I had my state water heater since I built my home in 1990. This unit has been more than I expected and I have used it for 20 years. I am on well water and this unit will soon need replacement. I will replace it with another State unit. This unit was in constant use with a wife and two daughters living at home.

Both the upper and lower thermostats have short circuited since owning model
# ES680DORT causing a total melt down of the thermostats, surrounding wiring, insullation and styrofoam covers. Our only saving grace was the electrical panel tripped each time thus preventing further fire damage

I had a State 50 gal tank installed in 1996 and have not had a single problem. I now have to replace my ancient boiler, and am wondering if I would benefit from a new indirect water heater at the same time, or just stick w/ old reliable State until a problem crops up.

I've had a 50 gallon gas hot water heater since spring og 2001 and it devloped a leak today on 6/21/10. A plumber/tech came out and replaced the expansion tank and some piping. Cost was under $200 and I'm impressed by the unit overall.

Have had problems with our gas 50 gallon H2O heater after 4 years. It was installed by our builder in our new costruction home. The heater goes into "lock-out" mode and the water comes out luke warm. We have spent over $300 in 2 different trips out to our house by a plumber. We figured it would be cheaper to fix as this is a fairly new heater. The 1st time the plumber(from the group that initially installed the unit)came out he cleaned the sensors and removed a "pan" from under the heating element that should not have been installed in the 1st place(he said)and declared it fixed. Of course, within a month the same set of symptoms occurred. We had the same plumber return he again cleaned the sensors and said it could be a few things both of which would cost over $500 in parts not to mention labor with no promise of being fixed. We are living with the problem for now as it is warm and the water is not uncomfortable but will need to have this heater replaced by winter.I promise it will NOT be a State Select!

I've had a state hot water heater for 3 years now. It is a high efficiency direct vent type. It came in new construction so I had no choice in the matter.
The problems started from the beginning. It will not stay on. There is a pressure sensor attached to outlet fan that will detect if there is a blockage. None of the plumbers who installed they system had a clue what was going on. It happens anytime there is a breeze, not even a high wind.
It appears that my sensor is way more sensitive than any of the other 30 units that have the same exact model.
State has denied any problems with unit from the beginning plus their warranty is a PAY UP FRONT type then beg for your money back.
So in order to have a working unit I'm going to have to buy a new one!!!

DO NOT BUY STATE!!!

I've had two State 50 gal. gas water heaters. The first failed prematurely due to faulty welding around the flue at the top of the tank. It developed pinhole leaks in that location at about four years.

The second suffered from a minor flooding event in our basement. Less than three inches of water caused the burner to extinguish. The manual states that ANY part of the unit being under water destroys the heater and it cannot be fixed. Indeed the unit will not stay lit, probably due to the stupid vents to the stupid sealed combustion chamber being clogged or wet. When I pulled the burner unit after a week of 'drying out' time, there was still standing water in the bottom. I believe that if I could dry this out, the heater would light. The manual says otherwise.

This is partly an installation issue, as the previous heater was elevated off the floor; and had the plumbers (Piedmont Natural Gas, our utility), done the same, this would never have happened. However, nothing I can find in the plumbing code precludes direct floor contact. I guess common sense is not all that common in therein....

I have lived in a brand new 3600 square foot house with 4 bathrooms for three years. At the 2 1/2 year mark, the pilot light on our State water heater started failing. The plumber informed me that the cause was the new federal safety measures which stated that the flame had to be fully encased (so that idiots that place thier gas cans by the water heater don't blow themselves up). Being fully encased, there is a gas regulator that had to be replaced on the front of the unit (about $300). About two months later, the State water heater started failing again. The same plumber came out and cleaned the filter on the front and screen on the bottom of the inside of the heater, and replaced the heating element at no charge (good plumber!). He told me that Whirlpool has had the same issues (and lost a class action lawsuit) with their enclosed system. Now the State heater is working fine (cross your fingers!). My plumber recommended that when the State heater does go out, that I replace it with a Bradford White. He states that he never has problems with them. It is very disconcerning that we have had that conversation when my State water heater is only 3 years old.