part) no longer allowed the burner to turn on to keep the water to temperature. I began my research for the most reliable replacement within my price range and decided on this model of AO Smith for several reasons. 1. It had mostly good reviews and a good hassle free warranty 2. It was made in USA (mine was made in McBee, SC) and the plant had a good reputation of continuous improvem...

Junk

Paid extra to go with a "Brand Name" water heater. We'd been running water heaters from another store with 9 year warranty and getting 6-7 years out of them. We bought this one with a 12 year warranty with hopes we could get 9-10 years out of it. Not even close. Installed it 9/8/2021. A month ago it appeared the temp/pressure valve was leaking, so I replaced it. Then on 2/18/2026 I got up and went to take a shower. My wife went to the basement and found water on the floor, the tank had failed. N...

Poor delivery care

I bought this and paid for delivery. Received the tank damaged with a big debt about 10 inches on top. Not happy at all. I don't recommend.

Heater was damaged inside the box before delivery

The metal valve inside the control panel had a one inch crack in it. Gas started leaking out as soon as it was hooked up in the early evening but not noticeable and smelled until about 1 PM the next day. Immediately opened the door and windows clearing the air and turned off the gas. I called the on-duty manager at Lowes and he was VERY unhelpful, telling me that there was nothing he could do. I would have to contact AOSmith and get them to handle it as a warranty problem. Things worked out ...

Good and Not So Good

Good product but I was disappointed to find out that Lowe's has quit giving a military discount on big ticket items. In the future, that will give me less incentive to purchase big ticket items from Lowe's.

Open boxes & check before scheduling appointments.

Packaging or handling of units. First unit was damaged and returned, second unit had slight dents not affecting functionality. Had to pay extra to installers for their time and effort returning the first unit to the store. Had to accept the slightly dented 2nd unit because installers had other appointments and couldn’t schedule me in for another 2 days, additional fees for their time and I didn’t have the extra cash.

Damaged out of box TWICE

So I got this delivered by a single man in flip slops through Lowe's delivery service. Needless to say, I had to assist in the delivery while tripping over his flip flop. After that whole ordeal, when opening the box to the tank, the top edge and bottom edges were smashed in. My wife and I took it back to Lowe's since they wouldn't be able to send someone to pick the tank up till much later in the week. Returned it and bought another one, which had a much better shaped box. Brought it home and o...

Maintenance Nightmare: Can’t Access or Remove Anod

This water heater is extremely frustrating and poorly designed. The anode rod is practically impossible to remove. I tried everything—using a heavy-duty extension bar and even an impact wrench—and it still wouldn’t budge. It feels like the rod is permanently fused in place, which defeats the whole purpose of having a replaceable anode rod for maintenance. On top of that, the design is terrible. The anode rod is located at the back of the unit, making it very difficult to access. To even attempt...

So far so good!

Replaced a Whirlpool standard gas water heater that died literally 2 months after it's 12yr warranty. This A.O. Smith unit looks even nicer than the last one and works smoothly. Install went without a hitch (except for that whole $1,500 price part) and was completed within days of purchase (on a Saturday) through Lowes's referred plumbing company.

Bait and switch

Lowe’s installers will not install water heaters that are sold at Lowe’s. You probably think that I’m talking nonsense. But it’s the truth. I talked to two separate Lowe’s locations. Those installers are only given leads from Lowe’s. The installers source the water heaters from Wholesale warehouses elsewhere, like I said you probably think that I’m misunderstanding the situation but I’ve researched it. You can get a Lowe’s water heater installed, but you have to carry it to your house and have t...