Bradford White vs Rheem: Choosing The Better?

Nowadays, installing a water heater in your home is considered a luxury, not a necessity. This appliance comes in handy, especially for those living in cold areas or during winter. A remarkable thing about water heaters is it allows you to have a beautiful, relaxing shower, instead of struggling with unbearably cold water.

Because of their ability to provide hot water almost instantly, this device is highly sought after. As a result, the market is filled with dozens of the product from several brands, which makes choosing the right product overwhelming.

Thus, to help you narrow the abundance of options, we’ll critically review two of the most popular water heater brands in the market – Bradford White vs. Rheem.

A Detailed Comparison of Both Brands: Bradford White vs. Rheem

Company Overview

Between both brands being compared in this article, Bradford White was established first as far as 1881. The brand has its headquarters in Philadelphia, with other crucial manufacturing facilities in several locations. The company also make use of a distribution channel in Canada.

Rheem dated back from as far as 1925 and was founded in Emeryville, California. With both brands having a lot of years of experience in the industry, it’s no surprise they became the top brands of water heaters in the market. Rheem, in 1931, gained the people’s trust and boosted the brand after introducing the first automatic gas storage heater.

Major Difference

Both brands are known for high-end products. However, a huge difference between Rheem and Bradford White is the fact that the formal is meant exclusively for retail distribution.

Further, their products are not complicated to assemble and install; therefore, you don’t need a professional installation, unlike water heaters from Bradford White.

Product Line

Both brands have successfully created a diverse list of product. On their official websites, you can easily notice the impressive product variation either for commercial or residential heating.

In addition, both brands offer both electric and gas models. Also, they offer tankless and tank water heaters, which means you have a wide range of products to choose from. Their products always rank high on most electric tankless water heater reviews on the internet.

Nevertheless, these two brands are not totally similar, as Bradford White only design units exclusively for heating, unlike Rheem with other series of products for cooling.

That’s not all: Rheem also offers pool heating, spa, as well as home generators. Besides, they offer a line of products intended to improve indoor air quality.

Durability

Obviously, no one would love to have to change their water heater more often than necessary. After all, this product comes with a hefty price tag, which makes it imperative to choose a unit that can withstand the test of time.

Considering several reviews online, Rheem is better known for durability, even though their line of products are not made in the USA but Mexico due to the high cost of production.

On the other hand, Bradford White units are made in the USA, which is well known for incredible performance. Sadly, their products are usually thinner, as the company wants to minimize the costs of producing these units.

Bradford White vs. Rheem: Top Picks

Let’s take a quick review of the top product from each brand to help make choosing a product less challenging:

Bradford White Water Heater

This unit is touted as an energy-efficient water heater and top in the series of the brands’ high-efficiency energy saving products. According to the manufacturer’s technical specifications, this product has an impressive 0.93 energy factor.

Speaking of its build construction, Bradford White Water Heater features a metal tank, which has been designed to resist corrosion and offer longevity.

Sadly, this unit’s deal isn’t sweetened with a generous manufacturer warranty, as it accompanied with an only 6-year limited warranty.

However, the good thing about it is its 2” foam insulation to help improve heating efficiency. It also features heat traps which acts as an excellent thermal insulation.

Rheem Marathon Water Heater

This model comes from the brand’s Marathon Series. One impressive feature of this unit is the manufacturer generous lifetime warranty, which tends to offer optimal satisfaction level.

Even after using for a long period, you can expect this model to keep still offering remarkable performance. Unlike Bradford White, it comes with an energy factor of .94, which is nothing close to what was mentioned above.

More so, it comes in a bowl-shaped bottom for help avoid material from hard water accumulating in the heater. Just as other units in this series, the heaters are made with polybutene to provide exceptional resistance to corrosion and rust.