GE Water Heaters Reviews

Yes, it only takes 20 minutes to ignite and warm the water. But some mornings you just do not have that extra 20 minutes. On important days I try to remember to check prior to going to bed, but without fail it turns off. Last week 3 mornings, lukewarm water. Started this week off Sunday... off (that is # 1). It is finally time to dump this!!!

Updated on 08/13/2015: We received thermocouple Wednesday but after spending a couple of hours installing the part, we had to call GE and explain that it was the wrong part. We were told, "Oops we did not send you the updated installment instructions and sent it to us through email". BUT the water heater pilot still did not light. We called GE the next morning and we went through lighting procedures with the tech on the phone & still the pilot did not light. We were told that the gas control did not work so they overnighted the 2nd part which we received this morning. If we had called a plumber for these repairs we would be out a lot of money which on a pension can hurt. Hopefully this works!

I have called numerous times to the GE tech support who will send someone out for a fee. The warranty is crap for such an expensive product. It doesn't work as advertised and has been nothing but a pain. If you want to spend hours of your time and lots of money buy this product, it won't let you down. I am now contemplating just replacing with a conventional water heater and pay the extra money on the electricity bill. It will be money well spent.

Called GE again only to find out that they were less cooperative. Got professional back to take the thing apart again to check both the sensor and the ignition box. GE sending that out as well. Water heater guy said he's been through this before and probably won't work. Spoke to next door neighbor who I found out had same problem and had to get new water heater like most of the complaints that I have read. Also discovered that the water heater that clearly has the GE insignia is really a Rheem water heater - explains now why I can't pull the manual off the GE website.

Our old water heater was a Caloric which is now defunct but functioned faithfully for 20 years. I have 3 other GE products in our home that we have also had problems with: Freestanding oven/stove.....first time we used the self clean on oven,the glass cracked and had to be replaced - used self clean again, same thing happened. Our refrigerator is also a GE and we had a shelf failure - only thing that was on that shelf was bread. Every time - I call GE they say "we have parts only warranty." Next time, I will buy LG - heard wonderful things as well as great customer service.

So now I have to pay a plumber, have no hot water. I have 4 kids. That means no showers, laundry or dishes until a plumber can verify it's a POS! Not happy at all with GE. Oh, by the way, bought a GE dryer a few months ago, the repair guy has been here three times!! It should be a lot easier to have repairs made on warranty products without having to pay extra for plumbers and appliance repair technicians in order to fix a shoddy product!!! I WILL NEVER BUY ANOTHER GE PRODUCT AGAIN!!

Finally, everything I've read here regarding GE's poor customer service is true. They havent returned our calls, and when talking to them they inform us they will charge us $95 to inspect our tank. Their solution is for us to change the setting every morning to High Demand, and then reset to Hybrid once the showers are complete. Most people regard a HWH as an appliance that they should not have to adjust daily.

We've been here 45 years w/ 3 water heaters. We recently bought a GE because the brand name is good. We are done with GE. Suppose a more vital part broke and gas leaked or it exploded. When a product is poorly made, there is no telling what can happen. We plan to get a new one as soon as possible. The problem is that so many places make junk, that we don't know whether we will be spending more money to make ourselves less safe.

Without decent consumer regulations, people are constantly being cheated and there is nothing consumers can do about it, except pay and pay and pay. No wonder the 1% percent become richer while the rest of us become poor. One reason California consumers have been subjected to worse and worse business practices is their foolish decimation of the country's best consumer protection statute, Bus and Prof Code 17200. When consumers learned that if an attorney fought against a big business and won on behalf of a consumer, the business had to pay the attorney fees, a majority of the voters were outraged that the attorneys were getting paid and they repealed the essence of the law.

The California voters were successful in getting rid of the section which allowed the consumer's attorneys to be paid, but that also killed the consumer's ability to fight against a corrupt business. Our GE water heater cost $417.60. Previously, I or another consumer who had been sold such dreck could sue GE to make them stop cheating consumers. No more. Now GE and other mega-corps can cheat as many people as they want with substandard merchandise and making millions more in profit.

But where do we go? GE made millions selling cheapo products, so Maytag, Kenmore, etc. will do the same. They focus on the bottom line in the short run. Until they've completely trashed their company image, making junk is more cost effective. By the time the chickens come home to roost, these executives will be gone along with the multi-million dollar pay checks.

When people myopically reduce regulations, they end up being cheated as there is no one to stop the crooks. The best regulations are consumer protection laws which allow individuals to sue the corporations who then have to pay if and only if the consumer wins. Yet, people cut their own throats by voting away these types of consumer protection statutes.

I then called GE who said they would contact Fente and to call them back as they don't have access to call out and had to get some sort of ok, I guess. I called Fente Plumbing on Friday morning around 9:30 am and spoke to an employee, who told me they had to contact Reem (GE Rep) to confirm labor charges. I told her GE rep on Tuesday said I would not be charged. The only charge would be for the difference in the unit if Home Depot did not carry the same model. She advised she needs to confirm and would "call" me back. I told her I'll call GE. I then called GE and spoke to a rep who advised he would contact Fente Plumbing and discuss the charge. I was put on hold and when he came back on, he said that the rep at Fente would contact Reem as he would put in an order to increase the payment to offset my fee and the Fente rep would call me back.

Originally, I was told by the Home Depot rep, I needed to get an authorization number to exchange the water heater. The GE rep told me that only Home Depot can get that (while his tone in his voice was getting curt) and, I should have them contact GE if needed. This is the worst service I have experienced in years. I have a 12-year-old daughter and a 5-year-old granddaughter that I watch from time to time when my son has to work. I should have has this water heater replaced since Wednesday. No one has advised when I can expect to get this exchange completed. Going forward, I would give my business to Lowe's (good experience there before) and not buy GE products!

It seems to me after reading some of the previous posts that GE has changed some of their policies as far as how they handle their warranties - at least in my case anyway - because there really were no issues other than I wish the tank would have lasted longer. And it would have been nice to get a little closer to the original price, but then again I didn't have a receipt on an item I wanted warrantied, so they very well could have said no to anything. I will also add that I had my plumber install a water heater that they brought with them and Home Depot just gave me the 215 + tax as in store credit. Win win.

Yesterday, 1/11/15, I saw a flashing blue light and read the dreaded message on the display. "Attention: Heat Pump Failure - Call Service - Now In Electric Mode - Call 1-888-443-4394, HPF Code: F-C." For a water heater expected to last 10 years, I consider this a premature failure, and because many others have reported the same problem, consider it to be a chronic problem. GE has not, to my knowledge, issued a recall, and some law firms are considering a class action suit due to the widespread nature of the problem. For an operating water heater, I would give this a 4 or 5 star, but it's widespread failure rate warrants a low rating.

I understand that GE no longer makes this in China and has a redesigned unit (as shown on the Sears site and GE site at a much lower cost than I paid) assembled in Louisville, KY. Reviews available online are mixed about GE's response to the chronic problems. Some indicate multiple visits by technician and different sets of parts are required with customer paying for the visits. Others indicate that even though the labor is not included in the 10 year warranty, GE provides it free. After I post this, I will be calling to see what my fate is. More information may be forthcoming. At this time with possible large labor charges pending, I cannot recommend this unit or its successor.

GE or Rheem needs to be held accountable for selling an inferior defective product. They should replace all defective parts with parts that aren't disposal, throwaways and should have a service representative in the area to change out these parts for free as we already paid for what we thought were standard parts when we purchased the heater. There are enough people with problems to keep this guy busy as "Water Heater Professionals" can attest. Anyone interested in a class action please count me in. I feel like I'm being robbed repeatedly and these hoods have no conscience. There's hundreds of people who are being taken advantage of and nothing is being done to deter this behavior.

You are asking for trouble if you buy GE products. You are just throwing money away to buy trash. Trash that will cause you more money and headache than what it is worth. GE is in the business of selling customers defective products. When you do find out the product is defective and want to get a refund, GE will refuse you your refund. They will keep sending you defective replacement parts until your warranty expires. This is how GE works. So stay away from ALL GE products. You are asking for trouble buying GE products.

My # is on acct and no messages from GE, so now I finally have 3rd part being sent. If doesn't work putting a hole in heater and giving back to Home Crappo (Depot), GE could of solved this by sending their tech out to repair but wouldn't, so I used my home warranty service. Cost me $125 to have plumber come out, at least that's a one time fee. GE is awful - never again.

Almost exactly one year and one month later in February 2014 (once again in the coldest part of winter), the hot water runs out while I am doing dishes. I think, how can this be happening? This water heater is barely a year old, and my last one lasted well over ten years. After working on trying to light the pilot light numerous times to no avail, we dig out the warranty information and call the 1-800-431-1549 number. WOW what a complete joke and total run around. I have never been treated so rudely. Since it was a Friday, and I am on the west coast, they say they will overnight a new thermocouple, but will not be able to even place the overnight order until Monday of next week! What I am suppose to do with a two year old, a teen and my hardworking spouse with no hot water for the next 6 days? They could care less and I'm sure they go home and all take hot showers and laugh at all of us who call in and keep them in a job. Over the weekend and into the following next week, I try to call around to see if anyone has this thermocouple that I can just go buy and have it replaced so we can get our hot water back. As others have stated, nope. No one carries it and can only be sent from Rheem.

As the days march on and no part has arrived, I begin calling the service number to see what is going on. Every time I speak with someone different who gives me a different story. One person says they can't see a tracking number, to call back in a few hours. When I call back, the next person tells me they have had the tracking number for 2 days, but can't explain why when I try to track the package, it is not showing as a valid tracking number. Meanwhile, the days march on, and we are still without hot water. FINALLY, I talk to one guy who seems to have a heart. He is nice and says sorry. He doesn't know why I haven't received the part yet, so he agrees to send out another one. The day after he sends out another one, the original shows up. This will turn out to be a blessing, and if at all possible, I suggest trying to get them to send you two, so that you always have an extra one on hand because you WILL end up needing it. Call the company (plumber) that Rheem has told me will come out to replace thermocouple and excitedly tell them I finally have the part.

Bummer, they can't come out to fix it until 2 days later. When they do show up the guy tells me they have replaced so many of these thermocouples on these units he has lost count. Well, it's finally fixed and a week a few days later, we have hot water again in the middle of winter. It is now late July 2014. As I'm taking my evening shower, the hot water runs out. This time I know exactly what it is and call the customer service number again. They are closed. Keep in mind, it has only been 5 months, and the thermocouple has gone out AGAIN. The guy on the phone is a total jerk and ask me how hot we have the water set to? I tell him I have no idea. He then says that it is OUR FAULT this happened so soon because we have our water temp set too high. The funny thing is, we have not touched the heat setting. It is on whatever THEIR service professional they sent out put it on last time it went out.

Also, the last time it went out, not one of the many people I spoke to at the 1-800 # ever suggested it went out because of the temp being set "too high" I also ask the guy that isn't it obvious that this is a recurring problem and what will they do about it? He told me that as long as the part is replaceable, they will just keep sending a new part and after the warranty runs out, it will be our responsibility to pay to keep fixing it, that we have no recourse. They say they will overnight a new thermocouple. Luckily, I still have the spare one for last time, so this go round, we are only without hot water for 2 days, and the part arrived soon after the guy who installed our spare one left our home.

After researching GE Rheem water heaters online, I find this website and read everyone's story. It all sounds way too familiar. I feel especially bad for the elderly and disabled people who have had to deal with this complete joke of a water heater. I am now operating on the assumption that this thermocouple can and will go out at any time, and seeing as how I only have a few months left of my full warranty, we will be shopping and paying big bucks once again, for a new water heater. I cannot and will not take the chance of this happening again. Unfortunately, like every other working family out there, we don't have the money for a new water heater and install at this time but will have to come up with it somehow.

In closing, please, PLEASE, do not buy a water heater made by GE and Rheem. Ours is not an isolated incident, and I believe a class action lawsuit is called for. Also, tell friends, family, and co workers to stay far far away from these piece of crap. I only wish someone would have told us. Also, SHAME shame shame on you Home Depot for continuing to sell these in your stores. You know what pieces of crap they are, yet you continue to gladly take people's money knowing full well that the quality is substandard.

At 4 p.m. Monday I called GE back. This time I was given the name of the plumber. I called them and they told me they no longer work on GE water heaters. (hmmmm... I wonder why?) They had sent GE an email this morning telling them that. Neither GE nor the plumber saw fit to let me know. I called GE once again (third time the charm?) and got a snotty service operator who lacks training in how to deal with a VERY UPSET customer (three days no hot water!). She gave me a work order number and told me I can now call a licensed plumber in. GE will pay up to $125 for the diagnostic call. Anything beyond that I pay for and submit for reimbursement. When asked how long that took, I was told 4 to 6 weeks!!!!

I cannot begin to say how disappointed I am in both the product and the service. Whatever became of the electric water heater that would last 20+ years? This didn't even last 20 months. Whatever happened to GE being a company with integrity that produced reliable products and had excellent customer service? Apparently two things that no longer exist in GE. Notice the tick box requesting to be contacted by an attorney below? That in itself speaks volumes!

It's Saturday, 4th of July weekend and we get the pleasure of our replacement part by Wednesday of next week.... No consumer carries the thermo coupler of ignition switch. RUN from this water heater....GE... Congratulations because I have purchased my LAST piece of equipment from you.... "GE, we bring good things to life." WHAT!!! You produce hunks of **.

Parts arrived and service tech came out on Friday 13th of this June 2014, installed parts, but the 8 am - noon service window stretched out to 5 pm, another day of work lost. Strike five. Unit worked for three days, then it completely shut down as if no power. Checked wiring to unit, unit has power, some internal failure of the water heater, no hot water at all. Strike six. Calls to GE service this time routed me in a loop of phone numbers, unable to get them to schedule a service call, so called GE Innovations. They were helpful, even overnighted a new control module (they seemed to know already what had failed, wonder how they knew) and set up tech service appointment for 27 June 2014. Afternoon of 26 June 2014 found voice message from GE service center in Atlanta cancelling my appointment because the tech said he wanted to order control module first! The same module they had already sent! Strike seven.

Immediately called their service number from the recording at 4 pm, only a voice mail, so called GE Innovations and explained not to cancel appointment as the module was already on site and awaiting tech to install. They said it was too late to un-cancel appointment, next available was 1 July. Strike eight. So now another five days without hot water! Fantastic! And probably another day of work lost. Yep, it was sure worth the $1,000 plus we paid for all this aggravation, ridiculously poor part quality, and even worse service. Our advice: stay away from these lemons and lack of commitment from GE.

Today, 6/21/2011, I have no hot water again. I called the warranty line again and went through another troubleshooting - same problem as last (3 years ago) - faulty thermocoupler. It appears GE's thermocoupler does not work every 3 years. GE will send the replacement part and I hope they will send the correct one this time. In the mean time, we have no hot water for the next several days. It is very unfair and I hope GE gets investigated as I am sure there are many other complaints about this.

May 10, 2014, elements blown AGAIN. Again I call to tech support. Inform them that I want the product replaced as it apparently IS FAULTY. The gentlemen who had the misfortune of my call informs me that no warranty calls were logged therefore it cannot be replaced. WHAT? I yell at him. No I wasn't polite. NO I was not happy. He informs me the other calls from me and the plumber were just "general" calls for questions and registration. OMG!! Do they really think we we were just calling to CHAT!

Apparently if the plumber doesn't walk thru a checklist and give readings while on the phone with their tech support and then if they determine so they will send a repair person to do the work for free. HOW MANY DAYS WILL THAT TAKE!! As it is a weekend.. well a few. SO NO HOT WATER TILL WHEN? Forget it. I say - I will ensure to buy something different. Let everyone know that not only is the product bad but they don't stand behind the product and think that everyone wants to just call to chat!!! My advice: DON'T BUY GE water heater and when you feel lonely, call 1-800-431-1549 just to chat; apparently, that's what the number is for.

I DID and the water heater caught fire! I said, "Fire! Fire! The heater is on fire!" He answered in a nervous voice, "is there moisture in that area?" I said yes. He said, "ok you will have to call an electrician or plumber." I of course turned off the breaker to stop power without his instruction. Thankfully the fire went out. But I almost burned my hand. I asked to speak to his supervisor Jennifer. She just blew me off and said the water heater is no longer under warranty. In closing my family has been using GE products since the 1950's but no more!

Now here is the catch that consumers need to know: The enclosures roof normally come pre-cut for venting of which is normally a 4" opening, but the venting for the water heater is only 3", of which leaves a 1" gap, of which rain water can come through that 1" gap and drip onto the water heater. Gravity will take that water down through the unit and collect in the bottom of the unit, of which is where the air chamber for the water heater is, and essentially flooding the unit, of which will not allow the unit to breath oxygen any longer - basically smothering the unit, causing it to shut off due to lack of oxygen. Now, G.E./Rheem will consider that to be a flooded water heater and void its warranty due to an improper installation. The reason why they void the warranty is due to the rusting that will occur once flooded as the safety mechanisms will no long function correctly.

How to resolve and avoid your outside installed water heater being flooded. The 1" remaining gap I spoke of, add a storm collar and some black mastic. This will eliminate the gap. So basically you have to treat the water heater enclosure roof as you would your homes roof, so that rain water will not come through. Other issue is the thermocouple issue. Yes this is correct, there is a thermocouple issue seen. My only advice is to see about having one or two on hand if the does happen. Also find a local service contractor that works on these units, and keep their number handy.

Installations in a laundry room: This is just a bad installation area for these units, as it is in a room with a clothes dryer of which creates lots of lint - of which will clog the air intake of the water heater and if the clothes dryer is not vented correctly and is leaking carbon monoxide into the room. The safety switch in any new style LOW NOX water heater will sense the carbon monoxide and trip, of which some safety switches in some brands are not resetable. And again the warranty can be voided due to this issue.

It is advisable that customers with the G.E./Rheem gas water heater do a quarterly inspection of the unit: Take a swiffer and clean any dust, lint, debris off of the side air intakes. Look at the plumbing connections to make sure they are in good condition and not leaking. Keep the surrounding area free on cleaning solvents or any other chemicals or combustible items. Always make sure there is enough air coming into any room housing a water heater. So to end with a note: The G.E./Rheem gas water heaters are a good water heater. The tanks last a long time! And if the unit is installed correctly, will do its job just fine.

I guess that this means either these particular plumbers are not in touch with their industry, or that they want to scare potential customers away from a water heater costing hundreds less than the same unit with the Rheem label. That said, I have been installing GE water heaters for over ten years and have had one issue in that time, and that was with a piezo starter, 5-min fix.

All I can think is that out of the millions of GE water heaters sold, that a certain percentage are not perfect, and these experiences are the only ones that really get shared with others. I wanted to share a series of good experiences so that other consumers might see some objective opinions. In closing... Over 300 GE water heaters installed, and one minor issue. And that is from "one" purchaser.

I had to pay an out of pocket fee of $500.00 to substitute the busted water heater for a new one, unrelated to the installation that costed me $900.00. The actual labor was more than the water heater itself! Starting with the brand new water heater as of 2013 of April, comes around February of 2014, and there is another bust around the top and bottom! It hasn't even been a year! Once again I notified GE Services and they can replace the water heater for it being under one year, but they will not pay for installation.

What's the point of giving me the same exact water heater that I've obtained twice that isn't meeting its terms with 6 years? At the point, I just wanted my refund but customer service refuses to do so. I talked with the manager and he hung up in my face! Horrible customer service. No Satisfaction Guaranteed. I will never purchase GE products ever again and I advise others to stay away from them as well especially their generic water heaters!

Once again I phone them and once again they are going to ship another overnight. It is now 4 days and no control. 26 days without hot water! I have called them to talk to a manager and after on hold for 30 minutes, gave up. Called back the next day and was told there was a wait of 2-3 minutes which turned into over 20 minutes. Talked to this person who wouldn't provide and help in finding out if the part had shipped. Contacted the head office and was told to phone the service number! They were NOT interested in providing any assistance. Still no hot water and I will never buy any GE product again.

I explained to him this was a R&R, (i.e.; Repair & Replace). That I replaced a defective 30 gallon natural gas heater with a new 30 gallon water heater. That the state Grandfather Clause voided the current new construction codes as long as no further renovations were completed with the repair. Then I asked the service tech how the lack of a shut-off valve and double wall stack affected the inoperative condition of the new water heater. He stated it should not have any affect and that he would continue the diagnosis of the heater. After preforming the checks he stated he could not find anything to prevent the heater from operating properly. He lit the pilot light and burner and the burner continued to shut down as before. The service tech stated he would submit his report to GE/Rheem and they would contact me in re the warranty guarantee. This was on 12/31/2013 and as of this date and time I have not received any service from GE/Rheem.

After he left I contacted The Home Depot and advised them GE had just left my home and did not repair or replace the defective water heater. That I still did not have hot water. They offered to replace the appliance or refund my cost of the unit. When asked about the cost of uninstalling and return transportation, Home Depot offered me $75.00 towards the costs. I declined because I had purchased a water heater that included a two year in-home full service warranty for parts and labor. The unit was factory defective and had never worked therefore the manufacturer should replace the unit at no costs to me.

On 01/02/2014, I had my contractor remove the new defective GE Water Heater and return it to The Home Depot in exchange for another heater of the same cost and model. I had shopped the local stores in an attempt to locate another brand of 30 gallon water heater, but learned this GE/Rheem unit was the only one available. So I opted to accept a replacement heater. He returned with the heater and reinstalled unit #2. I also had him install a gas shut-off for the unit. When he attempted to light the unit, the igniter would not spark to ignite the pilot light. What is the odds of two like appliances being defective? They had came from two different store. I notified Home depot of unit number two's being defective also. The store manager stated he would do whatever I wanted to resolve the issue. I said I would sleep on it.

At 11:40 pm that same night, I attempted to lit the water heater using my walker and a hand mirror. At first attempt the pilot lit and stayed lit. One minute later, I rotated the temperature control to 120F and the burner lit. The burner has stayed lit to this date and time, ‎Sunday, ‎January ‎05, ‎2014, 8:35:02 PM. As of this date and time I still have not received any form of warranty support from GE/Rheem Manufacturing Company of Montgomery, Alabama. The Home Depot has gone above and beyond policy to resolve this issue. While General Electric's Water Heaters has grossly failed in servicing the needs of its customers. I believe this product should be banned from sale in the United States. I personally intend to contact the State of Alabama's Attorney General to register a complaint of GE SNAFU! I have banned Sunbeam from my household for failure to support their product warranties and will do the same with the name "GENERAL ELECTRIC".

I waited about one hour and tested the water temp at my kitchen sink and found the hot water tap to be ice cold. I checked the heaters' sight glass and did not see a pilot light. I did not try to relight the pilot until the next morning when my wife lit the pilot using GE's instructions. The pilot will ignite and stay lit until the temperature knob is advanced to the first indicator setting, where the burner will stay lit for about 20 seconds. Then the pilot and burner both stop working at the same time as if the safety valve in the thermostat had stopped the flow of gas to them. I immediately contacted Home Depot.com/online sales who immediately passed the buck stating I would have to file a complaint at the store where the appliance was physically obtained. I purchased the unit online and paid with a bank draft through PAYPAL.

Home Depot contends I purchased the appliance at the location of my physically accepting delivery of the item. I disagree in that the item was paid for "online" and shipped free of charge by Home Depot to the location of acceptance. The item was loaded onto the truck by Home Depot employee(s). Upon arrival at my residence, the appliance was still in its shipping container and did not show any visible damage to the carton. I then contacted the store of which the appliance was obtained. BRENDA of Home Depot advised me I would need to contact the manufacturer (GE/Rheem) for warranty service as the unit had a two year in-home full service warranty. I then called the GE Tech Support Center to request warranty service and was advised I would have to pay a certified technician to remove the burner unit to determine if the unit is factory defective.

Lori and Daniel of GE/Rheem both insist the glass safety valve inside the unit has ruptured, sight unseen, and that it was not a factory defective. At this point in time after reviewing online consumer complaints as far back as 2007, it appears GE and Home Depot have been knowingly retailing factory defective gas water heaters to the public. At this point in time, both Home Depot and GE refuses to honor their guarantees. I am a low income disabled service veteran, Vietnam and Iran service, who feels I am being taken advantage of by too large corporations. Buyer BEWARE!!!

I call and they are going to send new thermostat, I need to wait another two days, I think they should send some person who can go and check the Water Heater to our house. I don't think it's a professional company, the whole week I was heating water on my stove, for all of my 4 kids. My newborn is only 4 months, my 1 year and 6 month, my 10 year and my daughter 8 years, imagine how frustrated was all this for me. I will f/u this issue and I will see if this thermostat fix my problem, and I have almost all my electrical products through them. Imagine.

Well I was wrong. The thermocouple part went out just over a year and half. Guess what??? Since GE only has labor warranty for one single year, therefore, I am out of luck. The damaged part only cost $10 and General Electric will provide that free of charge but the labor I had to pay from my own pocket:= $240. Give me a break!!!! Only after a short period of 1 and half year, I get problems with my GE water heater. Then I found out that the thermcouple part always goes out with General Electric water heaters in little over a year. What crooks!!!!!!

It's up to you if you do not want to take my word in regards to staying away from General Electric ultra low nox9 water heater and I feel sorry that Home Depot has to sell this crap to people. General Electric should be ashamed!!!!!!!!!!! Never going to buy any product from GE.

When I mentioned this to them, they insisted on 6" clearance, which means I have to build another closet! They said the pilot outage was caused by this problem. But when I mentioned that the pilot stays on when I increase the temperature to the hottest setting, they said that the outage at lower temp might be caused by an inadequate gas supply so I should get my plumber to check this out and that if this turns out NOT to be the source of the problem and the real problem is a manufacturing defect, I would still have to eat the plumber's charges. None of this made sense to me so I reviewed the warranty, noted that it states that under the 5-year warranty, I am entitled to "a replacement water heater should the tank leak after original installation."

So I requested replacement. They refused, pointing to clearly irrelevant terms such as the manufacturer's right to "repair" instead of "replace", which only applies to the unrelated 1-year original warranty, which had already expired. In almost the same breath, they said I had to pay for repairs and they only had to pay for parts! When I explained that they were misinterpreting and misrepresenting their own warranty, the supervisor said I needed to hire a plumber to contact them since I incorrectly identified the part from which the leak was occurring to be the "heater's outlet" instead of using the correct term, which was the "drain valve"! I confirmed with her (while looking at the manual) that the correct term was indeed the "drain valve." She nevertheless insisted that I call the plumber since I initially used the wrong term for the part.

From the above, it appears that Rheem will do whatever it takes to avoid replacing the tank per its warranty. I am now considering a consumer class action lawsuit.

The next morning we turned on the gas and followed the instructions and the pilot light would light up but as soon as we turned up the heat the unit would shut down. We tried it a second time with the same results. We then contacted the 1-800 number and walked through it with them online and they determined that it was a problem and sent out a technician the next day. The technician took the unit apart and found water on the heating element the door of the unit had been burnt and a sensor at the bottom of the unit had been tripped. (From my understanding the safety switch is located inside where the burner is. You must remove the burner and look inside. There is a metal pin standing vertical. That pin must remain pressed downward in order for the vents to open.)

They overnighted the part to our home and again the technician came out and installed the part. The pilot light again came on and he was able to get the burner to work. He left and about a hour later there was a BANG that came from the Hot Water Tank. The tank was Super Hot to the touch so I took and turned off the gas to the unit not knowing what happened. I called the technician and he came out again and found that the sensor had gone off. He installed another sensor and it went too. He was on the phone to your technicians and they said it was from poor gas flow into the tank or from a flue not working correctly. The technician checked our flue first and found that to be working correctly. He then had to leave and get the equipment that he needed to check the gas pressure and found that it was also working correctly.

After some time the technician found in the Flue pipe a piece of Insulation that was stuck in the pipe. He pulled out the insulation and it was burnt and discolored. He put in a new sensor and started the unit and it was working. But the problem is we are afraid that the unit is still defective because of the burnt door on the housing. We have contacted GE about getting a new unit because of the fears we have about this NEW units safety issues. They just keep tossing us from person to person. So we finally just turned on the unit and hope it is ok. I will NEVER buy another NEW unit from this company. I now live in fear that the tank is going to explode and they don't care. Corporate finance is before customer safety or concerns. Great company you have Jeff Immelt. If it was your house you have a new one I'm sure.

Should I had kept the leaking water heater and flooded the house? Should I had kept the bad water heater and took cold water shower during winter time? Never again will I use GE. The warranty is nonexistent. I have called various locations of Home Depot hoping the stores would take care of me. No. They all told me I would need to call GE first to get the authorization. Even if I got authorized, I could only get store credit to buy another GE water heater. I wouldn't buy another GE water heater or even want one if you were to give it to me for free.

My handyman replaced GE water heater with an old NonGE water heater. That old heater is still working fine without any problem.

Most other water heater last me 5-7 years without a problem. This has a new sealed door and an electronic igniter... I never had a problem with the old school that you had to light up with a match... I called the 800 number on the water heater tag. I had to wait 24 minutes on the phone so I hung up and will try it tomorrow... I will never buy any GE products. I paid over 770 dollars at Home Depot and I expected a better product. I have to get it fixed now and wait until it breaks down again so I can replace it with a different brand... I may go tankless now. They don't make things like they used to. They look fancy but that's where it ends - just looks. I bet most of those water heater parts are not made in America.

My advice to anyone - do not buy a GE water heater - People are always lulled into some false sense of safety by choosing a large well known company - however, it makes no difference who manufactures any product - it boils down to unreliable processes and people on the job - they turn out junk, charge a premium and we are left to spend money over and over. I guess it is par for the course - people nowadays tend to believe anyone in charge - they automatically assign them some level of competence due to position when nothing could be further from the truth. For years we have heard about how wonderful GE is - how wonderful their CEO is, how company profits have risen by 4,000% - of course because they are taking advantage of the consumer and the consumer has nowhere to turn - an arbitrary change in a warranty translates to a larger profit - and what is the consumer to do? Go back and buy another unit manufactured by the same company.

I have multiple units and will never buy a GE product again - I know this means nothing but it has to start somewhere.

Then they had to come a third time due to 6-2 flashing again. I spoke to the supervisor, Daniel ** at **. He was nasty to say the least. He said that it's a simple water heater and that the plumbers don't know how to repair it. I was told to have the plumber call him if they couldn't repair. They repaired, but each time, 1/2 hour after they leave, it does the 6/2 flash again. I received a call on 6/13/13 from automated to see how my system is running. I explained that it still doesn't work. We have resorted to turning machine off and on and waiting 1/2 hour so someone can shower. Machine will run for about 20 minutes. This is ridiculous that we have to resort to this.

I was told that I only have a one-year warranty when we have a two-year limited warranty. Also, on 6/19/13, I called Rheem and spoke to Tiffany. I was told they are not responsible for the water heater and that I would have to have someone come and repair it out of my pocket and that no supervisors are available to speak to me. She was just as rude as Daniel **. All I want is for the water heater to work. I will tell you this - that for all the houses that I've owned, I've never had this problem and never had been spoken to so RUDELY in my life. I will once again pay to have this repaired. I was told once they are here for them to contact Daniel ** to make sure they are repairing correctly. I will never purchase a GE Gas water heater again!

I called on Monday to get a tracking number or some kind of clue as to what was happening and eventually reached someone who told me that the part was on back order. I asked why they couldn't have told me that on Friday and he told me that the service department couldn't see the inventory at the warehouse. I was given 3 choices - 1) Wait for the part to come back in stock; 2) Pay a local GE technician who had the parts to come and install one and 3) Take the heater back to Home Depot for a credit.

I went for option 3. After reading all the terrible reviews of these heaters, I figured I was only in for more weekends without hot water and that this was a good way out. I went straight to my local, knowledgeable plumbing supply house and bought a Bradford White heater with the same size and warranty for the same price as the GE heater.

I understand that we live in an imperfect world and that things don't last forever but when you buy something rated for 9 years, you expect it to last close to that. Failing that, at least the manufacturer could keep the parts in stock, especially for a part that fails so frequently in an item as essential as a water heater.

He twisted it and determined that the high temperature resistant thermocouple is bad and is only producing 3 millivolts, where it should be producing anywhere from 15 - 30. It was his opinion that GE was well aware of this problem but hadn't done anything to resolve the defective part/design issue. He told me that I would have to order a "new pilot assembly" and have a plumber install it.

The research online leads me to believe that, as consumers, GE is taking advantage of us and there needs to be a more significant response from them. I'm obviously not the only person that will be out significant expenses for their blatant disregard. I would like to see a class action suit started. If interested, contact me.

I was told that even though the heater is still under the GE warranty, I would have to pay a plumber to uninstall the heater and put it in the middle of the room in order for the technician to have full access to the rear of the unit, before they would honor the warranty; after the repair, pay the plumber for another visit to re-install the heater, losing 4-5 days of hot water in my house. I paid $1,730.92 for this high efficiency heater, when a normal heater would have cost around $450, and now the high efficiency portion will not work unless I pay an additional unknown hundreds of dollars for two plumber visits. What good is the GE warranty? Plus I wasted $1,280.92.

I called Moen and they immediately sent new stem, which I installed. That wasn't the problem, so I called around and received several different answers as to what it may be. Come to find out that the anode in the tank is failing and needs to be replaced. GE says that part is not under warranty. What a load of crap. This water heater is 14 months old, and this whole issue has been going on for several months. Never again will I ever buy another GE product. I have had nothing but trouble with the GE dishwasher I have, and the same thing with the GE stove and GE microwave. GE will never get another cent of my money. I don't care how much I can save on a product - if it is made by GE, I will not buy it. Beware!

I'm losing 4-5 days of hot water in my house. I paid $1,730.92 for this high efficiency heater, when a normal heater would have cost around $450. Now the high efficiency portion will not work unless I pay an additional unknown hundreds of dollars for two plumber visits. What good is the GE warranty? Plus I wasted $1,280.92. Unhappy GE customer.

From Jan. 1 to 9, the water heater did not work. The day after he replaced the part, we heard a loud boom coming from the garage where the water heater is, and again, the pilot went out. I called them back and this time, he showed me how to light it just in case it went out again. It went out again a week later. I called for service; I took off work to meet him. He called GE factory and they said it was the lack of gas pressure coming in from the gas meter. The loud boom sounds kept occurring and I told the plumber and the gas company about it.

I called the gas company out, and they tested it, and it was within the normal range of gas pressure. Again a week later, the pilot went out and I called the plumber back. This time, when he called GE Factory in Alabama, they said it was poor ventilation in my garage which was causing the unit to shut down. They told me to have a window put in the garage, next to the water heater to provide air flow. I had a doggy door 12 inches away from the water heater but it was not good enough (By the way, I've lived in this house 24 years, without a window in the garage and never had an airflow problem!).

So, we're now at day 35 of "sometimes we have hot water, sometimes we don't have hot water". My family and I were going to the gym daily just to take our showers! One day, I smelled a major gas leak in my garage and called the emergency line for the gas company. They came out in 20 minutes and found the water heater pilot was off, but didn't detect an immediate leak. Meanwhile, I was calling Home Depot, Better Business Bureau, Assurant extended warranty service ... to complain!

I told them I don't live in a Third World Country. On Day # 52, when the plumber came out to replace the TRD, he found a (his words) "serious safety problem" whereby the glass tube under the water heater, inside, had burst and it was unsafe. That's when I called Home Depot in Atlanta to say I'm going to take them to court because their serviceman found an "unsafe situation" and he ordered a part to replace. At that point, I no longer felt safe in the house knowing that water heaters have been known to explode. That evening, the local Home Depot store called me to say they would be out on Monday to replace it with an identical brand new water heater. So far, so good. All I can say is that GE is garbage, made in Mexico, and they do not stand by their product.

We called in on Sunday, but the office was closed. Still with no hot water, it was no fun with a wife and a daughter. I asked them to boil the water and wash with it. She said that we are back to third world country. We called in on Monday and described the problem. The lady knew it right away and said that it was built near the flame and the insulation was burned out. She said that, "We'll get the part the next day." Today is the next day. We have been waiting for it the whole day. Now is 5:30PM and we have not received the part yet.

We are very disappointed with GE, Rheem and Home Depot. The water is not well built. Usually, after you replace the water heater, you forget it for about 10 years. But it's not the case with GE, Rheem and Home Depot.

I paid around $500 for the heater at Home Depot. He says this is a known money pit, and this ** about not paying for labor makes it a real rip-off for the unknowing public out there that assumes that manufacturing defect means they should pay for the parts and labor, or do some kind of recall for these pieces of junk that Home Depot is selling. I had two Reliance Heaters that worked so wonderful until years after their 5-6 year warranties, with easy to light pilots, which was also another problem with this unit. It is hard to light the pilot as well. Never again, Home Depot. Fooled me once, I got the message loud and clear!

I still believe this was so they could resolve the solution and blame the customer for not having the correct wiring connected to the water heater. So I called a certified plumber to come find the problem. He states that the top element was grounded and there is no problem with the gauge of the wiring connected to the water heater. I again called the warranty support line to find out that they would not replace the element until the wiring was replaced, which the plumber stated was not the case. This would be the first and last time I will ever buy a Rheem or GE product. Their warranty service line is a joke. They make every effort to close out a problem to the company's satisfaction, not the consumers. Please make every effort to buy any other product besides GE. It will only save you constant headaches dealing with their customer service personnel.

I was informed by them they would only ship me a repair part (pilot light wire assembly) and that I could use a "universal thermocouple" until the proper repair part arrived in a couple of days. I attempted to disassemble the burner to replace the thermocouple. This turns out to not be practical unless you have instructions and probably a shop to work in. It's not something that can be easily done lying on the floor with standard hand tools. At this point, I called the plumber and told them to replace the water heater because my tenant could not wait any longer for hot water. Upshot is, the warranty is useless because of the time and effort needed to get anything done and the only thing that is provided are parts. Because of this, I will never buy any GE product again and will recommend to anyone who asks me that they not buy any GE product.

The level of abuse received from the Home Warranty program to replace a foundation appliance in my home is unbelievable. Home Depot's decision to treat their customers without expediency and positive resolution when one of their products fails is a sure way to confirm that I will never purchase a single item from their stores again.

Now I've been told the unit is unrepairable and will be replaced under a parts warranty but I have to pay for delivery and installation. Not only has this unit not saved me any money, it has been like a money pit instead. When I stated this to the call center, I was told that that is just what happens with new technology. Well, I guess that's what I get for trying something new. I am now done with their new technology and won't say here what I'd like to tell them to do with it. I am not going to take delivery of the new unit that will probably fail in 18 months. It will save me money in the long run to cut my losses. I will never purchase another GE product again.

Oh by the way, in order to do the job you need "special" tools! Like a correct size "Torx" screwdriver, small metric combination wrenches, small socket set with universal, extension bar and ratchet, flashlight, and a skilled mechanical aptitude. You'll also have to replace all the gasket material you destroyed when removing all the parts. This really sucks. When I know I paid the extra money for a 12 year water heater, I expected at least 12 years out of it! Never, never, never again will I buy a GE water heater, based entirely on a bad product.

Finally, I called GE back and got another representative. She directed me to someone who said, "We have no plumbers in your area so call any plumber and have them diagnose the problem. We only pay up to $125. Then you have to send a W-9 form and the invoice to us to get reimbursed." I cannot believe this is happening. I will never again buy another GE hot water heater. If the tank is non-repairable, they will replace it they said. That might be the only good thing.

They ordered what GE thought was the problem and 5 days later, the parts arrived. Then, I finally took the day off work and the guy from their shop arrived and said, "Well these parts are no good. Defective also." I got on the phone with GE and they agreed to send more parts. Then, I am supposed to call and have these guys come out again to try to fix it. I have tenants that go to work and have no hot water. Does GE care? No. I called and said, "Please, get me another new heater. We cannot wait to see if your guesswork will yield a working heater." Apparently, the tech who came out said this unit has big problems and even GE knew exactly what was wrong before we told them the heater number.

I spoke to a rude man on the phone at GE and I said, "Please get me a heater that works. I have a 6-year warranty!" I paid $2,000 for this piece of garbage and they said, "Okay, we will get you another one, but you need to go to Home Depot and get it." I said, "How do you expect me to do that? Rent a truck and workers on my dime?" He said yes. We won't pay for that. Oh, I see that they will replace it but I need to disconnect the old one, haul it to Home Depot and haul another back? I'm not a mover, that's absurd. Don't ever let any plumber install a GE product in your home, you will regret it!

Yesterday, my son woke up out in the apartment to water the covering of the floor. I turned off the power and water. And upon inspection, the water heater was spewing water from the top heating element. I sent a message to my landlord who had gone home. She called GE and they gave her a runaround, but finally told her to get a licensed plumber to come and look at it because we must have "dry fired" it and it was our fault. So I was able to get a guy out here today. He came in and metered the element. No continuity - so bad element. He took it out, inspected it, and there was only about 3 inches of one side of the element. The rest is just gone. He told me that there are wrench marks already on the element and that it looked like it was used. I told him that the unit is new and the label even says it was manufactured April 2012. He insisted that it is used and that it looked like someone took a bad one and put it in this tank.

So I gave him the claim number and telephone number to the GE customer service department. He put on the speaker phone so I can hear the conversation. GE went through the whole thing with him: “did you meter it, did you do this, that and the other thing?” He told them yes to all, explained that he is a licensed, experienced plumber and that the element has old tool marks and looks used. GE said that since it is only the top element, they are not going to warrant it, it was dry fired and that made the old wrench marks, and we would have to pay for everything out of pocket. So I called the landlord and explained what is going on to her. She is livid. This thing is 5 days old and they are giving a runaround. She called GE and they agreed to warranty the parts and up to $125 in labor. But I was told to save the damaged one as evidence or some such.

So, while GE is going to warrant it at this point, I have to come up with an addition expenditure of money and go through the runaround GE gives. I recommend that anyone who reads this go with another brand. GE products are shoddily made and they will try every excuse possible not to take responsibility. It may cost an extra hundred or so upfront, but you will get that back not having to have a plumber out and be home on two different days (the plumber has to come back Monday; no one here carries the specific element to keep the unit in warranty) and not having to pay for it. Good luck and stay away from GE water heaters.

He read the tag on the relief valve and informed me that the instruction on the tag states that the relief valve needs to be inspected and/or changed every three years. I asked him if he had ever had the relief valve changed, he said he never had the relief valve inspected or changed since he had the heater installed. My questions are: How really did the hose ruptured? Am I right to assume that due to failure of the relief valve to open, it might have caused the pressure to be built up which subsequently caused the hose to rupture? Why the relief valve failed to open and if the relief valve did not open at the elevated pressure, what could have caused it to fail to do so? Is it true that the relief valve was supposed to be inspected and/or replaced and/or every three years?.

Now that he has the hose replaced, is there still a possibility that the new hose may also burst since he has not had the relief valve inspected and/or changed? Should he immediately have the relief valve inspected and/or replaced? Who should he contact for inspection of the heater? Please give us a contact in Dallas area to have the heater inspected in order to avoid the problem to re-occur. The water heater has been in use since 2004 and is now ten years old since it was manufactured in 2002. Should he replace the water heater? He has two water heaters working alternatively. Should he replace both the water heaters if your recommend replacing them?

We asked to speak to a supervisor again. Well we did get through to one that time. Once again it was our fault that it wasn't working. The man admitted that they don't check their product before it leaves the factory and there's no way to look at an element and tell if it's no good. We finally gave in, wrote down the numbers we needed and went to get a new element. Once we got home, we took out the element. It looked like it had been used for many years. It was bent, burnt, rusted and 2/3 gone. After reading all the complaints we have now read, we're going to cross our fingers and hope that nothing else goes wrong. GE really needs to get the quality of their products up.

This product has 6 year warranty. But if you want a replacement, you better claim in the first year. After the first year, you will get replacement parts unless if your tank leaks. Last time in cold winter, the tenant called us because there's no hot water. The heater, again, had failed. I called GE for help. A lady from New Jersey told me to reignite the pilot. However, the heater pilot fire wouldn't light up and I was smelling gas. After like 5 minutes and there's no smelling of gas, we went through the troubleshooting and disconnected the rubber piece between the orange and black wire. I pressed the igniter and there is no spark. The lady said the igniter had failed and she would ship out a new part. However, we couldn't let the tenant go without hot water in cold winter for few days. That was unacceptable. I told her GE has a bad reputation and I demanded store credit or a full replacement. She said no. I asked her what it would take to get a replacement, she said if the water heater had ruptured.

So the warranty is a scam because you would still be spending your time and money fixing this product over and over again. With all that money and time, you would be better off buying another heater. If your life is too easy and you want some drama in your life, get this heater. If you don't mind the expenses of having to call your handyman, this is your heater to get. If you want runarounds from GE warranty department, get this heater. I prefer a long-lasting, trouble-free heater and once it's installed, we don't want to look at it again for 20 years just like my other ones. We want to be a good landlord. Definitely, we don't want to inconvenience the tenants so we will say no to GE.

Over the next few days, I kept noticing the smell of gas outside the house. The water heater was still working and I was getting warm showers, but that smell outside persisted from time to time. Even the mailman noticed and mentioned it to me. Soon after, the heater started "blowing out", and after futile attempts at reigniting it, it didn't want to work. I called the customer service number on the unit. Even though I mentioned all the above facts, the person I spoke to said it was probably the control valve located outside of the machine. She had me do some little tests from what I remember, and she determined that this is what the problem was, and she would send me a part.

Great, I thought, another couple days of having to go to the YMCA for a shower, since I belong but, whatever. I get the part, put it on, and there was no change. It still doesn't work. I called again, and talked to a different person. He says that perhaps my drafting isn't right. We continued talking, and determined that the element had blown out. He said he'd send me another one, but he was sure that the problem with the gas smell was on my end, and is again, a drafting problem. I told him that I had a water heater for 26 years that never had a drafting problem, and he said “well, the water heaters today are designed with a higher standard than previous generations”. It didn't make sense to me, since a gas water heater only operates by simple physics, heat. What else?

Anyway, he sends me a new element. My buddy comes back and puts it in. It operates for a while, but I got the same problem. My HVAC friend tells me to tell them that I need a whole new burner mechanism, as he alluded to from the start that he didn't like the way the flames were burning. I called the 800 number again, and of course got a new person. He looks up my past conversations with them and says, "well, we have diagnosed your problem, it’s your drafting. The problem is on your end. You need to have your chimney looked at". I told him that is ridiculous, because the HVAC guy is telling me that it is the burner that is the problem. He, the arm chair HVAC guy says again, “no, the problem is on your end, we have diagnosed your problem. It is not our unit”.

I told him, “Well, I want you to come take this piece of garbage out, and give me my money back. I'll get one from a reliable place”. He said, "no, the problem is on your end, and you need to do something to correct it on your end”. I said, "so, are you saying that I'm stuck with a faulty water heater and that I cannot return it?”. He, the armchair plumber said "Yes, you cannot return it". The next day, I returned it to Home Depot. I did not have to raise any cane in returning it. I only told them that it was a huge piece of garbage, and showed them my receipt, etc., as well as bad mouth it to every customer who was in sight and in the return line.

I will continue to badmouth this product to anybody who asks me. Unfortunately, I could return it but I had to get the same unit. I did so. My friend and I re-installed the same unit, this was about October 2011, today is March 2012, and I have had no problem with it yet. It fired up once at the beginning, and has never faulted since. At times I had considered, and was going to call the 800 number again and ask for Jose's boss to tell him that if he was my employee, he would be disciplined for poor customer service, but I let it go and let it go until now.

For no other reason than to at least air this out, as I am thinking he has probably been telling other consumers the same, and that the problem is on their own end, when in fact it is not. I may still call, but this is my first step in airing my complaint against their super poor customer service!

This time GE said that "due to government regulations", which they couldn't specify over the phone, they couldn't send out a second unit. I said, "Tou mean for free?" and they said, "No, we can't send one out at all." They said, more or less, that we or the plumber must be doing something wrong and that we would have to get a new water heater--at our own expense. This seems ridiculous to me, and the most affordable options in my area are Kenmore or A.O. Smith--and those both seem to get plenty of complaints too. I'm glad I don't own a home yet.

She never had me check the lower element. I received the part, and replaced it myself. When I got home from my family on 1/1/2012, there was still no hot water. I read something online about the reset button, so I pressed the reset button, and that seemed to work. I thought everything was okay. Well, this morning, 1/5/2012, only 4 days later, there was no hot water! I am really ** off! I have a product with a 6 year warranty, that barely works properly after 3 years. My old water heater worked for 17 years without problems. They don't make them like they used to. They make **!

The heater has been a piece of crap from day one with knobs falling off. The heater is not giving hot water for hours and then the water would be very hot. We complained to Home Depot about the second day we had it and they talked to the plumbers who said we needed a bigger unit. So we have been waiting to get the bigger one, which won't be available until December 14. Meanwhile, we get an explosion of water running down from our ceiling!

We will pursue this with GE as instructed by Home Depot, but I'm sure we will have a fight on our hands. Meanwhile, we can't go without a hot water tank as well as having soggy carpets and hardwood popping up. So we will have to call our homeowners insurance and get these things taken care of. What are we supposed to do? This is unreal!

When I complained, he stated that hot water heaters have condensation and leak naturally all the time (Do they just think that women are stupid or do they tell this to everyone?). Never have I had one do that. So, I asked if there is only a cup of water after the 2 hour test. Yes, that would be the natural leak and condensation. How about a lawsuit? GE can pay for my hot water heater from a competitor.

After researching comments about these units, I am wondering if it would be better to buy another brand and have it installed. If I get the same piece of junk, I will probably be in the same boat with all the parts going out soon! I can't believe that GE would put out such a bad product. The part we received was made in Mexico....hmm! It's part of the reason, I am sure. So that being said, I am heading for my video camera and will be placing a video on YouTube to try and warn other consumers of this situation. Someone needs to hold these companies responsible. I believe I have a lemon and should be provided a new unit and a service person to install it. I will not be buying GE again, nor will I purchase at Home Depot again. Signed, Disappointed, Disgusted and Dirty.

Well, just under a year, my water heater no longer heats the water (no pilot light). I tried to start it up again with the piezo electric starter until my fingers turned raw (yes, it really did turn raw) and I walked away not being able to light it.

I asked Home Depot about warranty and they said I can return it but only for another GE water heater.

This is the worst water heater I've ever had and I do property management on almost half a dozen properties, so that's saying a lot about the Quality of GE water heaters. Do not buy a GE water heater.

I called Home Depot who referred me to the GE warranty department. GE states that they will reimburse up to $250 to replace it, but it must be an authorized plumber. When I asked who is authorized to do the work, they referred me back to Home Depot. I again called Home Depot who referred me to an 800-number. I called that number and got a phone number to a Home Depot contracted plumber who gave me a bid of $550 which would mean that I would have to pay and extra $300 out-of-pocket for a water heater that should have never gone bad. I called Home Depot to speak to the manager. The manage refused to take my calls or help me out. I feel that I was swindled

According to the quick reference guide that came with the washer, it should have 3 water levels; a small load, large load and super load. It has a diagram that shows how high the water level will be to the short agitator. But like I stated before, the water level does not change. I called the company with this complaint. I spoke with Anna, a consumer rep for GE. She told me that the only thing she could do was to offer me another washer with a discount. I would pay $399.00 and she would have someone to come and remove the one I have. I declined her offer. I called back and made an appointment for a repairman to come out to see if there was something wrong with the washer that could be fixed even if he could adjust the water level.

On 6/8/11 the repairman came to check out the washer. He looked at it and told me that this washer only has the one water level. I went and got my quick reference guide and showed it to him. He said, "I don't know why they keep giving those things out, it does not go with this model.” I said, “Well, that is false advertising. Because I am expecting the same results that I see on the paper work that came with the model.” After he left, I called GE and talked to another rep (John) at 12:45pm. He took my complaint and said that he would have to give the info to Anna because she has my case. He put me on hold, went to talk to Anna, came back and said that she would call me after she talked to the repairman to see what his report said.

Anna did not call me back that day or the next day. I called back today 6/10/11. I talked to Karin (10:3am) she put me on hold and went to talk to Anna. She came back and told me that she could have a part sent to me and have a repairman to come by and put it on the washer. The part is a taller agitator. I said ok if it will fix the problem. But after I hung up the phone, I realized that that will not solve the problem because the washer does not have water levels (only the one). So I called back and this time I spoke to Ebony (10:22am). I explained to her that I had just hung up from talking to Karin and asked her if I could speak back with her.

Ebony pulled up the info and said that she should be able to help me. I told her that I did not want to use the replacement part that Karin suggested because it would not solve the problem because the washer does not have water levels. She put me on hold and went to talk to Anna. She came back and told me that Anna would be calling me at 12noon. It is now 2:53pm and I have not heard from Anna. Please help.

Now, both elements are burnt out again. Multiple calls were made and transferred to multiple people, departments, and states, each with another contact and all have info on the unit. Persistence paid off; they finally agreed to replace the unit. I was given a number, but my model number is no longer made (2 years). So I paid for the unit and was given a store credit.

I also got approval for $50 on labor cost, but labor was $255.00 (this time). And almost the same last year, the unit cost is $349.00. I looked on a website, and there have been multiple complaints on GE units. They should not be able to sell and should be responsible for faulty products.

I finally received a call a week later from *******. They informed me someone will come on Monday 03/07/2011. My wife did not work that day to wait for a tech to arrive; tech did not arrive or called. I called again, they informed me they will be at my house 03/08/2011. I took the day off from work; nobody showed once again. I called several times. Their response was, "We will call you back." 3 weeks later, they informed me someone will come today 03/17/2011 and once again nobody showed.

I called a plumber who checked the heating elements and temperature only to find everything was working properly. I called Home Depot who advised me to call the manufacturer. So I called the number on the tank only to be told no one could look at it since the sale date was over a year ago and even though we bought the nine-year warranty it was only good for the tank. When I told the lady what the problem was, she told me that 40-gallon tank only puts out 28 gallon of hot water. I asked why then was it called 40-gallon and she told me it holds 40 gallon of water but only heats 28 gallons. She also told me it would definitely not fill my tub. So I called Home Depot back and the best they could do was to give me a discount on another heater.

This is in my opinion is a total ripoff. If it says it's a 40-gallon tank, it should produce that much. And funny how the sales rep didn't even know this. I wouldn't recommend this hot water tank to anyone! We went to another store and bought a new 40-gallon tank that puts out 53 gallons of hot water. Imagine that! Costly lesson learned!

I went to their website to check on the status and found that it requires a confirmation number which I never received from the rep. Needless to say, I have removed the unit and will be returning it to the Home Depot and then will find another store to purchase a hot water heater. I have a number of GE products, but I will never buy another one again.

I called Home Depot and should have known I was in for the runaround after I spent 15 minutes on hold waiting for plumbing to pick up. I called on my cell phone and talked to a manager at customer service and explained that I was on hold on my other line. She put me on hold a 2nd time and after 15 minutes, she came back on & said she couldn't find anyone to help me, so she would try. I explained that I was having a plumber bring in the old water heater and to pick up a new one and gave her the serial/reference number so they could have it waiting (because plumbers are not cheap by the hour).

When my plumber got there, he called me and said that H.D was only willing to give me $150 (store credit) for the old unit (G.E. policy) and that I could purchase a new G.E. water heater for $400 plus. I tried to explain that G.E. had told me it was under warranty & that H.D. would give me a replacement. She told me that was not going to happen. I told my plumber to go somewhere else to purchase a water heater & just bring me the store credit card.

I called G.E. back and after wading through their automated system, and as soon as I started to explain what had happened, I was mysteriously disconnected. I called back and asked to speak to a supervisor. I finally got one, and explained the whole situation. I was told that that was H.D. return policy. I said I am not concerned about H.D. return policy. I had a G.E. water heater under G.E. warranty. Then came the bombshell. If H.D. does not have the exact model that you originally purchased, they will only give you a $150 store credit toward the purchase of a new one.

Here is the kicker. I have been replacing water heaters for over 28 years, and almost all water heater models are changed every 2 years. So G.E. knows that unless you are one of the luckiest people in the world & have a mom & pop hardware store, who happens to have some 4 or 5 year old water heaters in stock, your 5, 6, 7 or 9-year warranty is only good for 2! This is a scam! (Can you say class action?) Yes, they do say in their warranty that you have to exchange it with the same model, but they know the odds of that are less than winning the lottery. I buy 60-70 appliances and 8-10 water heaters a year, but you can bet your life that none will be G.E. and none will be purchased from Home Depot in the future.

I also had a problem with a washing machine and their maintenance man came out and looked at it and said it would cost $400 to fix it. Well ,you can buy a new one for $400.00.

I think General Electric products are just getting worse and worse. I am done with them.

This morning (8/3/2010) when my family went to take morning showers, there was little or no hot water. Not so bad since it is summertime in Florida but "where's the hot water"? I found that the circuit breaker for the water heater had tripped, so I reset it and went about my business. Then the more I thought about it, the more concerned I became about that breaker tripping. So I turned it off again and proceeded to inspect the wiring on the water heater. The wiring job done by the installer was okay but when I looked at the factory wiring of the upper heating element, I could see why the breaker blew. The black wire was stretched across the blue wire that connected to the heating element.

The blue wire had an excess of insulation skinned back and where the black wire crossed the blue wire. Eventually the insulation on the black wire burned through causing a short. This is a potential fire-causing hazard. I don't know if anyone has reported this but I am now and it should be known by all who have these GE Electric water heaters that this problem should at least be inspected to ensure no one loses a life because of this faulty wiring. In my case, since I was on the ball and somewhat in the know of what to look for, the only problem was I had to tape the wiring and re-connect a couple of wires. I thank heaven that I had the ability to recognize and repair this potential life-threatening situation myself.

I explained that it would leave me with no hot water. I explained it needed a new controller. She said, “Again, not till you have a meter in hand, test it with me on the phone.” The unit blew with such force that it expanded the PVC pipes so I have to replace all of them to even turn the electric back to the unit. I also went to purchase a controller. My problem is it was a good amount of money to purchase the 12-year warranty, and I have no satisfaction.

I thought hot water tanks that one pay $1000 to purchase and install should last much longer. GE is not in the business of manufacturing products or in customer service. I do not plan to ever again purchase another GE appliance. Each call to GE has taken at least two hours of dealing with morons. I am out numerous hours of aggravation and a total cost of roughly $2400, which includes replacing the hot water tank.

This current tank is leaking after only 18 months in our home. Serial number is GELN0808A09484. The model number is SC40T12AVH00. I don’t feel we should have to pay labor costs on a new tank because of the faulty tank. Our kitchen carpet is wet, ruined. Tile in family room where the hot water unit is located is starting to pop up.

Water tanks hold water. That's their main job and therefore the most important and expensive element. But if water escapes from the water tank too bad. No coverage. And the service rep said it was right there, in small print black and white. Too bad I didn't read the teeny-tiny small print. Could have saved hundreds of dollars in the false belief we were doing the right and sensible thing. Our new water heater cost us $1600.00! Its supposedly guaranteed for 7 years. But knowing "the small print" that may only be visible under a microscope we're not really counting on it. Boo GE Extended Service warranty! Loss of hundreds of dollars in "insurance coverage" that didn't exist, and the cost of replacing the new water heater, $1600.00!

The new water heater had a 12-year warranty, but lasted only 2.5 years before gradually losing the power to continue to heat water. During this time, I noticed that there was some water coming out of the base of the water heater. This water accumulated in an adjoining storage area and damaged some of our personal property. I once again contacted Home Depot to inquire about this and follow up about the "warranty". I was told that they could arrange to get us a replacement water heater exchange and we would have the additional cost of installation! We had the water heater replaced as soon as the plumber reported that it was indeed defective. He was instructed to leave it on the premises with us.

Upon speaking to the GE/Rheem rep. I was told that our home owner's insurance would probably want to inspect the defective water heater when we file our loss with our insurance company! I told them that due to the product being defective, I did not believe that my homeowner's insurance policy should have to pay for their defective product! That was the signal to me that they don't intend to own up to their defective products and just want to pass along the damage to my insurance company and therefore, I get to pay higher premiums in the future!

The battle was on. I insisted that they inspect the defective water heater and they decided that they would dig their heels in and tell me that I would have to take responsibility to return it to them! They had no intention of coming to the property and once again, they reiterated that I should file an insurance claim with my homeowner's insurance! Eventually they agreed to ship the 60 gallon water heater via FedEx freight, but I would have to find a box to box it up and send it out in.

We did not ask them to fix unreasonable amounts for the art work lost, we minimized as much as we could and got estimates to have them professionally restored. In the meantime, the insurance company for GE / Rheem finally decided that they would come to my home to inspect the area and the damaged items. They concluded that the items were damaged by the water heater but that they were waiting for the official report from GE/Rheem's inspection dept. where we sent the defective water heater.

Today, about 3 months from when this all started, the insurance company for GE / Rheem claims that the water heater had water corrode it from above and that is why it failed - not their problem! What? There is nothing above that area that has water and nothing "from above" has water damage! I feel rheemed by Rheem and GE! I wish I had not replaced that defective water heater with what will most certainly be another fiasco with their products in another few short years!

Please, there has to be other people dealing with this sort of thing and we are all taking the brunt of GE / Rheem not taking responsibility for their defective products. Is this just like Toyota denying responsibility? Is this what large companies do now? They produce garbage products and let the consumer deal with the fallout? Our basement storage area suffered from the water leak, which resulted from the defective water heater. I lost a number of items, most precious of which are paintings, pastels, and sketches from an artist that I believe is on the cusp of being discovered.

I had a technician out and said this is a problem with GE. This is GE problem that they have had. I need to have GE replace the problem since it was their fault. I was told to have it replaced by the manufacturers. The technician was not involved but does GE defect.

This had happened before when warmed up worked. Not this time. The Ice works fine. Please contact me to take care of this manufacturer problem. Please help, I am disabled have had GE recall before and it was not fun. Thanks

Yesterday the thermocouple went out again and I went to Lowe's to get a new one but now they have a no cost replacement assembly that includes everything but the burner plate. The new part includes the manifold door, pilot tube, thermocouple, and a new thermal switch to turn off the heater it the combustion chamber over heats.

I have also had a lot of trouble with deposits inside the H2O heater and was told by GE to drain the heater, pour 1 gallon of vinegar into the water intake pipe and let it set for about 4 hours and then flush. I have never had to do this with a H2O before. I will never buy a GE H2O heater again as well as any other appliance again. I lost one complete day without water, auto gas to find the replacement part, and time to replace the defective part. At least I have not had to put out any money like other people have.

When I ask to see that policy in writing, they of course could not produce it. It obviously not worth repairing so GE will not even try. And they stand by their policy that they are only responsible for returning my money. Yeah now, that it cost twice as much to replace. Meanwhile, while fighting this issue, I'm left with no hot water and a flooded bedroom and garage.

Tonight, I'm having the same issue and I'm ready to find the nearest GE dealer and deliver via their window. After reading all these complaints, I would like to know if anyone has ever received a replacement heater.

However, since I do not have the height clearance to do a straight pull out, the water heater will have to be completely disconnected to perform this and would cost about half the original price of the heater. I find it sad that GE no longer will stand by their products and further that clearly their products lack quality. I'll end up wasting a total day replacing this anode and hope to get a few more years out of a water heater with a 10 yr warranty that apparently was only good for 2 and a half years. What a total piece of junk combined with completely apathetic customer service.

We got the shipment the next day, and the plumber started installing. After an hour, it was found that a missing part was not shipped with the original package. The call was made again to GE, and the supervisor we spoke promised the part will be shipped the following day. However, it was not. Unfortunately, this was a weekend, and the shipment will not reach us until 2 days later.

We were already out of water for 4 days. We also had a 3-year-old baby who was sick and needed attention in the middle of all this. We were very frustrated by the back and forth telephone calls. Also, we had to pay the contractor / plumber for all 3 days of their service and labor. We would not be needing the labor if it was not for a faulty gas valve which was supposed to work for 6 years.

After a lot of phone conversation, GE offered (they thought they are doing a favor to me) a new water heater but declined the installation and labor fees. The labor and installation came around $800 with which we could as well go and buy a different brand and install it. We were just stunned with no option and now waiting for the parts to arrive.

This was one bad experience, and we would never buy another GE product. I am not able to understand why GE is not responsible for all the labor. This was their faulty gas valve which is under warranty. I wouldn't be needing any one, if it didn't break.

The technician argue and was very rude. While attempting to tell him their findings, he told me not to over talk him and he knows what he's doing. The pressure reading he was talking about was also done by the others and pressure was find entering control valve, yet according to both customer service and their contractor the problem was in gas line. Not wanting to fight anymore, I went to Lowe's and bought a whirlpool water heater and with no changes other than water heaters. The tenant now has hot water. This was the second one purchased in one year.

Well, we called our local guy and told him to replace the unit thinking we could get some credit after reading what a bomb these heaters are. I called Home Depot and told them of what had happened. The gentleman I spoke with actually felt sorry for us and said if we could get authorization from GE, they would gladly return the unit and give us credit. I called GE only to get the runaround. When I told them we replaced the unit already, they said there was nothing they would do. They said they didn't know if the unit was actually bad, after all, how would I know, and that the unit might have been able to be repaired. When I told him of all the things I've read on this unit, the complaints and what the repair person had said, he basically said too bad. He did let it slip that if we reinstall it, he could have someone out to confirm what I had told him.

When I told him fine, I'll reinstall the unit so he could have someone out, he hemmed and hawed and said they didn't want to put us through all that. I told him no problem, I just want something to be done and for a refund. He then changed his whole tune and said the warranty was not valid because we already replaced the unit. I asked to speak with the manager and after being put on hold forever, I was told one would call me back. Well, one did after about 2 hours, only the background noise was so loud like he was at a party or something. I couldn't even hear him. After screaming in the phone and him asking 4 times if I was who I was, I hung up on him. I figured it was bad enough that I couldn't hear him, but he couldn't even hear himself!

We will never buy anything from GE again! Getting the new unit cost us $800.00 that we did not plan on spending. When we bought the original unit and had it installed for a grand total of $1250.00, we thought we would have a solid water heater that would last us for 10-15 years at least, much like the last one we replaced that lasted 20 years! GE products stink!

2nd issue - I had a different plummer come and check out my unit to make sure that it was the hot water heater and nothing else and he siad it was because he put the snake through to make sure nothing was stuck etc. I explained all this to both GE and Home Depot. Home Depot suggested that I go through plumming. I informed them that I had already gotten the approval from GE and they agreed on the even exchange. They sent a man to come look at my heater. He did ntohing but (while standing up) look at the water in the pan under my water heater, then he claims that it is indeed broken and proceeds to charge me for that. According to B's plumming, it is procedure. Why? My independent plummer already informed me that it was the water heater.

I am a single mom and I am being taken advantage of. I now have to pay more than $1000 to get somebody to do this for me, get a new heater etc., but I don't think it is right that I am being jipped out off my warranty. I am paying several times more than what the heater is worth. GE sold me sub standard product which lasted me only 3 years, they are washing their hands off the warranty and now I am stuck. PLEASE HELP!!

On 07/17/2008 10:00 AM I spoke with another technician named Carmen and told her that I didn't do anything as I didn't feel right doing something that only a professional can do. She provided me with a reference number 1601296. In addition, she told me that they were going to send some local technician to take care of the problem someone from Corliss And Son Mechanical and that they were supposed to contact me within 24 hours. After the 24 hours no one from Corliss and Son Mechanical called me so I called back GE at 1-800- (On 07/17/2008 3:30 PM) was on hold for about one hour... there were no signs of any available technician so I decided to call them the next day. During the same day I called Corliss And Son Mechanical... No answer either, Left them a message with my contact information as well as reference number.

On 07/18/2008 Called GE at 1-800-431-1549 and Spoke this time with a man called Jeff at 8:11 AM and basically told him that their technician did not even reply back... It was then decided to give Corliss And Son Mechanical another chance to contact me. If not, then and only then according to Jeff I could get any Qualified Plumber to take care of the problem.

07/19/2008 11:32 AM: Decided to call GE at 1-800-431-1549... but they were experiencing a high quality volume so I tried another number 1-800-626-2005 to be specific. I spoke to Kelly but could not help me out at all so I had to retry the 1-800-... but was told that they were having some issues with their lines... Therefore I decide to go on line. Sent them an email with my concerns.. but till this very day I have not heard or had any form of reply... My family at this point is suffering from the lack of hot water (Sanitary reasons...ie., Dishes, Laundry,shower, etc)also registered the product on line.

07/21/2008 6:28 AM: Spoke to a man called Jorge and told me to go ahead and get any Licensed Plumber. Provided me with with a warranty claim number: A0913.

07/22/2008 4:49PM: Researched several Plumbers... AV Plumbing agreed to take the job and their phone number is 661-533-1234. At the time I spoke to Kathy and provided her with all the basic information (i.e, Model, serial number, GE's telephone number, Warranty claim number, as well as reference number, etc)told me to wait till confirming everything and if approved then will send a Plumber in between 3:00 PM to 5:00 PM.

07/23/2008 3:30 PM: The Plumber from AV Plumbing came and worked on the unit he did pulled everything out cleaned the burner with a brush , cleaned the flame arrestor, and vacuumed the unit. In addition, he did replace the Thermocouple as well as the Gas valve; Also inspected the the vent cap on the roof... but in spite of it all the burner kept on failing, that is to say that it would not stay lit (Smothering)

07/25/2008 2:03 PM: Called GE as based on the Plumber Instructions he needed new and original parts. Was on hold for almost half an hour and a man called Jose answered but the line was disconnected.

Called them back at 3:00 PM spoke to a man with a little bit of attitude called Jose. upon explaining to him what had happened he was in a preaching mode telling me and demanding from me to do something to the unit myself... which was to remove the burner and do something else.. I tried to explain at this point to the man that I lacked the tooling as well as the knowledge to tamper with the unit. At this point I demanded to speak to a supervisor as I could no longer take his attitude and unwillingness to cooperate with me. After almost half an hour on hold he Supervisor answered her name was Laura... I explained everything to her and said that at this point all that my family wanted is an operational water heater and asked from her if it was possible for them just to send another water heater.. but refused as she said that they have to go follow the same procedures that I already went through to begin with... (Looping the problem). She also explained that the Plumber from AV pl;umbing was not supposed to change the gas valve nor the Thermocouple... that he was supposed to call them in order to follow their instructions. Thus Laura told me to call AV Plumbing and to tell them to give them a call in order to arrange having the plumber to communicate with them and see what resolution to the problem they could come up with.

I heard nothing from anyone at this point. So, I decided to leave a mesage to AV plumbing to see what was the status.

07/26/2008 8:00 AM: Sharon from AV Plumbing replied to my inquiries and told me that GE only wanted to cover one hour of the Plumber's Labor and that it didn't guarantee that even if the plumber followed GE's Instructions the water heater would work. At this point I decided just to return the unit. tried to call GE but no answer... My family as well as myself are very frustrated...

I still have the receipt from the Home Depot. The Unit cost was $439 dollars. The Home Depot's location is W. Avenue P Palmdale, California, 93551.

I want to return the unit but based on my experiences with GE I think that they are going to give me a very hard time and they will try anything to convince me to get stuck with a lemon.

I just wanted a water heater, tried to be civilized with GE but they don't want to Please advice what should I Do... I want to report them to the consumer affairs for their bad attitude and unprofessional manner of conducting business. My family is not provided with hot water which is essential for a good Hygiene.. I have a small daughter which is getting sick from showering her with cold water. In addition, we have to do laundry only with cold water and the dishes are being washed with cold water as well.. and if I do some yard work at home I have to wash my hands with cold water and I'm very concerned with passing germs to my family.

I asked my plumber to purchase an electric hot water heater for me and install it in my home, and on May 2, 2008 he did so. After the installation it was discovered that the unit was not heating up and most likely defective. I then requested that my plumber un-install the water heater and return it to the store where he purchased it. At that point he informed me that once it had been installed it was under warranty, and I would have to contact GE to do the troubleshooting and repair on the faulty unit.

I contacted GE technical support and complaint dept. several times about the problem I was having with the heater 5/2, 5/3, 5/5 & 5/6. At this point I had a brand new heater that didnt work, paid the electrician for his work; I owed the plumber for the cost of the hot water heater, delivery, installation and labor. GE gave me the name of one of their service technicians: A1 Plumbing/ Al Hague, who was supposed to call me, but never did.

I called to make a second complaint for needing service -- they then referred me to College Air, Plumbing and Heating. At no time did GE tell me that I would have to pay the contractor for service or labor. College Air contacted me on May 6, 2008 and asked what the problem was with the hot water heater unit, I told him it was not heating up and in the interim of my first call it was leaking water from the base and had partially flooded the cellar. He said that they would get back to me, and did not do so until he called to tell me that he was almost at my home and had my new heater on his truck and he wanted $250.00 in cash or else I wasnt going to have any hot water.

I went on to protest stating that my new heater was under a 6 year warranty which covered 1 year in home service on parts and labor so I shouldnt have to pay a dime more. I informed him that I had to pay my electrician and plumber for the original installation only 4 days prior to this on a new hot water heater. He asked me do you want it fixed or not I said yes I want it fixed. He told me that I should be happy to be getting a brand new heater, and he didnt have time to waste to troubleshoot replacement parts. At that point I was at work and his strong armed tactics got the best of me and forced me to call my Son and my Cousin to borrow money from them so that I could have the installation done. This is the closest thing to extortion that I can imagine. Here I am paying for two installations of two hot water heaters in less than a week.

I want GE to reimburse me the $250.00 that I shelled out to those Creeps from College Air, Plumbing and Heating as my former and current Hot Water Heaters are under warranty for parts and labor. I also intend to contact the Better Business Bureau about this horrible experience Ive had. What happened was totally reprehensible.

Paid for appliance that was under warranty. I want GE to reimburse me my $250.00 I had to pay to Sears.

Two years later, it sprung a leak on a Friday evening. Called the 800 number,had to guess which pick to choose. Finally a person said she'd transfer me to the GE warranty line. She clicked off. The hotline was closed! Found another GE water heater service number. Rude man answered, impolite, sounded like he was aroused from a drunken stupor. Just wanted info, not helpful. Said they'd ship a part if needed, but I had to hire a plumber to diagnose.

Decided to cut my losses. Called local gas and electric utility. Within 24 hours I had a fine new AO Smith water heater, courteously installed.

No more purchases from Home Depot. They don't care about their customers. Aggravation.

I had to purchase a new water heater and install it. It cost $350.00 to replace the unit plus my time and inconvenience.

I was away and my husband went back to Home Depot and bought one for approximately $1,000.00. I never liked it. It never seemed to run right, however after only 3 1/2 years, I found that milk I had bought the day before had curdled and my butter was soft. The freezer section had thawed out food in it. I immediately called GE, certain that it probably was the compressor and happily the compressor had a warranty for five years. A service man came the next day, replaced a computer board that controlled the self defrost mechanism and told us not to plug it back in for 24 hours. IT WAS NOT THE COMPRESSOR. That 20-minute visit and repair cost us almost $300.00. When I complained that this was one-third the price we paid for it, he suggested I buy a service contract for about that same amount.

My husband and I are retired. WE cannot afford to pay $1000.00 for a refrigerator and then another $600.00 to keep it running. That weekend, after shopping for the week, we went away for four days certain that the refrigerator was working well. When we got back, about $100.00 worth of groceries was rotting away in my hot refrigerator. I called Service immediately. Apparently the first person did not notice that the sensor was the real problem and this new man replaced that. This morning I woke up to a freezer with ice in it despite the new self-defrosting computer chip. Probably I can keep calling until someone admits it probably is the compressor and replace it rather than trying to get out of the warranty. I find these practices intolerable. These expensive items should last for over 3 years and if they aren't made to last, then the consumer should be told so we can find a product that is decently made.

My story is not over. Eight months ago I bought two new dishwashers (one had lasted 30 years, the other just under 18). One dishwasher became increasingly difficult to close the door on until I couldn't get it to run at all. The other one had too much water left in the tub at the end of each cycle. Fortunately, I was still under Warranty and to your credit again, someone came right out. He readjusted some things claiming they weren't put in right, blaming it on the installers. I did not have to pay, but he did inform me that if they weren't under warranty, I would have paid $120.00 EACH machine just for him to do about 5 minutes worth of readjusting.

Needless to say, I will never buy another GE product. Maybe this is not a big loss to the company, but I am not going to leave it there. I think we consumers are lemmings. I intend to send a copy of this letter to my congressmen, to ARRP and maybe start a class action suit against the unfair hidden costs of owning an appliance from GE such as Warranties that cover nothing, outrageous service contract prices and most of all the inferior nature of all products. I think I should be paid for the extra monies I have had to put out because I chose to believe you made a good product, not to mention the loss of my groceries and my time and inconvenience. I consider the advertising fraudulent--make a substandard product and don't stand behind it. I just read where the CEO makes 20 million a year in bonuses. He does not deserve it! The best thing I can say is that the service department responds rapidly, but then why not, they are making a bundle out of every product you sale.

Instead of replacing the heat element or fix the problem immediately, Doug Turner Plumbing asked us 1) to installed the release water pressure pipe; 2) connect a pipe to the hole on the botton pan of the water heater; 3) and call GE to issue another ticket for Doug Turner Plumbing.

We installed the pipes and call GE the same day, the same ticket number was issued to Doug Turner Plumbing. We called Doug Turner Plumber on 11/20/07, the lady who ansered the called was not kind, she complained that GE could not tell her what to do nor knew their busy schedule, so Doug Plumber will not come out until Mon. 11/26/07. On 11/26/07 AM, we called Doug Turner Plumber reminded the coming, the lady who answered the call, put us on waiting with radio on for 30 minutes. It seemed GE wanted to fix the problem, but the plumber was reluctant to come and wanted to pay more for more trips.

The old couple live in the house, one got sick from taking cold shower for 7-day during a week of ThanksGiving; Another got burn from heating water over the stove, triped and fell. Both about to file a case against the owner.

In turn, i, the owner of the house may end up to have cases against Home Depo and GE for sale defective water heater. I asked Google and found that the GE defective water heaters are known, why GE did not ship another the heat element with the water heater and instructed people to replace if needed?

We were given a refund from HomeDepot, but are out the cost of the electrician and installation of the new hot water heater ($300). GE refuses to reimburse for any and all costs since they sent a plumber who replaces the parts.

Guess what GE? For an additional $300, I can buy a brand new name brand unit and have it installed, and IT'S NOT GOING TO BE GENERAL ELECTRIC! Between my fathers repairs and mine, we've already paid twice what the original unit cost.

$237 for the replacement of the coupler, and this is the 5th time it has been replaced since 1999.

Water was coming from inside the heater, through the jackets.

Plumber opened heater, it was full of water. GE heater removed, and replaced with another brand.

I spent a full day, loss of work, to be with plumber while heater replaced. Sheetrock and wallpaper damage to downstairs bathroom.

it just leaves me and my family without hot water for another day until we get it fixed, again. the tank is only 3 days old.