Water heater, buy it or plumber supplies

[Kate B.]

I have a question as a new three family house owner.   Previously, water heater issues arose so rarely in a single family house, but now it will come up more often so I need to learn.

Is it best for me to buy the water heater  or  should I have the plumber supply it?

I'm asking after looking into buying one at a big box store and seeing the customer reviews are all over the place, poor to excellent.

If I buy it, is there a better place to buy it?

Thanks!

[Bill S.]

I think it's best to do it all under one entity. Plumber buys and installs. The hassle and such doesn't really save you that much. If the plumber is gouging you on materials and marking the WH up significantly then find a new plumber. You should be able to find someone that will do the install fairly cost effective. In larger areas there are folks that water heaters is all they do. 

That said, it's not my experience that multiunit water heaters go out any more frequently than ones at SFHs. If you have a heater serving a triplex then it should be larger (read much more expensive) than the one you would get for a small SFH. Ideally there would be one small one for each unit and each unit would pay for their own hot water. You may want to consider separating that out when you decide to replace the existing. It'll cost more but having the tenants pay for their own hot water will quickly pay for the heaters.