Answer: -We built our house in '93 with a gas 50 gal. BW. It was one of the ones affected by the infamous dip tube problem which plagued nearly every water heater made in North America by all mfr's at that time, but we replaced it with another BW and have had no trouble since. I consider them to be very good heaters. -Our plumber recommended a Bradford White water heater and that's what we used. Its been about 5 yrs and so far so good. Relative to the warranty--he recommended getting the 7 yr heater vs the 10 yr. (I think those numbers are right) According to the plumber, both heaters were exactly the same, the additional cost was all devoted to cover the extended warranty time and not for a better heater. -I had a Bradford White water heater installed in my previous house about 5 years ago....and I, also, experienced a problem with the "dip tube." Problem was that the hot water now had a "sulfur" smell to it. I cut out the tube and all was OK for 6 months.....I then sold the house and moved. I suspect that it is functioning OK now.