Two SwiftPro plumbers wheeling a new water heater up a Northern Virginia walkway on a hand truck, beside the wrapped van

Bradford White water heaters · Gas · Propane · Electric · Northern Virginia

Bradford White water heater repair
in Northern Virginia

A Bradford White water heater repair starts with the $99 diagnostic, and a new Bradford White gas tank is $3,379 to $5,485 installed, permit, expansion tank and haul-away included. Bradford White sells only through plumbers, and we install them, so we know what the flashing light on the gas valve is saying.

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

Gas, propane and electric tanks, and AeroTherm heat pumps
Defender pilot lockouts, ICON flash codes, leaks
Repaired or replaced, priced in writing first

Call (703) 997-9757

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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 Bradford White

What your Bradford White water
heater is doing, and what it means

The things people describe on the phone, and what they usually turn out to be on a Bradford White tank.

No hot water at all

On a gas Bradford White, 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. On a Bradford White electric tank, the service manual names a failed heating element as the most common cause, and an ECO that keeps tripping usually means a grounded element.

Hot water runs out fast

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. Bradford White’s manual lists an out-of-spec dip tube, and a damaged one can’t be fixed in place: the inlet nipple and dip tube get replaced.

Popping, rumbling or crackling

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. Bradford White’s Hydrojet cuts sediment but, in its own words, doesn’t replace draining the tank.

Water under the tank

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. Bradford White says it too: even a small leak means replacement.

Hot water smells like rotten eggs

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. Bradford White’s own fix is its A420 anode plus chlorinating the tank. Pulling the anode out voids the warranty.

The pilot won’t stay lit

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. On a Bradford White, the Defender system’s thermal switch on the burner door also shuts the pilot down when lint, dust or oil choke the flame arrestor, and it resets with the red button once the cause is fixed.

The flashing light

Bradford White water heater
codes, and what each means

Most Bradford White gas tanks have a light on the gas valve that flashes a code. Bradford White says it’s there to help the plumber troubleshoot, so count the flashes between pauses and tell us the number when you call.

Bradford White gas tanks: the ICON valve light (atmospheric and direct vent)

One flash and a pause is normal standby; a strobe or a flash every second means it’s heating; solid right after you turn the knob off means wait before relighting. Codes 3, 6, 7 and 8 are the ICON 1.0 valve’s, on tanks built January 2019 and before. On a newer tank, call.

Bradford White gas water heater flash codes
Flashes	What it means	What to do
2	Weak pilot signal: the pilot or the thermopile	A pilot or thermopile repair
3 (ICON 1.0)	The valve hasn’t seen the water warm up in time	Call
4	High tank temperature: it shut down	Leave it off and call
5	Temperature sensor fault	A sensor repair
6 (ICON 1.0)	The leak accessory found water, if one is installed	Look for the leak, then call
7 (ICON 1.0)	Gas valve fault	Usually a new gas valve
8 (ICON 1.0)	The pilot stays lit with the knob off	Usually a new gas valve

Source: Bradford White quick service guide, ICON gas control. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.

Bradford White power vent, power direct vent and fan assist tanks

ICON controls on tanks built January 2013 and later. A two-part code is six or eight flashes, a pause, then one to four.

Bradford White power vent water heater flash codes
Flashes	What it means	What to do
2	The pressure switch is stuck closed	Call
3	The pressure switch or temperature switch is stuck open	Call
One a second	A weak pilot signal on the last call for heat	A pilot check
6 then 1	The pilot failed to light	Make sure the gas to the tank is on, then call
6 then 2	The pressure or temperature switch opened while it ran	The vent, the pressure switch or the blower: call
6 then 3	The pilot flame went out	Call
7	Flammable vapor sensor fault	Move gas cans, paint or solvents away from the tank, then call
8 then 1	The flammable vapor sensor is out of spec	Call
8 then 2, 3 or 4	Gas valve faults	Reset once; if it comes back, a new gas valve

Source: Bradford White quick service guide, power vent ICON control. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.

Bradford White AeroTherm heat pump water heaters

Bradford White AeroTherm heat pump water heater fault codes
Fault	What it means	What to do
3	Lower heating element fault	An element repair
4	Upper heating element fault	An element repair
9	Compressor fault	Call
10	Superheat: the system may be low on refrigerant	Call
11	The air filter is too dirty, so it switched to electric only	Pull the filter and clean it
16	The room is too hot or too cold to run the compressor	Check the room’s temperature, then call
18	The control found a water leak	Look for the leak, then call
94	The condensate drain is blocked; it runs on the elements until it’s cleared	Clear the condensate drain

Source: Bradford White AeroTherm quick service guide. Codes vary by model and control board: the chart printed on your unit, or its manual, is the final word.

What it costs

What a Bradford White repair
or replacement 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 drained 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

How old your Bradford White
is, and when to stop fixing it

The first two letters of the serial number give the year and month it was built. Here’s how to read them.

The first letter is the year and the second the month: TA is January 2019 and KA is January 2013. The month letters run A for January to M for December, skipping I. The year letters skip I, O, Q, R, U and V and repeat every 20 years, so an A is 2004 or 2024; count the digits after the letters to settle it, seven before December 2007 and eight after (Bradford White’s own guide).

Bradford White says its water heaters can last 10 years or more and most tanks last about 8 to 12, and that harsh water and gas quality shorten that (Bradford White).

Fix it when it’s a part: the thermocouple or thermopile, the pilot, the gas valve, the Defender thermal switch, an element or thermostat on an electric tank, the relief valve, the anode or the dip tube.
Replace it when the tank leaks. In Bradford White’s words, even a small leak means replacement, and a heater that’s been flooded gets replaced, not repaired.
Replace it after a real flammable vapor event. If a Defender heater actually ignited vapors, Bradford White says replace it, and the warranty won’t pay for that.
Age matters on a tank. Past about 10 years, a big repair on a tank that’s never been drained is money into the end of its life. You get both numbers.

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 water heater

$8,886 to $10,486

or $148/mo at 0% APR for 60 months

A Navien or Rinnai condensing unit. Installed.

Want your own number before anyone comes out? The water heater estimator prices your house in a few questions.

A technician working inside an open furnace cabinet in a Northern Virginia utility closet, beside a Bradford White gas water heater

A Bradford White gas water heater beside a furnace on one of our Northern Virginia service calls.

Sold only through plumbers

Why you won’t find a Bradford
White at the big box store

Bradford White sells its water heaters, and its parts, only through plumbing pros and wholesale distribution.

No box store aisle. Bradford White’s water heaters are sold through plumbing professionals, and its warranty parts come only through a professional service provider.
Defender on every current gas tank. It’s Bradford White’s flammable vapor protection: a thermal switch on the burner door shuts the pilot and burner off if the flame arrestor chokes on lint, dust or oil, and it resets once the cause is fixed.
The warranty is in the model number. RG240T6N is a 6-year tank. Bradford White says its 6-year and 10-year versions are of identical quality; the difference is the warranty.
We install Bradford White tanks, and repair any Bradford White, whoever put it in.

A SwiftPro technician beside a wrapped SwiftPro van with a ladder on the roof rack, the Virginia Class A contractor license number 2705192276 printed along the bottom

Our Virginia Class A contractor license, 2705192276, on the side of the van.

The warranty

Is your Bradford White still
under warranty?

The model number gives the term, and the install date starts the clock.

Tank: 1, 6, 8 or 10 years; parts: 6. The number in the model is the tank term, so an RG240T6N is 6 years.
It stays with the house. Later owners are covered as long as the heater stays where it was installed. The clock starts at install, or 3 months after the build date without proof.
No labor, no sediment or lime, no anode wear, and no noise, taste, odor or rusty water.
BUILTBEST adds 2 or 4 years on eligible tanks in a single-family home, registered within 60 days of buying it and no more than 6 months after install. That’s the only place registration matters; the base warranty has no registration condition.
AeroTherm heat pumps: 6 or 10 years on the tank and parts, by model. Infiniti tankless: 15 years or 8,000 operating hours on the heat exchanger, whichever comes first, and 5 on parts.
Recalls: CPSC shows one Bradford White water heater recall, 1,220 75-gallon power vent units in 2002 for bad flue baffles, and some Bradford White gas tanks had the Robertshaw valve recalled in 2005.

Claims go through the plumber’s local Bradford White distributor, and a replacement heater only carries what’s left of the original term. We read the serial and the model before ordering anything. Bradford White’s terms: the residential warranty.

Where we work

Bradford White water heater repair in every
Northern Virginia town we serve

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

Pages that go with a
Bradford White repair

Water heater repair and replacementEvery tank, priced installed, everything in.Water heater estimatorFour questions, your installed price.PlumbingOur dedicated plumbing team, every job priced first.Comfort+ membership$199 a yearA water heater flush with a sewer camera inspection every year, 15% off any service.Every deal running nowCurrent water heater and HVAC offers.Best water heater brandsRheem, A. O. Smith, Bradford White.

Other brands we repair

Rheem repairRheem and Ruud water heaters, furnaces and ACs. Our first pick for a new tank.A. O. Smith repairProLine and Signature tanks, gas, propane and electric. State and American are A. O. Smith too.Navien repairNPE-A2 and NPE-S2 condensing tankless, NHW units and combi-boilers. We install Navien.Lennox repairMerit, Elite and Signature furnaces, ACs and heat pumps: the codes, the repairs and what each costs.Carrier repairFurnaces, ACs, heat pumps and Infinity systems. Bryant and Payne are Carrier underneath.Mitsubishi Electric repairM-Series wall units, Hyper-Heating and multi-zone systems. We’re a Mitsubishi Electric Diamond Contractor®.Goodman repairFurnaces, ACs and heat pumps, from the GMS8 to today’s GR9S. Every board’s codes, and what each fix costs.Trane repairFurnaces, ACs and heat pumps, XR to XV and TruComfort. We’re a Trane Comfort Specialist.

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.

Call (703) 997-9757 Build your Trane, see the price

Films: Trane’s own.

Trane's film: a Trane outdoor unit under a spotlight against a bare wall.

Asked on the phone

Bradford White questions,
answered straight

How much does it cost to replace a Bradford White water heater?

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

Why is my Bradford White water heater blinking?

The light on the gas valve is a code. One slow flash is normal: the pilot’s lit and the burner’s off. Two flashes means a weak pilot signal, four means it got too hot and shut down, five a temperature sensor fault. On ICON valves built January 2019 and before, seven is a gas valve fault and eight means the pilot stays lit with the knob off.

How old is my Bradford White?

Read the first two letters of the serial number: the year, then the month. TA is January 2019; KA is January 2013. The year letters repeat every 20 years, so count the digits after them: seven before December 2007, eight after.

Can I buy a Bradford White at Home Depot or Lowe’s?

No. Bradford White sells only through plumbing pros and wholesale distribution, so you won’t find one at a big box store. Its parts come through the same channel.

Why does my Bradford White pilot keep going out?

Bradford White says a pilot should only need lighting once, at install, so repeat outages are a call. Its service manual lists a weak thermocouple or thermopile, a fault in the gas valve, or the Defender thermal switch, which trips when lint, dust or oil clog the flame arrestor. A pilot that goes out now and then can be short combustion air or a clogged vent.

How long does a Bradford White water heater last?

Bradford White says 10 years or more, and that most tanks last about 8 to 12. Its manual says drain off a gallon a month to clear silt and sediment. Our guide to how long a water heater lasts has more.

Get the hot water back

Call now, or tell us what
the Bradford White is doing

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.

Call (703) 997-9757 Get your price in writing

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.

Bradford White, Defender, ICON, AeroTherm and Infiniti are trademarks of Bradford White Corporation.

Bradford White water heater repair in Northern Virginia

What your Bradford White water heater is doing, and what it means

No hot water at all

Hot water runs out fast

Popping, rumbling or crackling

Water under the tank

Hot water smells like rotten eggs

The pilot won’t stay lit

Bradford White water heater codes, and what each means

Bradford White gas tanks: the ICON valve light (atmospheric and direct vent)

Bradford White power vent, power direct vent and fan assist tanks

Bradford White AeroTherm heat pump water heaters

What a Bradford White repair or replacement costs

How old your Bradford White is, and when to stop fixing it

Why you won’t find a Bradford White at the big box store

Is your Bradford White still under warranty?

Bradford White water heater repair in every Northern Virginia town we serve

Fairfax County

Arlington County

Loudoun County

Prince William County

Fauquier County

Stafford County

Pages that go with a Bradford White repair