In order to keep from regularly changing out my electric water heater located in the utility room inside our home, I brilliantly switched to a Whirlpool 50-gallon "Life Time" Warranty Model # EE3Z5ORD055V in Dec 1994. (It's just my wife and I, and a rare house guest, using it.) Last edited: Jul
2, 2007
Those Whirlpool water heaters are AKA Craftmaster. Craftmaster is made by American water Heaters. Home Quarters sold that, That tank is the notorious for being the most inexpensive built tank, ever. To give benefit of the doubt, hard water/high water pressure, lack of dielectrics, grounding issues..........do any of these play a part in its failure?
American is junk American water heaters are junk... but even those pieces of junk should last As the noble and wise MR Rugged stated,
http://www.weilhammerplumbing.com/generalinfo/ was anyone aware that A>O>SMITH has Last edited:
Jun 30, 2007
Yes, in agreement with RUGGED and MPM. Any heater should last 6-7 years. You have something else going on there. What is the water pressure? Throw a copper jumper between the hot and cold above the heater and install brass nipples. Also install a jumper over the incoming water line and the PRV, check, and ball valve. I would also check the ground to the heater
and be sure it is working.
You are the exception to the normal consumer! The reason that stores tout "lifetime warranties" is that ALMOST NO ONE will ever make a claim on the warranty, so their exposure is minimal, and the advertising hype is priceless from a marketing standpoint. Naturally, the try to ensure that no one can make a claim.....original purchaser only, need the receipt, etc.
It's the heater brand itself then. Last edited: Jul 1, 2007
Thith ith an intheresthing thopic.
hjMaster Plumber
heater Is seldom recommend longer warranty heaters because they are usually the same heater as the short warranty, with and added premium to pay for the extended insurance policy. In the case of lifetime heaters, until recently, they had to be registered when installed or they reverted to the six year warranty, and it only applies to the original purchaser anyway. Most lifetime
heaters, I don't know if Whirlpool is one of them, have a plastic tank so the entire heater only weighs about 40 pounds.
Speaking of "lifetime" water heaters: I met someone a few years ago who said that his hot water heater was around 50 years old. He said that it had a copper containment area for the water. Do such animals exist? Were they produced 50 years ago? are they still produced? I had never heard of anything as such and yet to have seen it. I guess under the right
conditions, copper should last 100 years or more? NO?
ChuckNJ said: Speaking of "lifetime" water heaters: I met someone a few years ago who said that his hot water heater was around 50 years old. He said that it had a copper containment area for the water. Do such animals exist? Were they produced 50 years ago? are they still produced? I had never heard of anything as such and yet to have seen it. I guess under the right conditions, copper should last 100 years or more? NO? I've seen old State heaters last 20 years on an original 6 yr.
Thank you everyone. You've answered my question. Last edited: Jul 1, 2007
I saw a copper water heater once. It was around 1997 plus or minus. The house dated from pre=WWII. The tank was still fine, but the gas valve acted up. It did not have safetied like today, and of course based on the age of the heater, I declined to work on it as far as trying to repair, so a non-leaking copper tank went to the scrap yard. Even then the price of copper made the guy's eyeballs
light up at the recycle place. They did not PAY for water heaters. They send them to Tijuana where they strip off the insulation, find any leaks, patch them up, and good to go!
Mike Swearingen said: Thank you everyone. You've answered my question. No........you should be getting more than 3 years out of even these junk heaters. Try the jumpers. The fact that you have dielectric unions does not negate the jumpers.
O.K. Cass. Thank you! I'll try the jumpers. Mike hjMaster Plumber
heaters Servel made the copper water heaters and they also made gas fueled refrigerators.
jimbo said: I saw a copper water heater once. It was around 1997 plus or minus. The house dated from pre=WWII. ! Must be from that era. The person who said they had one of these also had a house built in the late 30's early 40's hj said: Servel made the copper water heaters and they also made gas fueled refrigerators. So they really did exist. Are they still being produced? IF so, by whom? Last edited: Jul 1, 2007 hjMaster Plumber
heaters Not since the early 50's.
Just a couple points off the top of my head. ~10 years ago, I remember picking up a water heater with an extended warranty at a supply house. I was supplied with a water heater and an overlay sticker to indicate the extended warranty. I look at extended warranties like this: Unless you are recieving a heater with a composite tank or a conventional heater with additional
anodes, you are basically funding an annuity the company runs. You should not expect that your heater will last any longer than normal, you will only get extended coverage. Another nasty tidbit of information is in the warranty itself. The warranty start date is when the original heater was purchased. Lets say you purchase a water heater with a 6 year warrany, it fails after 3 years. The replacement heater only will only have a 3 year warranty (from the 1st unit). Let's say that heater
fails after 3 years, it's replacement will be full price (and then the 6 year cycle will begin again). Companies also are now limiting warranties to the original purchaser, as noted above. Check out this link http://www.hotwater.com/bulletin/bulletin44.pdf concerning water heaters and softeners. Methinks that's where your problem lies.
I AM the original 1994 purchaser, so they are obligated to keep replacing this "lifetime warranty" junk as long as I'm living and using their warranty system under their rules (which I am). There was no time limit with the original purchase of this "lifetime" junk other than "lifetime". I may be 64, but I may have a little bit left. How long is the warranty on a Whirlpool water heater?Your Whirlpool® appliance warranty will cover most of Factory Specified Replacement Parts and repair labor to fix any defects in materials and workmanship that existed within one year of when your appliance was purchased.
Is there a recall on Whirlpool water heaters?Water heaters affected by this recall were sold under the brand names America, A. O. Smith, Kenmore, Reliance, State, U.S. Craftmaster, and Whirlpool. These models make up the majority of the recall, which includes water heaters with the first four digit serial numbers between 1115 and 1631.
How do I claim warranty on my Whirlpool water heater?All warranty service is provided exclusively by our authorized Whirlpool Service Providers. In the U.S. and Canada, direct all requests for warranty service to: Whirlpool Customer eXperience Center In the U.S.A., call 1-800-253-1301. In Canada, call 1-800-807-6777.
How long is the warranty on an electric water heater?A typical hot water heater usually has a five or six year warranty, regardless of whether it's gas or electric. However, there are more expensive units available with longer warranties, often up to ten years.
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