Open 24/7 for emergencies
An A. O. Smith water heater repair starts with the $99 diagnostic, and a new A. O. Smith gas tank is $3,379 to $5,485 installed, permit, expansion tank and haul-away included. We install A. O. Smith ProLine tanks, so the blinking light on yours isn’t a mystery to us.
From about $56 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. How financing works
Get your price in writing
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Rather talk now? (703) 997-9757
5.0 stars across 1,132 reviews
Licensed and insuredVirginia Class A contractor #2705192276
24/7 emergency serviceOften same-day, and we will tell you honestly when we can get there.
Our own plumbers, our own trucksNobody here is a subcontractor with a magnet on the door
The price is settled before the workYou see the number in writing before anything is taken apart
Read your own A. O. Smith
The things people describe on the phone, and what they usually turn out to be on an A. O. Smith tank.
On a gas A. O. Smith, the pilot or burner isn’t lighting: a worn thermocouple or thermopile, a dirty pilot, a tripped flammable vapor sensor, or the gas control. On an electric one, a burnt element, a failed thermostat, or the high-limit reset tripped. The status light on the gas control usually says which.
Sediment on the bottom of a gas tank, a broken dip tube mixing cold into the hot, or one dead element on an electric tank. A tank that used to be plenty and suddenly isn’t is a part, not the tank.
That’s water trapped under a layer of sediment boiling through it. A flush clears what’s loose; on an older tank the noise is the warning that the bottom is working too hard.
Find where it comes from first. The relief valve line or a fitting on top is a repair. A drip from the bottom seam or the jacket means the tank itself has rusted through, and no part fixes that.
Bacteria reacting with the anode rod, the metal rod inside that rusts so the tank doesn’t. Swapping the anode (aluminum for a zinc-aluminum one) usually ends it.
On a standing pilot tank, the thermocouple or thermopile isn’t making enough voltage to hold the gas valve open. On a newer tank, a flammable vapor sensor or a blocked air intake screen will lock it out on purpose.
The blinking light
Most A. O. Smith gas tanks have a status light on the gas control. Count the blinks between pauses and write the number down before you touch the knob.
The small light on the gas valve. One flash every three seconds is normal. Right after lighting the pilot it can stay dark for up to 90 seconds while the thermopile warms up.
| Flashes | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Solid | The pilot just went out and the thermopile is cooling | Wait 10 minutes, then relight by the label |
| 2 | Pilot is lit but the thermopile isn’t making enough power | A thermopile, wiring or pilot repair |
| 4 | The water got too hot and the valve shut down | A. O. Smith’s manual calls for a new gas control valve |
| 5 | The temperature sensor failed | A sensor repair |
| 7 | Gas control valve failure | A new gas control valve |
| 8 | Knob is off but the pilot valve is stuck open | Call |
Source: A. O. Smith gas water heater instruction manual. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.
| Flashes | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 6 then 1 | Locked out: it failed to light | Check the gas is on; then call |
| 6 then 3 | Locked out: the flame went out | Call |
| 7 | Flammable vapor sensor lockout | Air out the room, look for a gas leak or stored flammables, and call |
Source: A. O. Smith power vent manual. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.
| Code | What it means | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| 080 | The air filter is dirty | Slide it out and vacuum or replace it |
| 081 | Condensate problem: not level, a blocked line, or the pump | Clear the line; then call |
| 044 | The powered anode is worn out | A new anode |
| 001 | Dry fire: power came on before the tank was full | Call |
| HPO | The room is too cold or too hot for the heat pump (below 37 or above 120 degrees) | It returns to normal when the room does |
Source: A. O. Smith Voltex heat pump manual. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.
What it costs
A repair is priced after the $99 diagnostic, because the fix depends on what failed. A new tank is a range we can print, everything in.
Diagnostic visit
$99
The fault found and the repair priced in writing. You approve it or you don’t.
Gas or propane tank
$3,379 to $5,485
or $56/mo at 0% APR for 60 months
50 or 75 gallon on the flue you already have. Installed, everything in.
Electric tank
$2,757 to $5,493
or $46/mo at 0% APR for 60 months
50 or 80 gallon. No flue, no gas line.
Water heater flush
$199
Sediment out of the bottom of the tank, the anode checked.
Monthly figures: 60mo @ 0% APR on each starting price, the whole price financed, on approved credit. Longer plans lower the payment and cost more in total. The lender sets the final terms. How financing works
Comfort+ members get the $99 diagnostic included in the visit, 15% off any service, and 50% of each repair bill banked toward replacing that system, up to $1,500. How Comfort+ works.
Fix it or replace it
The serial number on the label gives the year and month it was built. Here’s how to read it.
Read the serial number on the rating plate. The first two digits are the year and the next two the week it was built: a serial starting 1719 is the 19th week of 2017. Older tanks used a letter for the month and two digits for the year (A04 is January 2004). Same rule on State and American (A. O. Smith’s service guide).
A. O. Smith says most of its tanks last 8 to 12 years, and that a tank over 10 years old that leaks or runs erratically is due (A. O. Smith).
Power vent tank
$5,957 to $7,494
or $99/mo at 0% APR for 60 months
Gas or propane, a fan and PVC out a side wall. Installed.
Tankless
$8,886 to $10,486
or $148/mo at 0% APR for 60 months
One high-efficiency condensing unit. Installed.
Monthly figures: 60mo @ 0% APR on each starting price, the whole price financed, on approved credit. Longer plans lower the payment and cost more in total. The lender sets the final terms. How financing works
Want your own number before anyone comes out? The water heater estimator prices your house in a few questions.
An A. O. Smith gas water heater we installed, with new copper, an expansion tank and a pressure gauge.
ProLine or Signature
A. O. Smith sells two families of tanks through two different doors.
The warranty
The serial number tells us when it was built; the model and label tell us the term.
A. O. Smith’s terms: the ProLine warranty sheet.
What customers said
5.0 stars across 1,132 reviews. These were A. O. Smith tanks.
…delivered and installed a 75 gallon AO Smith water heater. Zabi was very professional in his communication, plumbing, testing, and cleanup. Good crew to move new heater to basement utility room and take out the old heater.
A 75 gallon A. O. Smith installed, Herndon
…Friendly and Professional. Very well communicated. My water heater tank is top-notch and looks awesome.…
A new A. O. Smith tank, Fairfax
Reviews are shown as customers wrote them, cut to the part about the job. Read them all.
Where we work
Out of Chantilly and Ashburn, across six counties. Pick your town for its own water heater page: the houses there, the county’s permit rules, and the same prices.
Keep reading
Every make we work on, in one place: the brands we repair.
The system we put in first
Built to take a beating. Put in by our crew.
Heat lamps, snow and rain on one outdoor unit: that’s Trane’s own film. We’re a Trane Comfort Specialist, on Trane’s own dealer locator, and when you pick a Trane, our crew puts it in.
Films: Trane’s own.
Asked on the phone
Installed, everything in: a gas or propane tank on the flue you have is $3,379 to $5,485, an electric tank $2,757 to $5,493, a power vent tank $5,957 to $7,494. A repair starts with the $99 diagnostic and is priced in writing before any work. From about $46 a month at 0% APR for 60 months, the whole price financed, on approved credit. How financing works
Same company. A. O. Smith bought State Industries in 2001 and American Water Heater in 2006, and their tanks share the ProLine tiers. A State or American repair is the same job as an A. O. Smith one.
No. A. O. Smith’s Signature Series is its Lowe’s line; ProLine is sold only through wholesalers and contractors. Both are A. O. Smith, with their own model numbers and warranty terms.
The light on the gas valve is a code. One flash every three seconds is normal. Two means the thermopile is weak, four means it overheated and shut down, five a failed sensor, seven a failed gas valve.
A. O. Smith says most of its tanks last 8 to 12 years, and recommends a flush at least once a year. Our guide to how long a water heater lasts has more.
Get the hot water back
No hot water or water on the floor: call (703) 997-9757, 24/7. Not that urgent? Send the form at the top and the office calls or texts you back.
SwiftPro Heating, Cooling & Plumbing
4230 Lafayette Center Dr N, Chantilly, VA 20151
44679 Endicott Dr, Suite 211, Ashburn, VA 20147
Virginia Class A contractor license #2705192276
Prices are SwiftPro’s installed ranges with the permit, expansion tank, drain pan and haul-away. Yours is quoted in writing before any work.
A. O. Smith, ProLine, Signature Series, State and American are trademarks of A. O. Smith Corporation.