Bradford White Reviews

If I could give zero stars I would. Had the water heater installed and there are only two settings: freezing cold and scalding hot. There is no in between. They've been out 3 times and it still doesn't work properly. Do not waste your money. Hopefully they'll be out of business soon so they can't sell any more of their garbage water heaters.

We had a brand new Bradford White RTGR199N1 installed after our original Bradford White unit also failed — so this is now the second unit at our home with major issues. We've only lived here for less than 3 years (brand new home) and we've dealt with a failed recirculation pump, a bad motherboard, inconsistent hot water, and black specks showing up in our water (including our kids' bathwater). We've paid nearly $3,000 out of pocket trying to keep this system running.

Would not recommend. We had a Bradford White tankless system installed last October. It was failing/cutting out and not producing hot water, by May. It lasted 7 months! That's all! It has to be replaced now, and we have been waiting 3 weeks for the installer to receive the replacement unit. Yes it worked great when it worked, and it has a lifetime warranty, but again, only took 7 months to fail (water exchange corroded and leaking, pressure relief valve constantly leaking) and we can't seem to get a replacement unit.

I have owned a Bradford White Aerotherm hybrid electric water heater for just under two years. A sensor malfunctioned and caused an F24 error code. Simple to fix, a sensor held in place by a plug and two screws (a simple Google search explained what to check and how to test the sensor). The problem is if a homeowner completes the repair, Bradford White will not honor any future warranty issues even if it is a completely different problem than the one repaired. You have to call an authorized reseller, and then pay for two service calls to have the part replaced ‘under warranty’.

Our 20+ year old Whirlpool water heater finally died. We had a plumber install a brand new Bradford White model# rg240t6n on Monday, 6/22/26. Morning of 6/23, we had no hot water. Went down to the basement and unit was off. Lit the pilot and things seemed fine. Wednesday morning 6/24... no hot water again, and we were unable to get the pilot to light. Called the plumber back out, and he was finally able to get it running after around 30 minutes. Told us it probably shut off because the temp control knob was set at too high of a temperature. Um...what? Okay cool, whatever, he turned it down to a lower temp setting.

Bradford White may make a good how water heater but they do not stand behind the functioning of their systems. After installation, our recirculating system would not work because they have hidden "heat trap nipples" inside which cannot be removed. Then after multiple edits to our system by our licensed plumber, it still did not recirculate.

Water heater fan can be heard starting and running above in kitchen and in front room next to kitchen. Had a AO smith before and could not hear it starting in kitchen or front room. With AO Smith couldn’t hardly hear it starting when you are in the same room.

Our 75-gallon Bradford White water heater failed after 5 years and 9 months, flooding our basement with 70+ gallons of water. The 6-year warranty was for the heater itself, no labor and not the water damage of course. BUT, the warranty claim has to go through a licensed plumber, so the new plumber (who did not install the BW water heater) has to find a BW wholesaler and submit the warranty on behalf of us, the owners. BUT the only recompense will be a discount if the new plumber buys a new unit from BW. There are no BW wholesalers in our area and we had to get a new hot water heater installed immediately. Needless to say it is NOT a Bradford White product. We would not recommend that anyone ever obtain a Bradford White product.

I had a new Bradford White water heater installed back in 2020. Over the years I have work with over 7 water heater installed replacing leaking ones. With the new water heater I noticed when the setting at A, B, C was so hot that the pex pipes were too hot to touch. I tried to reduce the temperature to low. That created another problem. The heater water shut itself off. So a lot of time was spent to up the temperature to a minimum setting so the heater would stay on.

As I write this review, we are still in the process of getting our 1 year old water heater replaced at our expense. Bradford White does not pay the labor which is another $650.00 on top the $1800.00 I paid March of 2025 to install. The water has been inspected and determined that there is internal leak, that has caused the burner unit to rust. Now knowing what the issue is Bradford White is still not standing by their product and passing the cost onto the consumer, rather than standing by their product and covering the cost of a faulty product. After reading other reviews and the issues that this company seems to have with their product, I would stay far away from this brand and any other brand that may be manufactured by this company. The last water heater installed in my home was purchased from Lowe's 8 years ago, and finally went out in March of 2025. It was not Bradford White.

Hands down one of the most miserable customer service experience. Our tankless system is only 3 years old and the company has been SO unresponsive to any of the service companies we have hired to fix it. It has been over 6 months with no resolution. NEVER buy a product from this company.

The thermostat box went bad within first year, replaced under warranty, next box went bad 5 years later, not replaced under warranty, cheaper to get a new water heater, won't be buying a Bradford White.

I experienced a warranty issue with my Bradford White water heater concerning the gas control knob. Although the unit was under warranty and the replacement part should have been covered, the knob is not sold separately. As a result, the entire gas control valve assembly had to be replaced, leading to significantly higher labor costs that were not covered under the warranty. I ended up paying nearly half the cost of a new water heater just to resolve this issue.

We had a new Bradford White water heater installed less than 6 years ago. 2 weeks ago it leaked a huge amount of water into our finished basement. Called the plumber who determined the inner tank had failed. Less than 6 years old! Because it was under warranty for 6 years we received a new tank (took a week, but okay). Problem is that WE still had to pay for the install (close to $800). I really don't see why we need to pay for that seeing as it was their product that failed. I contacted them but was told that it is their policy not to pay for labor. I recommend a different manufacturer. This tank should have lasted at least 10-15 years.

I've had my heat pump water for 6 years. The flush valve is poorly designed and leaks. Customer service offered no help and the warranty only covers the part, not the labor to diagnose or install. Bad customer service and poorly designed product.

I would give zero stars if I could. Purchased a top of the line water heat from Bradford White. Two years old and the relief valve goes bad. Bradford white will only reimburse for the part- $100 and I am responsible for the other $200 in labor. The $100 part the plumber has to put in the warranty for reimbursement but I received a bill for the part- so I am not sure how that will go. Look for a company with a better warranty.

Bradford White Water Heaters are supposed to be great products. But I have purchased two in the past 12 years due to leaks in the main tank. Prior to these two, our water heaters lasted 10-13 years. Our water is medium hard, 7 gpg, and we do not use a water softener. In both instances the tank started leaking right after the 6 year warranty. Draining the tank often and replacing the anode rod is the only way to lengthen the life of the tank. But, Bradford White designed their the anode rod so that is integrated into the hot water outlet.

Do not buy this brand of water heater. Ours was leaking and we watched a youtube video to see if we can fix it. The place where the leak is coming from is designed so that no tool can open it. We went to several hardware stores to see if we can find a tool to open the connection nobody had it. So I called the company and asked them if they have a tool. The guy on the phone said call a plumber and he did not know anything about the product. The water heater they make do not last and after 6 or 7 years they go bad.

We have had a Bradford White tankless hot water heater for 14 months and are on our second service call. Their tech support is not helpful. We had to replace a recirculating pump in less than a year. And also having error codes regarding an input sensor that only goes away if we turn off the recirculating pump. And their tech support told us that the recirculating pump on the one we were sold would not work for the length of piping we have!! All around horrible.

I had a BW water heater installed 4 years ago; it came with a 6Y warranty. This heater stopped working 2 months ago and the replacement heater was provided at no charge under the warranty program. However, it cost me $1200 in labor and parts charges when the new heater was installed, When I spoke with BW about this cost that I had to incur because of their failed product they basically said "that's not our problem". Other manufacturers I have dealt with will help pay for the installation charges. I would not recommend BW products.

I strongly advise against purchasing a Bradford White water heater. My unit "crapped out" after only 5 years, and the experience with their warranty department has been a nightmare. Despite the unit being under warranty, the company refused to provide a replacement. Instead, they forced me into a "trial and error" process, making me wait up to two weeks for individual parts to arrive just to "see" if they fixed the problem.

02/2024 My pro plumber installed a Bradford White hot water heater, $1700. 02/17/2025 my new Bradford White hot water heater quit working and was leaking from the bottom. Although replaced under warranty, I had to pay $200 for reinstallation. 11/18/2025, once again, my Bradford White water heater quit working, same issue leaking from the bottom. Replaced under warranty, another $300 reinstallation fee from my plumber. 12/12/2025 called Bradford White requesting to refund my installation fees of $500. They first accused the issues as faulty installation, until I mentioned their ongoing problems of leaking from the bottom and she changed her tune. She informed me that my plumber is the one to submit for reinstallation cost and have them to move forward with reimbursement from Ferguson distributors.

I had a water heater installed and was very satisfied with the two gentlemen that came. Friendly answered any questions, cleaned the area and carried away old water heater and Installed the new one and went through the process of explaining warranty and so on. Excellent work. Thank you.

We had their authorized installer replace an old one that served reliably for 21 years with a new one. The old one did not have any rust or leaks but the pilot just kept going off probably due to age. Didn’t want to fix as it already lasted 20 plus years. Twice the length of the warranty on it. Great quality

Stay away from Bradford White water heaters. Just bought a new house and it lasted 3 months. The plumber came out and installed a new one and and the burner would not light up to heat the water, had to go back and get another one, plumber says stay away from this brand. It is nothing but problems. Rick **

Do not recommend buying Bradford White at all, getting parts is a challenge (only through wholesalers), and it makes the parts extremely expensive and hard to reach. Warranty does not cover labor, but certified labor will overcharge to work with Bradford White products because they know warranty claim will be a challenge so they’ll charge for those working hours too. On top of that, failure rate of Bradford White products is significant, so you’ll end up needing replacements at least once during warranty window, and more times after. Also cost of Brand new products is significantly higher than other commercial brands that offer same performance and better reliability

This brand came highly recommended, but it definitely disappointed in all aspects. Had my water heater replaced in July of 2025 and it was leaking water by November 2025. I called their customer service department and all they could do is read off to me the manufacture date and warranty. Considering I just paid to get this installed, now I have to pay someone to swap out their faulty unit and replace it - how is that my fault or any consumer's fault that your product is faulty. Their customer service people have an attitude about them as well, not very consumer friendly or even wanting to really help to fix this.

We had a plumbing company install a Bradford White Water Heater in 2021. In 2024, the water heater kept going on and off which we had to have the plumbing company come back out and figure out what’s going on. At that time, the issue we thought was fixed. In 2025 the gas control valve broke and we needed to have a replacement installed. The part was under warranty, however when calling Bradford White to get the part, they told us they would not send it to us.

Horrible experience, flat out. I can tell by the nauseating number of one star reviews, that this company is probably not going to change their ways. I ended up having a water heater go out when I was returning from a business trip. My house is three years old, and so is the water heater. I spent a day trying to diagnose the issue was, and tried calling their customer service. The woman I spoke to was very rude, and told me that they would not speak to a customer, and that I needed to be a certified plumber. This was, mind you, a request from my plumber, as they know that this brand has issues. They if I would diagnose prior to them making a trip. First off, I'm not a novice at plumbing, and I was able to fully diagnose that the issue was not the thermopile, which the error code was either suggesting that, or a bad gas valve.

My Rheem was installed 3 years ago and went out. The neighbor, a plumbing contractor installed the Bradford White. The quality and ease was amazing. Perfect setup. The difference was amazing in quality and craftsmanship. Smart choice! 50 gallon propane and is perhaps the best choice I could have made!

My family has been without water for 40 days on account of an electrical malfunction in our tankless heater. The needed parts have been ordered several times for over a month and have not been received. The warranty is not being honored on this 3 year old unit due to it being a replacement of the original system which also ceased working. I am filing complaints everywhere today. I will be forced to purchase a new unit unnecessarily- We will be in claims court soon.

Only 4 years old and On/off knob broke. No one can help. Even Bradford White couldn't send those little buttons to me. So I have to buy new water eater device because the little button is unavailable anywhere. DO NOT buy any Bradford White...

We have a Bradford White boiler and it's just 3 years old. It's not heating water and when called customer service they declined to help. My plumber ordered it and I don't have account with them. But, I was ready to give serial number and other details. Still they didn't help. Plumber is charging me hefty amount just to come and check. Don't buy this.

We have a Bradford White water heater that remains under warranty at this time. Our problems began on June 16. The water heater kicked off. The plumber from whom we purchased our water heater restarted the heater and then it kicked off again on July 17. It actually kicked off between those dates, yet we were able to restart it on our own. On July 24, the pilot went out once again and we were unable to get it going. The plumber came out and stated we had set the heater too hot. We had not adjusted the temperature.

Worst worst company ever! Worst worst service ever! The new installed water heater doesn't work. Then I called Bradford White company to ask for a Technician to take a look. The guy named Joe told me technician will come based on the order. I asked him a time frame I should expect the technician, the answer was they don't give a time frame. So in theory, it could be one week, one year or whatever. They don't care.

Bradford White covers replacement of the defective water heater installed but does not cover the damage that occurred from the water that destroyed my floor that I had to reinstall. Pretty simple... They said call your insurance so that your rates can go up. Doesn't seem like a fair resolution to me.

I had a call last night with Bradford White about a warranty issue on my hot water heater, and I’m honestly still shaking my head. This unit is only about eight and a half years old; not brand new, but definitely not ancient either. A heating element went out, I gave them the warning codes, and the response I got was just unbelievable.

Sensor got faulty. Company refused to replace it even under warranty. Called several times and they keep directing to whole sale parts which won’t give the part and the company refuses to replace the part even if the part is under warranty. Cheaply build.

Our water heater is two years old (manufactured Oct 2022, purchased/installed Spring 2023) and the tank separated entirely off the base (July 2025). Presumably it pressurized to the point it expanded and ripped the screws straight through the base so the water heater was resting on a rounded bottom and in danger of tipping over.

Purchased their 40 gallon gas model two years ago. Since then the pilot light has gone out FIFTEEN times in those two years! A year ago we had the pilot light assembly replaced - the company paid for the parts, but we had to pay the plumber ($135.00) The pilot light still kicks out! The latest is a company rep told me the company now believes the problem is a 'VENTING PROBLEM". Strange that our previous water heater, a KENMORE, only had two incidents of pilot light outage in 12 YEARS! I will not purchase a Bradford White product again. In the meantime, I am filing complaints with the BBB and the Federal Trade Commission.