Consumer Reviews of AO Smith water heaters

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Date created: 2013-05-12 Name: time1865
Location: Hamilton, NJ

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"19 Years"
Installed the unit in June of 1994 and it just started leaking at the drain valve because the water softener serviceman thought he would drain some water out. He thought he was helping. So the unit would probably still be going fine.

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Date created: 2013-04-10 Name: J Tendler
Location: Austin, TX

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"Smith did not pay labor"
We have 2 units of 75 gallon water heaters in series. We replaced 1 unit 15 months ago with an A.O Smith water heater GCV-40 300. My wife has been complaining about the hot water. Last week the water was cold as we were running it for a long time. The licensed plumber said we needed to replace the pilot assembly and the control valve (under parts warranty) but the labor was not covered. A.O Smith says that the labor is not covered but as a "courtesy" they cover labor for first 12 months. They also said that it is rare to replace both parts. They do not recognize the unit most likely failed within 12 months and says that they no longer need to be courteous. I need to cover labor charges. Their rules say that the courtesy only extends for 12 months no matter what. No real customer focus here.

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Date created: 2013-03-14 Name: T. Frey
Location: Arkansas

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"Slow leaker replaced with gusher!!"
Went A.O. Smith Vortex instead of tankless secondary to concerns re: volume of hot water in large master shower. First disappointment is that the 50 gal A.O. Smith won't carry the load. Second disappointment was when the three year old water heater went out secondary to slow leak. Third disappointment was when the replacement tank started gushing six months later!

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Date created: 2013-02-01 Name: general manager
Location: Rochester NY

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"ao smith does not stand behind product"
Have 216 of these installed in new facility in 2008, over 250 instances of pilot light going out. Have worn out two vacuum attachments ao smith supplied so we could clean the flame arrestors. Thousands of $ on repairs, hours of preventative maintenance

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Date created: 2013-01-04 Name: R Kay
Location: Michigan

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"COLD hotwater Heater From HELL"
How unsatisfied can I make this? Somehow •Very Unsatisfied is not far enough down on the list. Professionally installed in 2004 this pos hw heater has broken down 10 times in 9 years. No Joke. It Especially loved to break on the holidays for an extra service charge. 3rd time to replace the electronic controls at $750 is too much for me. I'm done, getting a new one installed tomorrow. I Will Never Buy Anything from AO Smith ever in my life. When it's sitting on the curb awaiting it's final demise I will have a few whacks at it with my sledge hammer to help it in the grave.

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Date created: 2013-01-02 Name: Lee Dekker
Location: Philadelphia, Pa.

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"STAY AWAY!!! Junk Warning!!!!!!"
I am amazed at the lack of quality of this water heater. Less than 4 years of mediocre service before it leaked all over my basement. But even more troubling than the lousy product is the refusal to stand behind their products. Evidently they allow their distributors to refuse to honor the warranty. I was told over the phone that the distributor can refuse to honor their warranties at their whim. I was then made to feel that it was my fault for the failure of the product and the refusal to honor the warranty. This may explain why only 2 supply houses in a city the size of Philadelphia even carry this junk. Buyer beware! I cannot be more emphatic. Stay away from A.O.smith!

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Date created: 2012-08-25 Name: T. Peters
Location: Rochester Minnesota

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"Absolutely Terrible Water Heaters"
I have only owned this unit for a few years and have had several repairs to the pilot light...and it's now out of warranty. It's a total engineering failure. do not buy an A. O. Smith Brand water heater. They do not stand behind their product and their designs (air filter inches from the floor and continually clogs with dust...dah!) apparently go through no r & D.

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Date created: 2012-01-24 Location: Petaluma, CA

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"A review of the A.O. Smith Water Heater"
I've owned this water heater for going on a year now. This model heats the water very quickly and allows for a good amount of heated water. I don't have anything in particular that I dislike about it. I think next time I'll buy a larger water heater. I have yet to repair or replace it. I would probably buy the same brand again seeing as I've had no issues with it. I'm not sure if I would recommend it or not. It's a rather expensive item to recommend and I would feel bad if a friend or family member had a completely different experience with this model.

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Date created: 2011-12-09 Location: Chicago, IL

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"A good, durable beast of a heater"
We have owned our A.O. Smith water heater for four years, as it was installed during our home remodel/expansion. Our plumber recommended this water heater to us over a tankless system. In the time we have owned it, we have never had any problems with it. The heater has a 74 gallon capacity, and we have never run out of hot water - even when there were 11 people taking showers back-to-back (in two different showers). This large beast sits quietly (for the most part) in our basement. It is a large tank (more than 24 inches in diameter), but it must be well insulated because the outside surface is not at all warm to the touch. The noise its gas burners make is minimal and rarely heard. I do notice it heating up water even when no hot water is being used in the house, but that heating period only lasts a minute or two. I thing I wish were better is the temperature controller. Since the device it electronic, I thought it could give an actual temperature instead of just having hotter and colder arrows. In short, this water heater has served us well. I would recommend it.

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Date created: 2011-12-06 Location: Indianapolis, IN

Satisfaction Rating:
Review:
"AO Smith Water Heater Review"
This was the water heater in the house I bought about 2 years ago. Initially, I was considering upgrading it to a tankless model, but decided to give this one a fair try first. We are a family of 5 (Mom, Dad, and 3 boys), and 2 of the boys were recent additions. We had also had a 40 gallon unit at our previous residence, and we found we were constantly running out of water. When we moved and had two additions to the family, we thought for sure we'd need something tankless or bigger, but this unit has been adequate. On most evenings, we can do dishes and give everyone a bath/shower. This heater is 7 years old, and it does not appear to have ever been repaired. I would buy the same brand again, as this 40 gallon unit seems to outperform our previous 40 gallon unit. The only downside is that, when all are bathed and dished are done, usually the last person to shower will get a bit of a cold one at the end. If I had to replace this, I most certainly would go tankless, but for what it is we have been surprised by it's performance.

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