American 40-gallon
Gas Water Heaters Review

Explore advantages of the American 40 gallon gas water heaters and see what the most advanced features are, found in atmospheric, direct and power vent models.

American Water Heating Company offers several types and models of the natural and propane gas water heaters in one of the most popular categories – 40 gallons tank sizes.

This article gives an overview of the American 40-gal models for residential water heating with its top strengths. Some water heaters are built with high-quality materials, giving you, a consumer, the longest warranty, while others are designed mainly for the budget-friendly users. Here is the selection of the available models:

• Direct vent
• Flame Guard
• Power Direct Vent
• Power Vent FVIR Compliant
• Ultra Low NOx
• Manufactured Home

Direct Vent series

The American water heater DVG62-40538-NV comes from the ProLine series and offers a standard warranty of 6 years on all parts, including the metal tank. What is typical for this gas water heater is that it comes with the enclosed combustion and direct venting of products of combustion, horizontally through the wall or vertically through the roof, and with the air intake drawn from the outside. With the gas input of 38,000 BTU and 2" thick foam insulation, this 40-gallon water heater operates with the recovery rate of 38.5 GPH and energy efficiency of 0.59.

Flame Guard series

American 40-gal gas water heaters from the Flame Guard series can be purchased with the three warranty options: 6, 9 and 12 years, which gives you a different quality of protection. They all have a gas input of 40,000 BTU and recovery rate of 40.5 GPH while the energy factor ranges from 0.59 to 0.63. All models from this Flame Guard series are built with the FVIR system and atmospheric venting, plus some of the superior features:

• Self-powered electronic gas valve, so no external power is needed.
• Intelligent Control Logic for superior performance and more accurate hot water temperature.
• Diagnostics system that monitors water heating process and allows easier troubleshooting.
  
• LimeFighter Dip tube which reduces the sediment build up.
  
• Heavy duty anode rod for better protection against the corrosion.

6-year warranty gas water heaters:

• BFG61-40S40-3NOV
  
• BFG61-40T40-3NOV
  
• BFG62-40S40-3NOV
  
• BFG62-40T40-3NOV has the highest EF, 0.63

9 and 12-year warranty models:

• BFG91-40S40-3NOV
  
• BFG91-40T40-3NOV
  
• BFG122-40T40-3NOV - this water heater comes with the 12-year warranty and has the highest energy factor of 0.63

Power Direct Vent

PowerFlex PDVG62-40T42-NV is the power direct vent unit that is built with the FVIR system and since its EF is 0.67, is the high-efficient model and Energy Star approved. The thru-the-wall and thru-the-roof power venting allow flexible installation either horizontally or vertically. The self-diagnostic control system provides diagnostic codes for easier troubleshooting and repair. The water heater has 42.000 BTU gas input and 42.6 GPH recovery rate and thanks to its high-efficient blower the water heater is Low NOX certified.

Power Vent FVIR compliant

Water heater PVG62-40T42-NV is another model from PowerFlex series that is Energy Star compliant and has the same features and warranty (6 years) as the above water heater. The only difference is that this water heater is power vented model, which allows transfer of products of combustion up to 125 feet from the water heater.

Ultra Low NOx

Ultra-Low NOx American water heaters are environment-friendly as they are equipped with the advanced burner system, which is stronger and produces fewer greenhouse gases than previous models. They also come with advanced features such as:

• Intelligent Control Logic for the optimized gas combustion
  
• Electronic gas valve which does not require external power for the electronics
  
• LED status indicator for better diagnostics
  
• LimeFighter dip tube to reduce sediment build up
  
• FVIR

UG61-40T40-3NV and UG62-40T40-3NV models are both designed with the 40,000 BTU gas input and 41 GPH recovery rate, but since they have different foam thicknesses (1" and 2" thick insulation), they provide different energy efficiency (0.59 and 0.62).

Manufactured Home type

American 40-gal gas water heaters are also available for manufactured or mobile homes. Two models can be found; MFG-61-40T40-3PV is atmospheric vent with the 40,000 BTU, 40.5 GPH recovery rate, and 0.59 EF, while the other MHSCGG-62-40T32-3NV is with the sealed gas combustion, 32,000 BTU, 33 GPH recovery rate and 0.59 EF, both with the same 6-year warranty.

As you can see from the above review, most of the American 40-gal gas water heaters come with the 6-year warranty, while there is only one model for 9-year and one for the 12-warranty. Some are more some are less expensive, but they are all designed for the residential water heating, up to two bathroom homes.

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