Kenmore 12 year warranty on hot water tank needs repair. It is only 6 years old . Who will honour it

Whirlpool water heaters are made by AOSmith company, which owns American, Reliance, State, Craftmaster and makes water heaters for Kenmore and Whirlpool.
These are good heaters.

Register Whirlpool product at following link:
http://www.whirlpoolwaterheaters.com/support/warrantyreg.aspx

It is not necessary to register product for warranty to be valid.
And if you move to new home and take water heater, then warranty does not follow. So it might be disadvantageous to register product in that circumstance.

You can see brand, model number, and serial number located on label on side of tank.
The serial number is unique and is key for warranty coverage, even if you lost receipt. Serial number shows year of manufacture in first two digits.
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/Find-Age-of-water-heater.pdf

It is not necessary to register water heater for warranty to be valid, as long as following applies: Original owner, single-family non-commercial residential installation, and installation that conforms to instructions shown in product manual, and water heater is maintained as shown in product manual.

If you purchased extended warranty, then remember the warranty is carried by a third party that also requires same as above.
And the warranty may be pro-rated, rendering it nearly valueless in later years.

Typical water heater warranty:
First year of warranty covers tank-parts-labor.
After first year, the warranty shrinks to tank-parts.
The math shows that shorter warranty tank has greater percentage of full coverage.
Convert ordinary 6 year tank into 9-12-15 year tank by maintaining water heater. Especially cleaning air intake located on bottom of tank, inspecting anode rod to prevent rusting, and following maintenance schedule shown in product manual.
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-maintain-water-heater.html

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

Short answer:
6-year Whirlpool from Lowes, 6-year Kenmore from Sears
Both are same brand. Offer 10% less than price, get store coupons.

Reasoning:
#1 Warranty.
Warranties are same across all brands. First year parts-tank-labor are covered, and afterwards parts-tank are covered for original homeowner and non-commercial installation when installed by instructions shown in manual.
The math shows: shorter warranty has greater percentage of full coverage.
6 year 9 year 12 year?
Only difference is anode rod diameter, or longer-warranty tank may have 2 anode rods.
You can convert 6 year tank into 12 year or 15 year by inspecting anode each 1-3 years, and maintaining tank as shown in product manual.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-install-gas-water-heater.html

# 2 Don't buy tankless.
Don't buy gas or electric hybrid.
These do not save money overall, and do not last longer than ordinary tank heaters, and they are expensive to buy and maintain and repair.

# 3 Ordinary Whirlpool gas water heater from Lowes is inexpensive and can be maintained and repaired by homeowner.
Air intake is located on bottom and can be cleaned easily.
Set 3-legged water heater on bricks so air intake can be inspected and cleaned easily.
Whirlpool is made by AO Smith parent company. Other brands made by AOS are Reliance, State, American, Craftmaster, and Kenmore.
Service manuals are posted online, parts are designed for quick, ez replacement.
Installation manual shows how to perform maintenance.

# 4 Avoid Rheem.
Rheem makes Reliant, Richmond, Ruud, and GE
Air intake can only be cleaned by removing combustion parts. Combustion parts are held in place with tamper-proof screws.
Service manuals are not available online.
Installation manual does NOT show how to perform maintenance, and says that customer must call for service.
Rheem does not offer better product that somehow needs specialized treatment, they just want customers to buy service from brand-loyal plumbers.

# 5 Bradford White makes good heater.
Usually these are more expensive and not available except thu dealers who might require pro installation for warranty coverage ... maybe.
Are BW made better? Warranty is identical to other brands.
Must remove combustion parts to clean air intake.
Parts are ez to replace, but they might not sell parts direct to homeowner.
Service manuals are available.

# 6 Insulation thickness.
Does not make much difference with current price of gas.
If you pay $400 more for a tank with 2" insulation instead of typical 1-1/2", then payback can be 15 years or more.

If you need further help, I’m available over the phone at https://www.6ya.com/expert/gene_9f0ef4df2f9897e7

If water heater is leaking, then open following 2 links to avoid tank rupture and troubleshoot leak:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Emergency-steps-for-leaking-water-heater.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-is-leaking.html

Open following link if you want to install your own gas water heater:
http://waterheatertimer.org/How-to-install-gas-water-heater.html

To have gas water heater installed, can run $2-300 for installation plus cost of heater.
40 gallon natural gas water heater at Lowes starts at $300+, and tanks with longer warranty cost more and last longer.

If you maintain the tank: keep chemicals out of same room as water heater, attach bare copper ground wire between hot and cold pipes, flush tank each 6 months, clean burner each year as shown in manual, read the manual entirely for specific information about your model, and inspect/replace anode rod every 2-3 years then basic 6-year tank can last much longer.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/9-ways-to-save-with-water-heater.html

AO Smith is biggest manufacturer and ships about 140,000 units per month sold under different brands. Look at rating on tank. Is it a 9 year tank? Or 6 year? Or lifetime?
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-manufacturers.html

Number of factors can cause rust around element:

1) Element is seeping moisture: check and replace element.
Elements can start leaking any time
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-is-leaking.html

2) Anode rod can be depleted from variety of factors including water softener or calcification over anode so it will not work: Check and replace anode rod every 1-2 years with water softener, every 3-5 without water softener. New anode rod will STOP the rust, but will not repair tank that is rusted.
Tanks with longer warranties have 2 anode rods, one on hot water nipple, the other on top of tank.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html

3) Stray current corrosion: add a jumper wire between hot and cold pipes, and make sure tank is grounded. If there is stray current, it will deplete steel in tank if tank is not grounded.
For example one fellow had a tank that rusted out every few years until he discovered his big radio antenna was grounded back to hot water pipe and the tank was not grounded, so the interference depleted his tank.
http://waterheatertimer.org/9-ways-to-save-with-water-heater.html#Ground-tank

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1) If water heater is leaking, I suggest you protect yourself first.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Emergency-steps-for-leaking-water-heater.html

2) You have to do some work to find out if tank is under warranty.
-Contact manufacturer: http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-heater-manufacturers.html
-Contact installer: If plumber installed heater, then installer backs warranty for some manufacturers. If you installed heater, then warranty is less or void
-Look at paperwork and manual that came with water heater and read about warranty coverage
-Look at markings on tank to see if tank is 6 year, 15 year etc
-Warranty is based on date of manufacture: To find date of water heater, look at serial number located on label on side of tank:
Open link below for serial number decoder by manufacturer.
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/WaterHeaterSerialNumberDecoder.pdf

3) If tank is older than 6 years, and tank label shows this is a 6-year tank, then tank is no longer under warranty.
If you have a lifetime tank, then warranty is in effect, so contact manufacturer.

Open following link to see troubleshoot checklist for leaking water heater:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Leaking-water-heater.html

Other things to consider:
-If tank rusted out after a few years and installer did not install a jumper wire between hot and cold pipes, then tank warranty will probably not cover tank.
-If tank rusted out and you have water softener, and did not inspect anode rod or maintain water heater, then you did not read manual or maintain heater, and warranty might not cover problem.
-I suggest you read water heater manual cover to cover so water heater will not start leaking.

Other useful links:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html
http://waterheatertimer.org/9-ways-to-save-with-water-heater.html

A) Calculate date of water heater manufacture from serial number located on side of tank:
http://waterheatertimer.org/pdf/WaterHeaterSerialNumberDecoder.pdf
Date of manufacture is not date of installation.
Warranty is usually from date of manufacture
Serial number also shows tank size in gallons, tank volts and watts, and whether tank has 1 or 2 elements.

B) Troubleshoot leaking water heater:
http://waterheatertimer.org/Water-at-bottom-of-water-heater.html
Several things can be looked at to see where leak is coming from.
Carefully go over tank pipes and valves to eliminate every suspect.
Final suspect: tank is rusted out.

C) If tank is rusted out, then tank needs to be replaced before it ruptures.
Ruptured tank can cause major damage and water runs until shut off.
To prevent rupture, turn off power to heater, turn off valve located above tank, open tub faucet for a moment to relieve pressure on tank.
Turn on heater only when needed until new tank is installed.
4500 Watt water heater produces 21 gallons hot water per hour.
Shower uses 6-9 gallons hot water. Bath uses 12-14 gallons hot water.

"It is possible to limp along with a failed water heater if the leak is slow and if you turn off power and water when not using hot water. That trick could buy time, possibly up to 3 months. With time, you can consider how to make the system do more for less as well as comparison shop, get competitive bids, etc"

D) Now you're home is safe from damage.
If tank is only 5 years old, it rusted out pretty quick.

There are three things you can do so next heater lasts longer.

1) Learn about anode rods, and inspect anode rod every 1-3 years.
Loosen anode rod before installing new tank so replacement is easier.
http://waterheatertimer.org/Replace-anode-rod.html

2) Attach electrical ground wire between hot and cold pipes to prevent stray current from reducing life of water heater
http://waterheatertimer.org/9-ways-to-save-with-water-heater.html#straycurrent

3) Flush tank each 6 months to prevent sediment
http://waterheatertimer.org/Clean-sediment-out-of-water-heater.html#flushelectric

http://www.buyerschoiceinspections.com/water-heater-ages
There seem to be 2 possible answers: Servi-star vs Servistar

Answer #1: Servi-star by American
1st 2 digits are year, 2nd 2 digits are week

This means water heater was made year 2004, 96th week ....it seems wrong.

Answer #2: Servistar by Craftmaster
1st 2 digits are month, 2nd 2 digits are year

This would mean your water heater was made 4th month of 1996

Which answer is true? 6 years old or 14 years old
If tank had 12 year warranty and came with 2 anode rods, and you have good water, and no stray current on pipes, then tank can last 14 years.
If tank had 6 year warranty and came with one anode rod, and you have hard water and a water softener, and you never changed anode rod or drained tank, then 6 years is a long life for the tank.

Please for your safety and the safety of your home replace the water heater. It has definately paid for itself more than once. As a repair plumber I really like to hear about a water heater that old still being in service. Just reminds me that things are not made like they used to be. Average life for a water heater tank now is 10 to 12 years. The oldest one that I have personally taken out of a home was 32 years old.

Sounds like water is over heating. (thermostat).Is water real hot.?

Try shutting off the gas, shut off the water, and drain the tank to remove any sediment that may interfere with heat transfer from the burner. If that doesn't do it, check the dip tube to make sure it is still intact. The dip tube directs incoming cold water to the bottom of the tank and the hot water is tapped from the top of the tank. If neither of those turn out to be the problem, check the thermo-couple. Since a gas water heater typically survives about 6-9 years, you may be better off just replacing it.