I am in the process of replacing a 40 gallon electric water heater. Looking at a Rheem. They offer a 6 year ($409), 9 year ($549), 12 year ($739) and a variant called a lifetime water heater ($1100) that is lined with some type of plastic that prevents tank corrosion. I am trying to understand is this lifetime unit worth the extra cost. Any opinions on this? Would I still have anodes to replace in this plastic lined variant?
Lifetime water heater vs standard
- Thread starter philipp10
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Rheem's Marathon Water Heater is the Most Durable Water Heater Ever Made - Rheem Manufacturing Company - Rheem Manufacturing Company
Its award-winning construction makes the Rheem® Marathon® water heater the most durable electric water heater ever made. And its industry-best warranty makes it a smart purchase you can count on for years to come.
www.rheem.com
I purchased a Whirlpool 55 gallon water heater from Lowes about 15 years ago. Had a lifetime guarantee and was still operating perfectly when I sold the house almost two years ago. Had to replace a water heater in my beach house last spring because it was 17 years old. Was also working just fine but the homeowners insurance policy wouldn't cover the house if the heater was >10 years old. Water heaters always eventually leak but not usually catastrophically.
$1100 is about what I just paid for an A.O. Smith.
$1100 is about what I just paid for an A.O. Smith.
How long will you be in the house?
Read the warranty and make sure you register the water heater or it won’t be covered, read all docs in the warranty.
Lifetime means up to one replacement and check documentation to see if that includes installation. Many times it does not.
Personally I think I would save $550 and go with a 9 year.
Rheem used to advertise the Marathon as being better than a regular water heater due to the additional insulation, so it would use less energy.
Yeah it's a lot of money. I plan to die in this home.....I am 63.
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I bought an Amtrol boilermate water heater that had a lifetime warranty as part of its then regular warranty package (no extra cost) in 1985. In 2012 it sprung a leak and all I needed to do was send the local Amtrol distributor a picture of it leaking and picture of the original receipt from 1985 and the next day a brand new Boilermate was delivered (free) to my driveway. Was a direct replacement. Took about 2 hours to install the new one.
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Look at the energy guides between models. The Marathon might more than make up for the extra upfront cost with the long term energy savings.
One other comment. What is the actual physical difference between the 6, 9 and 12 year warranty heaters. I have been looking and cannot find any definitive site that can tell me. Some claim the drain valve is brass on the longer warranty heaters, others claim more anode rods and better anode materials. But is any of this true?
It may vary between makers but in my experience with 4 traditional water heaters the 6 year was lighter weight and had a single anode rod, The 9 year was about the same weight as the 6 but had a much thicker anode, the 12 year was noticeably heavier and bigger around for same capacity with more insulation and had 2 anode rods. The 6 year lasted 9 years the 9 year went 14 years and I am still using the 12 year in year 11 and I dont know how old the first 9 year was because it was existing in my first home. They say if you replace the anode rod you can extend the life but I can tell you from experience that getting one out of a brand new unit is very difficult and took a 1/2 air impact wrench and some work to get it out, I cant imagine getting one out after 6 or 7 years of corrosion.
Look at rebates from your state ,federal and electric company.
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FYI - the Rheem water heater with the lifetime warranty does not have (nor require) an anode rod according to the web site literature. It looks like the Amtrol water heater mentioned in my post except mine is a zone on my boiler, not electric.
As a consumer I have no idea but I am sure others in here might.
We are having home built right now and well, hopefully still a very long way off but this may be our last new home. I guess from a consumer point of view like mine, if you wanted a neat looking water heater that is above most go for it. For me, I think but cant say for sure, baring any magical qualities other than that I would go for the 9 year knowing that I might have one more new water heater installed during my lifetime or even more but each time they will be at least a decade more new.
I noticed you're from Minnesota I know a family that just moved there, had a nice home built there and I hear it is VERY, very cold there in the winter!
Cold is something, as I age I am getting used to. It's just another layer to add to your clothes. The problem with Minnesota weather is we get excessive heat as well.
The Rheem marathon tanks are nice but spendy. They have a poly tank so in theory they should last forever.
If it doesn't cover cost of installing the replacement don't bother unless you can do it yourself. Hot water heaters are cheap installation in my area is the killer
Too much difference in money for the 12 year and lifetime tanks. Myself, I would go for the 6 or 9 year tanks. There wouldn't be much difference with them anyway other than some added insulation and the added warranty. Everything other than the tank itself is usually covered by a much shorter warranty, including labor. No reason why a six year tank won't last 15 years with proper maintenance and no hard water. I had a five year tank last 17 years, there was basically nothing wrong with it. I replaced it because it was old.
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I agree, I guess often times the marketers want us to gravitate towards a number they want us to use, and not consider marginal benefit v marginal cost, where marginal benefit should exceed the marginal cost.
Starbucks is good at the above. A drink is $5.50 for medium, and $6 for extra super duper large. If the super duper is priced correctly, then the medium is a rip off. But, MB > MC so I would buy the super duper, although I don't like Starbucks, just saw this in action when there with my wife.
An example is when I bought a used Lexus. They were all 10 years old in 2016, and if you can believe it, some were going for $23k because of low miles, like 20-40k on the odometer. Mine was $14k with 81k. So was it worth it to pay $9k more, to have 40-60k less miles on the car, when it was a 2006? Since there were examples of this car (variants) that crossed 1 mil miles, and the conventional wisdom said it's 300k miles easily, 500k good chance, why would anyone pay the $23k? Time is the enemy, not the miles. I'd say same with the water heater, and you're likely right that 6 or 9 is in the sweet spot. Few can be scientific because how many have we purchased in our lifetimes? Me, 1.
