“I'm at a quandry of what to do?? About once a month or about every 15 showers the hot water stops... there is Nothing I've done to prompt it.... like about 5 minutes into the Normal Regular, Nothing Different Shower, the Hot water stops and cold water starts!!! The next time I use the shower, there is nothing amiss in it's function. I've only showered in one location that its happened in... ie. don't shower much in the other shower in the house and it never happened there.
Also it takes it near 2 minutes for the water to get hot it the very beginning, but I've had that explained that there is alot of pipe footage to travel and it takes a long time.... However, the distance is not 5 foot longer than using the hot water heaters of the past that Ive ever had in this house and I've lived in for 37 years.
Thanks for an explanation, or suggested action I might take to improve my experience with the Tankless Water Heater.”
Hi Debbie, The issue with the hot water stopping in the one shower from time to time sounds like a classic cold water sandwich. This and the other issue with it taking longer than you would like to get hot water your main shower would be solved by adding a recirculation pump. Recirculation pumps recirculate water through the system so that there is not cold water in the line that has sat and cooled after previous use. This will prevent cold water sandwiches and allow you to have instant hot water. The Rheem recirculation pump kits can be found here: https://www.tanklesswaterheaterdepot.com/tankless-water-heater-recirculation-pump-kits-and-accessories
“We have not been able to get this unit working yet. The information did not say that this unit requires a 3/4 in gas line, while the old water heater only needed a 1/2 gas line.
The information did not contain the information that a new large 4" hole needs to be cut into your roof for a larger exhaust.
The information did not contain the fact that you need a new sewer drain for the condensate from this unit.
It will take years to recover the extra cost for all this extra work and plumbing. If you think that installing an instant hot water heater is easy and will save you money.
THnk again.”
I am not sure who is doing your installation, but there seems to be some confusion. First, all Rheem Natural Gas and Propane units will get enough gas pressure off of a 1/2" gas line or larger. It is a 3/4" connection at the unit, but will get enough pressure from a 1/2" line.
In regards to venting I checked your order and you bought a high efficiency condensing unit vented with regular schedule 40 PVC Pipe, either 2" or 3" pipe for both the intake and exhaust depending on the vent run. You ordered the concentric vent kit for 2" PVC pipe, so I am assuming you knew what you were ordering, but the concentric vent is a concentric, so it allows for both intake and exhaust and a single 4" whole out of the sidewall or ceiling. If you were using 3" PVC the concentric vent would be 6" diameter.
In regards to a sewer drain that is also not necessary. All natural gas and propane tankless water heaters will have some condensation. You can use a drip drain, but you can also use a drip line that runs to the dirt or a collection system such as the tankless water hater pan with CPVC connector that can be included with the unit. Lastly, all of this information about venting, gas line and everything else is clearly stated on the product page, and spec sheet. We are also happy to answer any questions someone may have prior to their purchase.
I checked our phone records and we have never received any phone calls from you, not before or after your order; nor have we received any emails with questions, or concerns. I am glad you left this review so that we can help get them resolved. That said it sounds like most of your concerns are misunderstandings. You may need to find a more qualified installer as again a 1/2" gas is OK, you bought the vent kit that requires the size exit whole you have described, and you do not need special drain.
Please call technical support at 1-800-432-8373 if you have any additional questions or need support. We want you to enjoy your water heater and get the benefits of the built in recirculation pump.
“I’m on my third heater for my pool house. Every year I drain the system and winterize the unit and every spring the unit is full of leaks when opening the water again. (Unit installed each time by licensed plumber and winterized by the same) This is my last try. BTW, I’ve tried contacting the manufacturer numerous times with the typical run around. A shame.”
I am not sure I understand what you are saying, but the unit's have a 12 year warranty on the heating element and 5 year warranty on other parts. We have sold thousands of Rheem tankless water heaters over the year, and have not heard of this issue before. All of our customers are automatically sent the review request 11 weeks after their purchase, so if people were having issues they would definitely let us know. That said the products have a 4.8 out of 5 overall start rating, because they are great units and people love them. Also, the units are tankless, so there is nothing inside the unit holding water when it is not in use, so I am not sure what you mean by full of leaks? Lastly, there should be no problem getting a hold of Rheem. They are the largest manufacture of heating and cooling systems in the US. Their phone number will be in the owner's manual and on sticker that comes with the unit, it is 1-800-432-8373. If unit does fail it gets replaced. All said, it sounds like the unit you purchased from us in 2020 is not giving you issues. It are past units you have had problems with. Hopefully you have a better experience with this one, and I am sorry for any issues you have had in the past.
“The tankless water heater was value priced which was fine. But the vent stack offered and the return policy is horrible. To begin, they only offer a vent stack for 6" walls -- none for 4" inch walls (you can only offer at Rheem.com, same price and free shipping). So, if you order incorrectly or the product didn't fit, they make you shop in back at your expenses AND hit you with a restocking fee. Together, you get about 40% of your money back for something which is CLEARLY their arrogance. So, but the water heater from them and any of the other product or accessories from Rheem.com.”
It is correct the smallest Wall Vent and Horizontal Termination Kit for the RTG unit is made for standard walls that are 2" thick with 6" of insulation between them, but we do also offer two large sizes for wall with 8 " and 10" of insulation. In regards to the return policy, as you stated we are discount site. We have the best prices possible. However, we do not make much per sale, and not enough to pay for people's shipping when we shipped what they ordered, but want to return it for whatever their reason. If we send the wrong item, we will of course pay for the return shipping, but not if we shipped what was ordered, again we just don’t make enough to do that.
In regards to the 10% restocking fee that would not be charged if we shipped the wrong item, we also waive for exchanges, and for installation products and accessories that are included with the unit, and returned with boxes intact. If we have to get a new box then I have to charge the restocking fee. In order to keep our prices as low as we do, we have to keep our overhead low. We just do not make enough to pay for new boxes from Rheem, and all the employee costs it takes to prepare an item for shipping, schedule the shipping, inspect the item upon it return and add it back to the inventory. Not to mention the credit card processing or PayPal fees that we do not get back. Those are the cost the restocking fee covers.
Our shipping, exchanges and returns polices are fair, clearly listed, and have to be read and agreed to prior to purchasing. If you do not know whether or not you want or need the tankless water heater or other item it is a good idea to call before order or otherwise make sure, so that if you end up not wanting you do not have to pay for all the shipping and the 10% restocking fee. If someone has any questions, we are happy to help with sizing or anything else to make sure they get the best unit and the installation products and accessories for their needs.
“It came quickly and was well packed. when I discovered we did not have sufficient electric capacity and tried to return it. zcustomer service was very rude. I returned itand still havenot gottenany portion of my refund.”
Hi Gail, you ordered an electric Rheem RTEX-24 all the way back on 4/22/2020. The unit was received back this last week 7/08/2020. Nearly 3 months later. The unit, as you said in your review, arrived to you well packed. However, we received the unit back in a destroyed box with the internal foam the unit sits in missing and no owners manual. Most sites would not allow to you return items after 30 days, and no way in this condition. Not only are we allowing the return, but I am trying to get Rheem to send new packaging so that I can sell the unit to someone else and give you a full refund minus your shipping costs and the reboxing fee. However, without getting a new box from Rheem with the unit's serial # and UPC on it, it would not be possible to sell it to someone as new , it will have to be sold as open box item for a discount, and we would not be able to provide you a full refund. I will email you an update as soon as I find out from Rheem if we can get a new box and foam. That said I have no idea why you have had the unit as long as you have, or why the units packaging is missing and destroyed or what you think we should have done different but we are doing the best we can for you, and think we are being more than fair.
Posted 3 years ago
I wanted to provide an update. We were able to get a new box from Rheem and refunded this customer . I hope that they will edit or remove their review to accurately reflect what happened and the service we provided.
“I purchased and installed two RTG-70DVLN-1 tankless water heaters. One is working great, while the other is not maintaining a constant temperature. I know once the problem is solved, it's going to work just as well as the first one. However at this moment, I am very displeased. I spent good money on new equipment, and it should be working perfectly.”
Hello Antonio, until your review we have not ever received anything other than a 5 star review for this product. If your temperature is fluctuating it is either because other points of use are being turned on and the flow rate is exceeding the unit's ability to provide your desired temperature rise, you do not have enough BTUs, or there is an issue with actual heating element or unit. If there is an issue with the unit, I agree it should be working perfectly. It is fully under warranty. Please call Rheem technical support at 1-800-432-8373. Be by the unit when you call so that they can go through some trouble shooting steps to first diagnose and hopefully fix the issue. If there is a defect and the unit needs to be replaced you are going to send me an email with a photo of the unit's rating plate and a new unit would be shipped out. However, it sounds like you know what the issue is, and even how to fix it. I hope after resolving your issue with the unit, or even before, that you will modify the star rating to be a more accurate representation of the review you left and the pricing and service you received from us.
“Happy with product, not happy with the way the warranty needs to be processed, frustrating to the point of just paying for a new unit, transferred to multiple departments, spoke to multiple people, emailed a number of pictures, requested to speak to supervisors, and was told the supervisor is not available, seemed extremely ridiculous, again horrible warranty experience, fortunate the unit itself is a great price point and ended just buying another unit
Richard was very helpful and attentive assisting with the purchase of the new Tankless heater, he gets a very good review! Again seems like a good product just terrible warranty department”
HI Manny, I am sorry it sounds like you had issues with a unit you bought from somewhere else. I only have one order form you ever. I can assure you that if you have any issues with the unit you bought from me within its warranty period you will not have any issues getting it replaced. You can review our reviews and see we have never had any issues with that. However, that is not something that happens often, because the Rheem units are great and made to last. I hope you will consider changing your star rating and review to reflect the product, service and price you received from us. I hope anyone reading this sees that he is not talking about the Rheem tankless water heater he purchased recently from our website, but his old water heater that he replaced. Rheem's warranty process, and tech support is very easy, and located here in the US.
“The biggest problem I had was ordering a unit they claimed was in stock, but it actually wasn’t. Claimed it was a brand new model and they were delayed on getting there supply do to manufacturing issues. Think they extended the shipping three times and each time was two weeks. Finally got the product two months later with no discount or free shipping upgrade to make up for the bull shister. Great product but poor execution on the middleman!!! And there for a poor review”
I am sorry that the unit was not yet available when you ordered, and had to wait as long as it sounds like you did. However, your order was from May 2018, when the RTG-70XLN-1 and other RTG-70 models were available for pre-order only. They were a new product that was just being released. We had no control over how long it was before we received our first inventory from Rheem. We had them on the site for pre-order, but it said on the site that they were not yet available, and would not ship until they were. There was around 20 customers that pre-ordered, and we did our very best to keep everyone updated, and shipped the units, as soon as we received them. There was nothing else that we could have done to get the unit to you sooner. Also, it is my understanding we were the first to have them, so if you had ordered from somewhere else, not only would have paid more, and the unit would not have come with a pre-wired thermostat, but you have waited longer as well. If other site's had them available you could have of course cancelled with us, and bought it some where else, but didn't because it was not available anywhere yet. Also, all of our orders ship for free with UPS Ground. That all said I am really happy you have been enjoying the Rheem water heater for nearly 2 years now, and I do understand how waiting like that would be frustrating.
“The gas savings is out weighed by the increased water use. When one lives in an area that charges more for water leaving the house than water coming in the house, every drop counts. The tankless water has increased my water usage, which increased two bills while lowering the gas bill. As for dependable hot water, it is great, but for over all savings, it just isn't there.”
With a tankless unit you are heating the water that you are using as you are using it, saving energy. Water usage is determined by flow rate of the shower, sink and so on. Water cannot flow more with one water heater or another. That said it sounds like you maybe wasting water while waiting on the water in the pipes that has sat and cooled from the previous use, before the hot water from unit starts to flow. To prevent this and get instant hot water you would need a recirculation pump. Recirculation pumps recirculate the water through the system allowing for instant hot water at each point of use. I included a link to the recirculation pumps section of the site where can browse the different pump kits and get more information about how they work, and how they save water.
https://www.tanklesswaterheaterdepot.com/tankless-water-heater-recirculation-pump-kits-and-accessories
