Kenmore Water Heater

[harvero]

Irene gave the botom of my current rheem a good soaking. Our power was out, so no sub pump. I had to remove the pilot burner to clean a clog in the orifice in order to get the hot water working again. I want to replace the unit since it is 11 years old also. I'm thinking of getting the 75 gallon Kenmore glass lined water heater. Does anyone have any experience with this water heater?

 

[harvero]

I'm asking about this heater http://www.sears.com/shc/s/p_10153_12605_04233176000P?vName=Appliances&cName=Water+Heaters&sName=View+All

 

[slip knot]

i'm not a big fan of Kenmore products anymore. I'd find out what the local pros are installing and go with that. I find that the good commercial stuff is not much more $$ than the **** the box stores sell.

 

[phbsales]

Navien instantaneous w/h would be a great replacement. It's a little pricey on the front end, but will be much more energy efficient over the long haul since it only works on hot water demand (flow).

I'm not a big fan of conventional water heaters anymore, but if you feel the need to stay with one, I would recommend the Rheem 42V50-50F standard vent or the Rheem 43PV50E2-E power vent unit. Both are 50 gallon, 50,000 Btu input.

 

[nehog]

Last Kenmore water heater I got caught on fire... I'm nothing considering that brand again!

 

[phbsales]

BTW, Sears has Rheem manufacture the Kenmore brand for them. Not exactly built to Rheem's standards, but built to industry standards.

 

[BL50]

BTW, Sears has Rheem manufacture the Kenmore brand for them. Not exactly built to Rheem's standards, but built to industry standards.

My 12-year, 50-gallon Kenmore water heater just crapped out after 10-years and Sears gave me a brand new 12-year with no questions asked. Maybe that's one of the reasons that Forbes magazine listed Sears as one of the companies that could go belly-up in 2012.

 

[cowboyjosh]

Sears is still in business?

 

[BadgerBoilerMN]

Sears does not make water heaters, they are made for them, like nearly everything else. Buy direct from State, A.O.Smith, American or Rheem. All others are just private labels and extened warranty profit centers. The average residential water heater lasts about 10 years, thus the standard 6 year warranty.

Tankless water heaters have to fit the application (rare).

I prefer a tank type condensing water heater if green and clean are a concern. There is no ROI on air to air, tankless conventional or condensing or tank condensing for that matter unless pressed to space and domestic water heating combi style.

 

[phbsales]

I agree with Badger to a point on the use of power vented water heaters, but disagree in his view on tankless. In my opinion, there is an ROI on tankless heaters, bit it's close to 7 years after the initial installation. These heaters last a bit longer than standard heaters, so the ROI is on the back end of it useful life. There are more tankless heaters that are not limited to "application" anymore. I replaced a 5 year old AO Smith powervent with a Navien tankless and have had no issues running multiple hot water sources at a time with constant temperature.