American Water Heaters Reviews

It's December 18th in Michigan. My water heater broke down. I called American Water Heater for a replacement part on the 19th of December 2022. They gladly ordered the part, charged me an extra $38 for express delivery, I asked "Do you want my email for the confirmation that it's been shipped?" Their reply was "we don't do that, just call back." I called Wednesday December the 21st and asked if they could give me the confirmation number or tracking number because the part hadn't arrived yet. The customer service representative explained that the part hadn't shipped yet. I asked when it would ship, he said "I don't know. It's a made to order part." I asked what that meant and was told that there was no way they could tell when it would be shipped or when I would get it, he did however, offer to refund my express shipping cost. My recommendation is not to deal with this company or buy their products "PowerFlex" water heaters.

Cannot get hold of them on phone. Been waiting for 2hrs. They just don't care! Tried calling again and again. No reply. Been trying for 3 days. My heater pressure relief valve is not working and I am leaking water.

Bought water heater with warranty 2009 - heater leaked - they agreed to replace but no plumber would take their job - so they offer 419$ only - can't buy water heater for that price - do not buy heater from this company - useless customer service.

I purchased a new house built by D.R. Horton. The house came with a preinstalled water heater. The water heater failed with internal leak exactly in less than three years. I called the American Water Heater Company and they agreed to provide a replacement water heater. They referred me to Northside Plumbing to get a similar water heater. Their supplier (Northside) is now asking $60 for the paper work and the original tag attached to the water heater. The total cost to get it installed, get the tag from the original heater (making two trips) and installation is more than getting a new water heater from a different manufacturer. Never purchase any product made by American Water Heater which is now owned by A.O. Smith.

Absolutely horrible products. They fail (leaking tanks) every couple of years and when it comes time to stand behind their product, they do not. They blame the issue on something else like high water pressure...really? On a well? We are lucky to get to 50PSI...the water is filtered and softened...you really can't get better than that. Never again, Will switching to another brand.

After fighting tooth and nail to warranty a faulty heater for my customer I was told that with no one in our area distributing these heaters I had to eat the additional cost to replace something that should have been warrantied. The heater was not even 5 years and old and was leaking through the tank. The service was awful and as a Plumber not worth the time it took to sort out the problem for only a fraction of the cost of a new heater to replace it with. I know we refuse to treat our customers this way so I am baffled to see a company like this so comfortable with it.

Our water heater is 5 years old and has a issue with the airflow turning the pilot light out. I called the 1-800 number and customer service was very helpful, helped get my pilot light back on, and even had me send in photos of the unit to fix any issues to keep this from happening again. It can be rough taking cold showers but thankfully this company helped us not have to do that.

Have a 30 gal, started leaking after about 4.5 to 5 years. Called, great at giving rma, but, needs a licensed plumber to exchange the unit, and have to find a place that sells them That would defy the use of having a warranty. The cost to have the plumber take it back, is not worth the hassle to just be gouged with purchase of a new one from a decent company that can simply just exchange it. Just go to the large chain store and get one. They just do not make them like they used to.

Bought a home with a Polaris combination Water heater and in floor heat furnace. When the unit reached 17 yrs old it began to leak. I had it replaced with the identical unit. 1 yr later it began to leak, it took three weeks to get a replacement unit and had I not hired ABF freight to go to the manufacturer and pick it up it would have been 2 more weeks before they would deliver it. 1 yr later it is leaking again! Now they say they will not replace it. THESE UNITS ARE JUNK....RUN AS FAST AS YOU CAN.

Bought a water heater from Lowe's with 10 yr warranty. The heater started malfunctioning after 2 years. Called American Water Heater since it is still under manufacturer warranty, but got the runaround and they did not honor their warranty. I also have extended warranty through Lowe's but they would not honor the extended warranty until the manufacturer warranty expires.

Had water heater installed in 2012 and it has performed with excellence. Model #BFG6140T403NOV never had any issues. We are looking for a water heater for our farmhouse now and plan on getting one from this company.

We built new house in 2012. Within the first two weeks had to put an element in the thing and my builder took care of that. I should of had them put a new one in then. I installed three elements and two thermostats before realizing this thing had a 6 year warranty. So at 6 years years and 3 months no coverage. Now I am on my own. Nice. I truly liked the heater and the service it gave when it was not being repaired. Note to self... Never repair when it's under warranty. They will not take care of it afterward... Probably won't but this brand for my replacement. Thanks.

I paid now for labor again. Don't know what to do now. Which company electric heater should I purchase? Appreciate your opinion.

I would give them zero stars if that was an option. Purchased a brand new American Water Heater on 12/19/18. By 2/19/19, it had already stopped working. When my plumber called to get the okay to replace valve & burner assembly, he was on hold for over 1 hour before they would give approval. He replaced the parts and by 2/28/19, the heater was again not functioning. Again he called to speak to a rep at American and was put on hold 3 times. He was on the phone over half an hour and was told we needed to replace burner and valve assembly AGAIN. If that didn't work, would need to replace vent. If that didn't work, they would finally send approval to replace unit.

We smelled a gas leak. CenterPoint Energy and the fire department came over to assess the situation. They found out that the safety valve on your water heater wasn’t working and was spewing out gas when the pilot light wasn’t on. Your safety valve made by “Unitrol” assembled in Mexico failed!!! My house was 30 minutes away from blowing up my kids, me and my friends. I will do anything I can to shut you down! How DARE you allow your water heaters to be so dangerous! I’m also a realtor and will make sure everyone knows this!

My American Water Heater, E52-40H-045D Serial 9709122230 made in 1997 is now 21 years old. I just refinanced my house and had to get new insurance. They questioned the age of my water heater and I told them, "So what?" It looks like it's new, I have a timer that shuts it off for 10 hours at tonight, and it is in the garage. If it were to leak it would run down the driveway. I have not done one repair job on it, eg. new elements and don't plan to replace it until it stops working. Highly recommend buying one.

I have supplied the information requested for my leaking water heater. I was told a supervisor would call me back in 1-2 hours. After 5 hours I called again and was told that the supervisor had left for the day. So I am without hot water for another day and I am unable to take a shower. Representative told me there is no telephone number for their corporate office as the supervisor is the only one with the number.

We built our home brand new and after 3.5 years our water heater started leaking. Plumber came out and said the water heater was rusted beyond repair. The plumber took it to the store it was purchased at and was replaced under warranty. The labor was out of pocket of course (no warranty for that) but I was happy for the warranty. Our new water heater started leaking buckets of water from the pressure valve 2.5 years later (February 2018). Plumber came out to look at it and said he would try replacing the pressure valve first, upon disassembling the pressure valve he noticed a lot of rust. Further inspection uncovered that the whole water heater was so rusted he didn’t think he would be able to put it back together!!!

Do not buy a water heater from American Water Heater Company. We purchased our home in 2015,the water heater was updated as an upgrade by former home owners to sell the home better. We have been here now for 2.5 years, and our water heater needs replacing. But because we are not the original home owners, our fairly new, albeit crappy, hot water heater is not covered under warranty. So, now, we have to go buy a new one. Because who wouldn’t want to spend $800 replacing a major appliance less than 4 years after it was installed? I have two small children, so cold water isn’t really an option for more than a couple days. So we have to do it now. Bad warranty conditions, poor quality hot water heater. Will NOT be buying this brand as replacement. Side note, won’t be buying much for a while, since all our money will now be going to a hot water heater. Please, please, please do NOT support this company, for your own good.

My wife had a PowerFlex water heater installed in April of 2008, before we were together. In September 2013, it began leaking from the bottom. They said to take it to Lowe's for a replacement as it was within the 6 year warranty period. The replacement I installed on October 20, 2013. The pressure relief valve started leaking in January 2017. I called for a replacement and was told it was out of the warranty period! What!

Water Heater was purchased 6/28/14 at Lowe's. It broke the first time on 9/15/16. AWH shipped a new gas valve to us and I paid for shipping ($30) and paid for installation ($228). The unit broke again on 12/28/17 and again, AWH is shipping us a gas valve at our expense ($30) although the plumber asked them to also send a thermocouple to ensure we get all the necessary parts but they refused. We have already paid the plumber (who they authorized) $95 and will need to pay him more money to come after hours on Saturday to hopefully fix the unit. We won't know if they sent the right parts until he tries to fix it with the new gas valve.

Had a plumber install my water heater incorrectly, called Rheem and they put me in contact with Carlos at American Water Heater. It is just a few days before Christmas and I was not even sure Carlos could look at my water heater, not to mention replace it. I was hoping he could at least look at it. Instead, he not only looked at it but replaced it, all the same day. Amazing! Would recommend American Water Heater in Miami to any and all friends. Awesome service, very professional, timely. If you have a problem with a water heater in Miami you should make one call, American Water Heater.

Called customer service about my hot water heater which is under warranty. They said that the serial number is listed under someone else name. Had me email the Data Plate to an email address that kicked back as undelivered. Called again. Had to explain it all over. The person gave me another email address which work. The customer service person called and told me to call back. I did but had to explain it again to a third person because they could not connect me to the second person. That person wanted a copy of the purchase receipt. I told her that I just bought the house. After being on hold, she told me that a supervisor had to review it but could not tell me when. In the meanwhile I have no hot water!

The water heater is manufactured by American Water Heater and sold under various names including Whirlpool. It was sold in Home Depot, Lowe's and lots of other places. 7 years ago it was installed. Nothing but problems. As other reviews said the flame keeps going out. They came out and kept fixing it. They replaced a part but that only worked for a short period. I understand that a company needs to make money but American Water Heater is just a crap product. Lowe's stopped carrying it last year. They want me to buy another hot water heater because it's 7 years old. That is just crazy.

Envirotemp 40 gal natural gas water heater - 11 months old and will not stay lit. All but 1 tech the warranty people sent me too will come out. I have to pay upfront and then be reimbursed from the warranty. I am getting no help with the warranty people. It is still under warranty, it replaced a 15 year old water heater that I did nothing to. This is garbage, and to take advantage of the elderly like this, will never buy anything to do with this brand again. Terrible treatment.

Last week I purchased AWH hot water heater model PVG6240T50NVS and installed it according to their manual. However product has number of safety issues including exposed wire between the furnace and control unit at the bottom. The cover at the bottom does not shield the wiring and it appears their engineer have no clue about the consequences of the exposed wire next to the heat source. Their customer support/tech support has no clue of their product. I wonder if they have quality control engineer that inspects the product before shipping out. This company is worthless organization and should be reviewed for lack of safety issues related to their product.

I purchased a new Whirlpool gas hot water tank from Lowe's in 2015. The hot water tank worked great up until this month. The pilot light went out. I called the number on the hot water tank, and they sent a new thermopile for free, but I had to pay $30.00 to have it sent the next day. I paid a plumber to install the new unit. It worked for 3 weeks then went out again. I am having to relight the unit every day. I called American Water Heaters (manufacturer) about the issue. The tech and the supervisor both said it may be the gas line, but I would have to have a plumber come out to diagnose it. Another additional cost paid by me. I told her that I did not think it was fair to ask the consumer pay for a faulty unit or design on their part. Without going into a longer drawn out story... do not buy a unit from this company. Whirlpool slapped their name on it, but it is not worth the trouble.

I purchased two (2) gas American Water Heaters and installed them in a new home in March 2013. One heater failed in June 2016 after 3 years. The second hot water heater failed June 2017 after 4 years. The heaters are supposed to have a 6 year warranty. These hot water heaters have not been reliable. The company does not support the warranty of The Hot Water Heater.

Never, never, never buy a hot water heater from this company. We replaced an old tank with an American Water Heater product in 2013. It had a 6-year warranty. April 1, 2017 we discovered it was leaking. The water did significant damage which took $2,000 and 3 weeks to repair. But that was only the beginning of the nightmare. Since the tank was still under warranty, I contacted AWH and requested a new tank. They supplied one. It was installed on April 18, 2017. The pilot light will not remain lit! The very reputable service company I had install it has been back 10 TIMES in the past 36 DAYS to try to get this piece of junk to work. The gas line has been checked by the gas company. It's fine.

Bought the house in 1992. Had a 5 year old gas water heater. Had it replaced in 2004 because it developed a pin-hole leak next to discharge tube. Hey, 17 years was a long time! It didn't owe me anything. My gas service provider is KEYSPAN. They carried American Water Heaters brand with a 6-year warranty and did the new install. It's a 40 gallon tank, natural gas, model # FG6140S403NOV. Four of us live in house and use water on a normal level. This water heater is now getting towards the end of its life. Had it serviced today by my contracted (by KEYSPAN) service person from HOMESERVE. The technician changed the thermo-coupler and informed us that the unit is rusting within and is close to the end. He recommended a new one to be installed soon and to contact HomeServe to purchase it. Schedule the install. On May 15, I will be making the call.