AMERICAN GCB-30R 4**
0.6 UEF DOE CCD · 2026-09-19Grade F: where this UEF sits among the 288 models in its class, lowest (G) to highest (A). A position, not an official label. How the grade is set
A gas tank, medium draw pattern (a typical three- or four-person household, about 55 gallons on a busy morning).
If you are checking this water heater's listing, here is the figure: AMERICAN GCB-30R 4** uses 185 therms of natural gas per year at the medium draw pattern, the standard daily hot-water usage DOE tests against. That equals the class median of 185 therms for 288 gas tank models, a difference of 0 therms.
Energy use per year
185 therms a year
Computed by this site from the registry's UEF and the federal test's daily hot-water draw for this draw pattern. What it costs depends on the natural gas rate where you live.
That is equal to the median of 185 therms for the 288 models registered in the same heater type and draw pattern; it ranks 89 of 288, lowest energy first.
Solid line: this model (185 therms). Dashed line: the class median.
Min 148 therms Median 185 therms Max 194 therms
What it costs to run where you live
What the registry files
- UEF (Uniform Energy Factor) how much hot water you get for each unit of energy the heater uses
- 0.6 DOE CCD · 2026-09-19 Compared only with other models registered as a gas tank at the medium draw pattern.
- Draw Pattern the standard daily usage profile DOE tests the unit against
- Medium DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- First Hour Rating how many gallons of hot water the unit can deliver in one hour, starting from a full tank
- 62 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
- Rated Storage Volume the tank size in gallons
- 29 gal DOE CCD · 2026-09-19
What it costs to install
Not published: Installed cost range
This model's rated tank size lies outside the range NLR REMDB's cost model was fitted on, and the range is not stretched past it.
The annual energy figure on this page does not depend on this range and is unaffected.
Safety record
No CPSC recall names this model.
Checked against the CPSC recall database. CPSC does not publish a model-level match for this product category, so this list is curated by hand from the manufacturer's recall filings.
CPSC · 2026-09-24What these figures mean
How this compares
The closest models in the same class — same fuel, type and draw pattern.
Keep going
How every figure on this page is calculated
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What a water heater costs to run
Prices a unit's efficiency against your own utility's filed tariff for your ZIP code.
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Is a 30-gallon water heater enough?
Answered from what models in this size actually file.
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Water heaters
Every model on file with the Department of Energy, by heater type.
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Gas-fired storage tanks, every size and draw pattern on file.
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Every AMERICAN model on file
What this brand files, by heater type.
UEF 0.6 · Grade F Price it on your ZIP
The figure of 185 therms per year applies to the medium draw pattern only. This site computed it from the registry's UEF, the ratio of hot water delivered to energy used, and the DOE test's daily hot-water draw. The UEF listed for this model is 0.6. The registry does not publish the annual figure itself. It is a calculation, not a separate measurement of this unit. The source is DOE CCD, retrieved 2026-09-19. Against the class median of 185 therms, this model differs by 0 therms. Its rank is 89th lowest energy use of 288, in the second-lowest quarter of its class.
The figure suits a household whose usage matches the medium draw pattern, on natural gas. The first hour rating, the gallons of hot water available in the first hour from a full tank, is 62 gallons. The rated volume is 29 gallons. Both describe hot-water supply, not gas use. A household whose daily draw differs from the medium draw pattern will use a different amount of gas than 185 therms. The registry data here gives no annual figure for other draw patterns, so none is stated. Such a household should not read 185 therms as its own total. The water heater selector filters by fuel, space and size.
The running cost depends on your state's average residential gas price, so no cost is stated in this text. Multiply 185 therms by your local rate, or enter your ZIP in the cost calculator. The methodology page explains how the annual cost is calculated. An installed price range is not published for this model. Its ratings lie outside the range the cost database's model was fitted on. Those ratings include a UEF of 0.6 and a rated volume of 29 gallons. That range is not stretched past it. For a same-class replacement, use the replacement lookup with a model number.
DOE CCD · 2026-09-19