Tank and parts, not labour
The common misreading of a water heater warranty is that it covers the whole job. Bradford White's residential warranty document lists a 6-year limited tank warranty and a 6-year limited parts warranty for the RG240T6N, and states that labour is not covered and that removal and reinstallation charges are excluded. The consumable anode rod is also excluded.
The warranty term is written into the model number. The suffix 6 denotes the 6-year version and the suffix 10 the 10-year version of the same tank, so two units that look identical can carry different coverage. A tank warranty covers the tank, not the visit to replace it, so a claim still involves a replacement visit.
Registration deadlines change the labour term
Some manufacturers require registration within a set window to keep an extended labour term. Rinnai states that its SENSEI residential tankless units keep the 5-year labour warranty when registered within 90 days of installation, and that otherwise the labour term defaults to one year. The parts term is separate from the labour term and is not changed by late registration.
That is why the installation paperwork matters as much as the unit. The model and serial from the rating plate, the installation date and the registration confirmation are what a warranty claim is built on.
Maintenance is a warranty condition
A warranty is not unconditional. Rinnai states that lime damage is not covered and that hard water needs more frequent flushing, and it makes descaling part of keeping the heat-exchanger warranty. On a storage tank, Bradford White's manual calls for the anode to be inspected every two years and replaced when depleted, and more often with softened water.
Skipping maintenance does not just shorten life; it can put a claim at risk. The maintenance schedule guide sets out the intervals for each type, and the checks that involve gas, combustion, the relief valve or the vent are done by a qualified technician.
What is not covered
Beyond labour and the anode, warranties typically exclude damage that comes from something other than a manufacturing defect. Water quality and scale, installation that does not follow the manufacturer's manual or the code, freeze damage, and work done by unqualified people are the recurring exclusions. Each manufacturer's own document is the authority, and this site does not restate terms beyond what those documents say.
The practical point is that a warranty covers the equipment, not the conditions around it. Good installation, correct venting, a working relief valve and a maintained anode are what keep the unit inside its coverage.
Keep the records
The documents that matter are the model and serial number from the rating plate, the installation date, the gas permit and inspection record, and any service history. Where the serial encodes the manufacture date, this site's serial-number-age tool records it and explains the plate, and it deliberately declines to print a year until the manufacturer's own decode rule for that brand and series is verified.
CANRO Heating & Cooling publishes warranty and registration assistance as a service, and repairs and replacements across its verified Metro Vancouver coverage. A repair visit carries a diagnostic charge that is credited toward the repair, while installation and replacement estimates are free and in writing.