8 GPM 180,000 BTU 120 Volt Residential Indoor Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater with Ultra-Low NOx

I would give this 0 stars if that were an option. I should have purchased a Rheem first (eventually what I did purchase) but I had no idea at the time that AOSmith was such a sleazy company. AOSmith has clearly adopted a "Cable Guy" business model. Sell cheaply made, substandard quality, fragile or defective products and then cite a 'warranty' that gives two options: (1) fix at your own expense ($200 minimum charge); or (2) forces an upgrade to a more expensive product. Good luck getting either of these, as their service numbers will keep you waiting on hold for hours, if anyone responds at all. Service personnel are rude and uninformed, but convey a consistent message: you bought it, you're stuck with it; you didn't read the 'fine print' on the warranty.We immediately on installation had issues with getting nothing but lukewarm (then cold) water from their tank and called their service number, gave model and serial numbers. It took three tries an a total of about 3.5 hours (they hang up after a certain number of minutes). The person on the other end tried to get me to check the top element (that DOES NOT EXIST... our water heater had only one element). After correcting them about the heater, they revised their statement about 2 elements and told us that one of their technicians (which I had to pay for at $100/hr) would need to verify that the water was not heating. Unfortunately, even at the max setting, the water does not get hot. One barely warm shower and have to wait at least an hour before water gets warm enough for another person. And, that's if nobody has washed dishes in the last 30 minutes. Worst water heater I've ever bought.Lowes is at fault as well. They now (in Phoenix) only sell AOSmith water heaters, and they will not warrant them, nor do they advise their customers on the lack of warranty support at AOSmith's end. They will not accept defective units unless you can convince AOSmith's phone people to provide an RA, which they are trained not to do. It's a pretty sleazy arrangement.Although I have been happy with Lowes' service in the past, this is probably the last time I will even walk into their stores. I'll be shopping at Home Depot in the future, and my replacement will be Rheem which does stand behind their products.

Installed 2 units less than a year ago, and we've never been able to use it for more than 5 minutes without needing to reset. Our installer has been out weekly, replacing various parts to get the units to work, however nothing has done it. We've begged for a new unit, but AO Smith refuses because only parts are covered under their warranty. 1 year this has been going on, with 2 toddlers in the house. It's been an absolute nightmare and I wish we either stayed with a traditional tank or went with a more stand up company. I wouldn't recommend AO Smith to anybody! Stay away unless you like cold showers.

I’ve found AO Smith to be low quality with a short life span. Rusting is common, even when kept indoors. The commercial units fail quickly. Very sad.