Whirlpool Electric Water Heater Review. Fellow victims please jump right in!

[UncleRJ]

December, 2014 my ancient water heater finally died so obviously I needed a replacement and fast!

Since I have always had a positive shopping experience at the Lowe's hardware store about a 20 minute drive for me (I live in the boonies) that is where I went.

Saw a lot of water heaters on display and saw a very good deal for a 50 gallon electric water heater. Made by a well known and trusted manufacturer.....................Whirlpool.

Anyway, I pulled out my credit card, signed on the bottom line and the water heater was delivered and installed the next day and the old one hauled off to the ancient water heater burial grounds. And shortly thereafter, I enjoyed a nice hot shower and basked in the warmth that I had made a wise purchasing decision and it would be be many years before I would have to face this particular situation again.

Well, one year anyway as in December of 2015 it died.

OK, I get it and stuff happens so I called the 866 number, gave them the info and they were happy to repair it for me free of charge. In FIVE FREAKING DAYS!

The repairman finally graced us with his presence. Was rude and crude at best and pretty much said that only a complete idiot would purchase a Whirlpool appliance. ANY Whirlpool appliance. Especially Electric Water Heaters.

Fast forward to January 2016. This last Saturday morning to be exact. The sucker died AGAIN.

I called the 866 number and was told that the Labor part of the warranty had expired and here is what I needed to do.

I as in me! The guy who's wife had taken all his tools away from for very good reasons.

Cut power and water to the heater, drain the heater, remove the heater elements (BTW, this requires a special tool that no one but a freaking plumber has), go to Lowe's, PURCHASE new heater elements, bring them back home and install, fill the heater with water, apply power and hope to hell it has fixed the problem, print out this certificate and take the old part's back to Lowe's and they will refund your money.

Screw this, I hired a plumber and then got the part's myself.

Plumber showed up, fixed the heater and gave me additional input that Whirlpool made crap products and he spent a lot of time repairing them. Advised me that more than likely in about a year, it would crap out on me again and suggested that I purchase a Rheem (among other brands) water heater.

Took the old part's back to Lowe's. When they saw me walk up to the customer service desk with the part's and the piece of paper, the lady looked at me and asked me if this was a Whirlpool Electric Water Heater Warranty.

I told her yes it was and she started with the paperwork while giving me a sad look. I got to talking with her and a couple of other customer service types. Keep in mind that they were loyal Lowe's employees and kinda had to watch what they were saying. But they did confirm that Whirlpool Electric Water Heaters seemed to have more (Much MUCH MORE) of their share of problems. And that none of them in good conscience recommend them to customers. Heck, one of them said that she had just had to purchase an electric water heater to help out her daughter.

And it sure as hell was not a Whirlpool!

Thanks for taking the time to not only read but put up with my rant.

And if you have had similar experiences of have had friends or family with the same, please share here on this thread.

And remember, Friends don't let Friends purchase Whirlpool Appliances!

 

[Gregjl]

Thanks for the heads up.

Sent from my C6740N using Tapatalk

 

[MrScaryZ]

December, 2014 my ancient water heater finally died so obviously I needed a replacement and fast!

Since I have always had a positive shopping experience at the Lowe's hardware store about a 20 minute drive for me (I live in the boonies) that is where I went.

Saw a lot of water heaters on display and saw a very good deal for a 50 gallon electric water heater. Made by a well known and trusted manufacturer.....................Whirlpool.

Anyway, I pulled out my credit card, signed on the bottom line and the water heater was delivered and installed the next day and the old one hauled off to the ancient water heater burial grounds. And shortly thereafter, I enjoyed a nice hot shower and basked in the warmth that I had made a wise purchasing decision and it would be be many years before I would have to face this particular situation again.

Well, one year anyway as in December of 2015 it died.

OK, I get it and stuff happens so I called the 866 number, gave them the info and they were happy to repair it for me free of charge. In FIVE FREAKING DAYS!

The repairman finally graced us with his presence. Was rude and crude at best and pretty much said that only a complete idiot would purchase a Whirlpool appliance. ANY Whirlpool appliance. Especially Electric Water Heaters.

Fast forward to January 2016. This last Saturday morning to be exact. The sucker died AGAIN.

I called the 866 number and was told that the Labor part of the warranty had expired and here is what I needed to do.

I as in me! The guy who's wife had taken all his tools away from for very good reasons.

Cut power and water to the heater, drain the heater, remove the heater elements (BTW, this requires a special tool that no one but a freaking plumber has), go to Lowe's, PURCHASE new heater elements, bring them back home and install, fill the heater with water, apply power and hope to hell it has fixed the problem, print out this certificate and take the old part's back to Lowe's and they will refund your money.

Screw this, I hired a plumber and then got the part's myself.

Plumber showed up, fixed the heater and gave me additional input that Whirlpool made crap products and he spent a lot of time repairing them. Advised me that more than likely in about a year, it would crap out on me again and suggested that I purchase a Rheem (among other brands) water heater.

Took the old part's back to Lowe's. When they saw me walk up to the customer service desk with the part's and the piece of paper, the lady looked at me and asked me if this was a Whirlpool Electric Water Heater Warranty.

I told her yes it was and she started with the paperwork while giving me a sad look. I got to talking with her and a couple of other customer service types. Keep in mind that they were loyal Lowe's employees and kinda had to watch what they were saying. But they did confirm that Whirlpool Electric Water Heaters seemed to have more (Much MUCH MORE) of their share of problems. And that none of them in good conscience recommend them to customers. Heck, one of them said that she had just had to purchase an electric water heater to help out her daughter.

And it sure as hell was not a Whirlpool!

Thanks for taking the time to not only read but put up with my rant.

And if you have had similar experiences of have had friends or family with the same, please share here on this thread.

And remember, Friends don't let Friends purchase Whirlpool Appliances!

I remember a time when Whirlpool was top of the line dear me

 

[UncleRJ]

I remember a time when Whirlpool was top of the line dear me

Since this whole disaster started, I have talked to a lot of folks.

And the consensus is that back "in the day" they were just about the top and most respected brand out there.

And that memory is why I purchased the "Thing".

But now, apparently they just want to cut cost and ride the coattails of their past reputation and sell substandard products.

I really should have done some actual research instead of just trusting in a brand name that can no longer be trusted!.

 

[Jimi D]

Whirlpool is famous for washing machines. Not water heaters.

 

[Zamazam]

It used to be water heaters lasted 25-35 years. Now you are damn lucky to get 5 years out of them. Usually they crap out a few months after the warranty is up.