Our Rating
Summary:
4
Many hot water heaters wear out prematurely because they don’t receive any ongoing maintenance. Cleaning a water heater’s elements just isn’t something that the average homeowner thinks about. With the Rheem 50 gallon natural gas water heater, much of the needed ongoing maintenance is performed automatically. This units is self-cleaning, reducing scale and sediment build-up with a patented system. Priced at $645 on Amazon, this is easily one of the best gas water heaters on the market today.
Rheem has made it so virtually every homeowner can have this water heater installed. It’s rated to operate at up to 10,000 feet of altitude with natural gas or at 7,700 feet with liquid propane. This water heater also has a low level of nitrous oxide emissions so that it is compliant with most local regulations. The annual estimated operating cost is also fair at just $315.
Here’s What You Need to Consider With This Water Heater
As with any other Amazon product, there are a series of ratings that customers have left regarding the viability of this product. At first, the 12 ratings for just 1 star seem to be out of line for a highly ranked product. In a review of these 1 star ratings, every single one has to do with the shipping of the hot water heater from Rheem. The ratings were left because the item arrived dented or damaged.
What homeowners will find is that at this price point, Rheem is providing the only 50 gallon natural gas water heater that provides a brass drain valve. Every other item at this price point provides a plastic drain valve instead.
Some users have also noted that the pressure release valve tends to leak from time to time spontaneously. Although sometimes this is caused by a faulty valve, the more likely culprit for this issue is that a home’s water lines will require an expansion tank. Install the tank and the sporadic leaking will resolve itself.
This is also not a high efficiency water heater. Rheem does make other models that are more efficient, but they also cost more. If you’re expecting a 20 year performance from a hot water heater, the more energy efficient model will make sense to purchase. For short-term performance gains that can meet current budget needs, however, this model provides the right cost.
How Is the Performance of This Rheem Water Heater?
The performance of this 50 gallon water heater is beyond compare. Hook it up to the gas and it fires right up. It takes a couple of hours to have enough hot water to have a decent shower after installation, but you’ll have hot water for doing dishes or other limited tasks within a few minutes. The water lines are placed in easy to access locations as well.
It may be self-cleaning, but owners will want to periodically check for scale if there is a known hard water issue.
For high altitude, high capacity hot water needs, the Rheem 50 gallon natural gas water heater is an excellent options. Give it a good look today because it does have the capability to meet the needs of virtually any home.
