I replaced my old water heater at my rental property after 15 years and due to the small space I have, I purchased a "Performance Platinum" little over 5 years ago. It's been working well and tenants are happy. Couple of weeks ago the pilot stopped working and wouldn't stay ON. Looked up in YouTube and found a few Very Useful clips by professional repairmen. The "Gas Valve" had stopped working and needed to be replaced. Called Rheem's Customer Service Dept and on the phone they suggested the same thing as I explained the problem. They actually sent me 2 parts they thought needed. One was the Thermocouple and the other one a Gas Valve. I had already cleaned the Thermocouple but they still sent me the part to make it easier for me. I replaced the Gas Valve and problem solved. Yes I did happily pay $30 to expedite the shipping which made it 2 days. I am very happy with the Water Heater and very happy with the Customer service dept. But I think Honeywell should make better quality Gas Valves. Because a Gas Valve in my experience should work well over 12 to 14 years, especially Honeywell. Thanks Rheem.

My wife is worried our original Rheem 81V52D 50 gallon water heater is going to go out. I replaced the lower heater about 12 years into its life; only been drained once. 4 people live here and I'm the only 5 minute showering man. Good recovery from back to back showers for 1 hour. Now the hard part is getting a dual 4500 W unit like I had.

I see all of these bad reviews of the Rheem water heaters and notice that many seem to be purchased at a retail level either thru their plumber or directly from Home Depot or other home improvement outlet. We installed our Rheem water heater Model, RHEPRO52-2, in May, 2004 and it's still going strong after 14+ years. Never had a problem or leak. I researched which water heater to install before building, even talked to the Rheem folks. I told the plumber what I wanted. After much grousing, he installed what I wanted and I even got him to submit the registration paperwork that extended the warranty by 4 years ( one of the reasons I wanted it.).

We have decided to replace our hot water tanks before it fails. My wife figured it was about 13-14 years old. I was shopping around for a tank and it finally clicked, why don't I see what brand we have now, as 13 years is pretty darn good. The installer had the date of installation Dec 24/2001... WOW. It’s a Rheem Professional 410 professional grade. So that's what I will be looking for now. A instructor at my work in the plumbing department suggested I get a basic model (6 year warranty), but make sure I drain the tank once a year and wait until the water runs clear to get all the sediment out and prevent corrosion. Don't forget to turn off the breaker first. I'm definitely getting another Rheem. Good luck with whatever you decide.

I have had good luck with Rheem gas hot water tank. I bought it 23 years ago, installed it myself and it is still going. Since that time I have added a garage to my house and want to put it in the garage. I am going to buy a new one because I am on borrowed time with it now and my next one will be a Rheem unless someone knows another one can outlast mine?