AO Smith is the best

Bradford White or Rheem.  They do have drip pans that come with a drain with a hose connection you could run to a sump pump but they usually only work with a small leak, if the whole thing leaks you are still SOL.

RRP said:

 I ended up selecting a Whirlpool brand with a 12 year warranty, which cost me $125 to have it installed in my basement and the old one carried off.

I forgot to further explain - whether I purchased a cheap 3 year warranty one or the 12 year warranty one the installation charge of $125 was the same. I didn't even need my fingers, toes or a calculator to help me figure the best option.

Have you consider a tankless? Rinnai. 
I have 2 AO Smith units (1 for main house and 1 for Mother-in-law suite which happens to be my Mother) and have been satisfied. 
There are obvious benefits to a tankless unit but, the cost/savings can end up being a wash if you have to modify a lot to get it to spec design. 

Mine went out last week and we put in a Rheem. 

I recently replaced mine with an 80 gallon Rheem hybrid electric water heater. Wasn't cheap, but we have a big house and it's just me and my wife, so we have to have a big water heater to supply the house when needed but that's not the norm so this unit should save us money over the long term. The unit connects to wifi and has an app so that I can switch between heat pump only, hybrid, or electric only (or just turn it off like I do for vacations). Living in SE Florida with the water heater in the garage, I have plenty of hot air for it to use so I leave it in heat pump only (side benefit: it's like a small AC for that corner of the garage).

Been very pleased with it so far.

When they installed the drip pan, they cut a hole on the side facing the garage so that if the pan does start to fill, the water will drain onto the garage floor and not the interior wall. Obviously if the failure is catastrophic, all bets are off.

As for vacation, I just shut water main to the whole house from outside. You never know what line will break (washer, hot water heater, dishwasher, sink, toilet, etc.). At least the damage will be limited to what's in the pipes.

Be aware that replacing the water heater may require a permit from your city so if you do it yourself, be sure you check into that.

Also, check if the local utility offers rebates on energy efficient models. And there is a small federal tax credit for energy efficient models as well.

I've been told they are all crap now. Designed to barely last the warranty period. I wouldn't overspend because even the high dollar ones will crap out in less than ten years.

fishlessman said:

they all seem to die one month before the warranty is up, i try to buy the same one to make the plumbing easier. i seem to be collecting the old ones in the basement

This is also difficult to do. They change the damn plumbing up so it's either more costly for you or a PITA to do yourself. 

pgprescott said:

fishlessman said:

they all seem to die one month before the warranty is up, i try to buy the same one to make the plumbing easier. i seem to be collecting the old ones in the basement

This is also difficult to do. They change the damn plumbing up so it's either more costly for you or a PITA to do yourself. 

ive been lucky with the last two at the house, ao smith, same connection placement. the one at camp is built into the wall behind the tub enclosure, that one was a pia

RRP said:

pgprescott said:

I've been told they are all crap now. Designed to barely last the warranty period. I wouldn't overspend because even the high dollar ones will crap out in less than ten years.

I believe that to be the truth with furnaces nowadays too! My gas fired forced air YORK is now 37 years old. Knock on wood - it has never had a problem hence not even one service call on it! OTOH my neighbors (subdivision of 93 homes) have all had their original furnaces replaced 2 or even 4 times! One dealer whose brand I won't mention seems to get most all of the replacements and barely a day goes by that one of their repair trucks aren't in the neighborhood! 

the beach house water heater went out a few years ago, maybe 50 years old, sat in beach sand its hole life, been flooded with sea water during storm surges, never had a problem. new one and the outer shell is already rusting off, i see a replacement coming every couple years now

Repiping is a PITA?  With all the MAPP torches I see lighting lump you'd think a couple of y'all could actually use it to braze copper.

NPHuskerFL said:

Repiping is a PITA?  With all the MAPP torches I see lighting lump you'd think a couple of y'all could actually use it to braze copper.

You're a pro. If I asked you to do JIC's math problems you'd squeal.

DoubleEgger said:

The quality of all home related items have decreased because of HD and Lowes. HD sets the price point and leaves the manufacturers scrambling to turn a profit. That results in plastic bushing instead of metal, lower quality motors, cheaper finishes etc. The end result is that former best in class brands like Hunter sell a bunch of crap now. I saw this time and time again when I built a custom house back in 05. The good stuff is so ridiculously overpriced though. I remember buying bath sinks faucets for $400 each because I thought the $130 dollar ones were cheaply made. In retrospect, maybe it's better to buy the $130 faucets as the expensive ones probably wouldn't last three times longer. 

Amen to that. Everything is disposable. Remember small appliance and vacuum repair shops? When was the last time you saw one?

We had ours replaced a couple of weeks ago. I have no idea what brand, but we like our plumber and trust his judgement.

I was told that the higher length warranties on the water heaters is for contractors who purchase them for install and want less liability. The lower end water heaters are basically the same item with a lesser warranty. I bought the mid grade Rheem from HD and saved a couple hundred over the platinum series with a better warranty. Suits me just fine.