Rheem RTE 13 Electric Tankless Water Heater, 4 GPM

UPDATE:1. Rheem has gotten greedy - they've raised the price of this unit 81% since I purchased, from $193 to $349.2. EcoSmart ECO 11 (same heating capacity) is only $215, has a digital thermostat, & a LIFE-TIME warranty vs Rheem's 10 year warrantyOriginal Post:The Rheem RTE “tankless” water heater is ingenious and the energy savings will pay for both the unit & install costs in only 17 months vs. keeping my 50 gallon electric tanked water heater.I'm a mechanical engineer and was drawn to the unit's energy savings and ultra-compact size (9 x 10 x 5 inches {yes inches}). You likely won't believe it can provide you the hot water based upon it's small size. Booboo – you're wrong.Why it works for me:1. I'm a single person, take 1 shower a day, and do 2-3 loads of laundry a week, plus dishes.2. I have a low-flow (1.5 GPM) [gallons per minute] water-saver shower head in my bathroom, saving water and also reducing the need to heat larger water flows required by standard shower heads generally at 2 - 2.5 GPM. However, even if you have a standard shower head – this unit will do you fine since it is rated up to 4 GPM.3. A new tanked water heater (gas or electric) is $400 + $375 install costs. This unit is $193 + my $375 install costs to run a 60 AMP electric service and plumbing installation for the unit by an electrician/plumber.4. It's tiny size (you won't believe it can work) frees up a storage space the size of the old heater.5. Instead of having it on the highest heat setting, I set it to only 60% of the highest heat setting so that this setting provides me a very comfortable warm/hot shower water temperature without turning on the cold at all – therefore, heating only what I use (not blending overly hot with cold water) – further saving energy. I just set my clothes washing machine on “hot” and actually it is therefore at my hot/warm shower setting. Again, reducing electricity while working fine for clothes and dishes.Financial Return on Investment:1. Unit cost = $193 + $375 installation (electrical 60 AMP service & plumbing) = $5682. Operating costs for a single-person based upon 10 cents / kwh (Nevada Power rate):a. 7 showers / week @ 8 minutes each = 56 minutes 1 hour / weekb. 3 loads of laundry = 3 x 10 minutes hot water each = 30 minutes 0.5 hour / weekc. 7 sink loads of dishes / week = 7 x 5 minutes of hot water = 35 minutes 0.5 hours / weekTherefore total time the unit will be on / week = Total: 2 hours / weekb. The heater on full-blast is 13 kw (kilowatts) but I set it at 60% of this. Therefore 13 kw x 60% = 7.8 kw power usage / hour when the unit is turned on (based only upon actually using hot water).c. Weekly energy usage is therefore:I. 7.8 kw x 2 hours / week x 4 weeks / month = 62 kwh (kilowatt hours) / monthII. 62 kwh x 10 cents / kwh (Nevada Power Rate) = $6.20 / monthIII. My old 50 gallon electric unit cost = $40 / monthIV. Savings $40 - $6.20 = $33.8 / month energy savingsV. $568 (total cost for unit and install) / $33.8 savings per month = 16.8 months pay back on investment.Summary: based upon $193 heater cost + $375 install cost (depends on your contractor), the total cost of $568 is returned to you in monthly energy savings in only 16.8 months.IT'S RIGHT FOR YOU, IF:1. You are a single person or couple who don't use that much hot water in a month.2. Household members do not need to take showers, wash clothes, and do dishes all at exactly the same moments of the day; since using 2 showers, a washing machine - all drawing hot water – will reduce the heat increase to each if all used at the same moment.3. Compared to a normal tanked water heater – the total cost for unit & installation is similar4. The unit has a 10 year warranty, however if it ever goes out – sooo easy to install a new one.5. Don't believe the negative reviews – my electrical/plumbing contractor was “AMAZED” at it's performance in such a teeny tiny package.6. You love the idea of saving money, energy, and water.FINAL NOTE: Most important –1. Most people do NOT have the electrical experience to “safely run a 60 AMP service” required for this unit.2. Print out this product's info page and get three quotes from licensed professional contractors to confirm your installation costs prior to purchasing it.3. Note: Older homes / mobile homes may not have electric service that can handle such a large 60 amp service. This is why you need a professional to provide you a free-of-charge home visit & quotation for electrical & plumbing service.4. Get 3 FLAT-RATE quotes – no hourly quotes from licensed contractors or you'll get charged extras later.Do the above, and you know exactly what “professional & safe” installation costs are prior to purchasing the unit.SUMMARY – I'm amazed ! I love it ! Electric savings saves me $34 / month, pays for the total installation and unit in only 17 months, and frees up a huge storage space. Do your “installation costs” home work first.What a hidden gem !

I received a defective product from Rheem. I purchased the unit from Amazon.com and received it on June 25, 2014. I installed the plumbing but could not get a qualified professional electrician to install the electrical until Sept. 11th. He used #6 wiring and a double pole 260v breaker. When we turned the water heater on, it worked perfectly fine and delivered hot water as far away as 40 ft. The next morning when I turned it on I received no hot water. My electrician returned, checked everything out, including doing a diagnostic of the water heater we found on the Rheem web site, but he was unable to find the problem. I uninstalled the water heater and boxed it up, planning to send it to Rheem for warranty replacement since my Amazon return policy had expired.I called Rheem customer service to make sure I followed proper warranty procedure. They referred me to the Technical Assistance unit. The first technician ask me if I was near the unit and I told him I had it in a box ready to send it back. He said he needed to run me through a diagnostic procedure and I told him a qualified electrician had already done it and declared it defective, probably in the small mother board of the unit. The technician told me I would need to reinstall it and call back to be guided through their diagnostics even though I told him we had done so using their recommended diagnostic procedure for the unit posted on their website. So, I reinstalled the unit and called him back. He asked me to do one check which I did and it did not test out. He stated he would need to elevate my problem and I assumed he was elevating me to customer service to return the water heater. Instead, I received a higher level technician who guided me through the same process my electrician had gone through via the Rheem web directions. The Rheem water heater checked out defective via his instructions.He asked where I purchased the unit and I told him on Amazon.com, but my return policy had expired and since the unit was defective I was returning it to Rheem via their warranty. He took additional information and told me his supervisor would need to approve the return and replacement. Hence i assumed a replacement would be sent. About 2 hours later this technician called and told my that while my unit had been purchased through Amazon.com it had been sold via a third party distributor who was not supposed to be selling them on Amazon.com. I told him that was Rheem's problem not mine; Rheem made the unit with a warranty and I was exercising my warranty. He gave me the distributors name and phone number and told me I would need to work through them. Lesson learned "Rheem does not back up its warranty without putting one through a hassle." But the review does not end here. I called the distributor. They asked for the Amazon.com order number, checked it and said they had only shipped the unit, but it had been purchased through a third party seller. Hence they were not responsible for replacing it.Enough is enough. I called Amazon.com's customer service and explained my situation. The Amazon rep asked me to give her a couple of minutes. After about a 3-minute wait, she came on and said a replacement would be sent asap, but it may not be delivered for over 4 weeks because she had to place on back-order. I wasn't happy with it, but at least I was getting a replacement without the hassle Rheem put me through. She immediately emailed me a postage paid return mailing label to send the defective unit back to them. A few hours later I received another Amazon.com email stating they had found an alternate distributor and my replacement would arrive in two days. It arrived in less than two days and I installed it. The new Rheem RTE-13 unit works fine so far (2 days), but only time will tell. If it malfunctions, I assume I will have to start a replacement hassle with Rheem again. I most likely will not replace it with a Rheem due to their initial "poor customer service" even though I have two large Rheem units in my home that have performed well for over six years.I give Amazon.com 5 stars for how they handled this situation and Rheem no stars for their customer service.