AO Smith like so many other, use to make pretty good products but have gotten cheaper and cheaper with the materials they use. We would always call tech support instead of customer support. I hope you have a good week Dave, and glad to see you are doing better! See ya!

Wow. You handled it much better than i would have.

Hello Dave. I admired your ability to keep it together while talking to the so-called customer service rep. After the second "honey" I would have went off! 🤐 These damn companies don't give a flying fig about customers anymore. I do enjoy and learn from all your videos though. Thanks!

Sure do miss seeing all your videos, hope you both are alright.

Bought an AO Smith 50 gallon, natural gas water heater from Lowe’s in May 2023. I’ve had two problems with it, the pilot light keeps going out and had to be relit multiple times and reduced flow of water into the house. Likely the reduced flow is upstream from the water heater as I have reduced flow in other areas on the property before the well water gets to the house. I will consider that the heat trap valve inside the water heater could be part of the problem. However, after watching your video, I am not encouraged that I will get any assistance from AO Smith on resolving the issue with the pilot light.

Thank god you showed the solution.

Dave, we had failed units also, They only warranted by a Dealer to give an RMA, Lowes is the problem 👍🏼🇺🇸

Wow that’s not how to handle the customer. Something to remember for sure. Happy for you to make it functional!!

I need to replace my water heater. Guess which brand i wont be buying, although poor customer service and shoddy products are common now. Thanks for sharing. But Lowes should have exchanged it for you, too. I bought a defective cordless screwdriver at Lowes. Tried to exchange it. They said i had to go directly to the manufacturer. I now go to a locally owned home supply store.

This video reminded me I need to schedule a colonoscopy. 😮

The damned shame of it is that AO Smith has a huge market share. It's absolutely evil that a huge corporation that nakes billions won't stand behind their product at the same time showing respect for their customer.

AO Smith market share: "Their largest market share is in the Water Heater Manufacturing industry, where they account for an estimated 40.0% of total industry revenue and are considered an All Star because they display stronger market share, profit and revenue growth compared to their peers." Evil corporate bastards exploiting their employees and their customers.

There is a tool that's fits inside a nipple to remove it. I would have taken it back since they offered, but they definitely deserve this post

Thanks Dave! I'll be replacing my water heater soon and now it will not be A O Smith

I have an AO Smithhot water heater electric that has noi pressure in hot water in the bathroom and kitchen sinks,shower .mine is now about 6 or 7 yrs old now its always been that way since new,im not plumber so i just thought it had something to do with the house plumbing pipes.never thought it would be a hot water heater issue.

Normally those heat trap valves on the hot side have a weighted ball or flap that sinks to close off the outflow nipple when no hot water is being used (to avoid a thermo-siphon effect that might waste energy). When someone turns on a hot water faucet, the ball/flap should move up and allow water to flow past. It looks to me like the heat trap valve is missing the internal spacer that catches the ball/flap, which caused it to move up too high and get stuck. Or it's the wrong valve for the hot side, or somebody installed it backwards (there would be an arrow on the nipple you could check to prove that theory). Whatever the case, it was doing the opposite of what it was supposed to do, and on a new unit that is clearly a manufacturing defect. No other way it could happen. Shame on AO Smith for not taking care of the customer. Perhaps "low pressure" confused the phone rep. I think "no flow coming out, honey" might have been a more apt description that might have raised flags. I think what you did is a very practical solution that will work fine and avoid hassles. I doubt there will be a noticeable change in energy use. Heck, when we built our house, the plumber recommended a low speed circulation pump that moves hot water in a loop so the faucets flow hot quicker, and I don't notice any energy cost downside to that either. By the way, if you pry off the plastic collars around the nipples, you will get more room to grab onto them with a pipe wrench. The collars are just cosmetic. You may still bugger up the threads, but normally we don't care since you would be replacing the nipple anyhow.

Dave, had the SAME EXACT problem and they immediately offered to send new nipples and a driptube. They KNOW something is wrong with them.

I probably would have taken it back to Lowes. Lowes would probably give you a steep discount on another model for your trouble. Home Depot has done this for me, at least.

I’ve had so many bad experiences buying appliances from big box stores, I will only buy from local hardware and appliance stores that service and support the products they sell.

Dave, you won because you never swore or called the customer service rep a bad name even though I think everyone would have felt it was justified, and you got the tank to work. Shame on AO Smith for their complete lack of ethics.

Well I'll never buy an AO Smith lol I wonder if one of those inside the pipe extractors would have got those nipples out. I had one it has a round piece on an eccentric that grabs as you turn. I used one a long time ago and it worked good

Did they ever say what those check valves were for?

You can’t void a warranty that doesn’t exist.