Whirlpool Water Heaters Consumer Reviews - Page 5

E, VIRGINIA -- My Neighbor bought an Energy Smart hot water heater just like I did. His energy smart board went out before mine. Of course mine went out the beginning of a three day week-end with no help. Anyway I was reading problems with high electrical bills with these units. Solution, Install a $40.00 dollars 24 hour time clock on it. My water heater only comes in 1 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening. If you need extra hot water just push the manual button. The savings is great. What's interested is how the electric utilities company explains to you why you should add the time clock.

CANTON, MICHIGAN -- 5 year old water heater, burner won't stay lit. Thermocoupler is the problem. $6.00 part. American built the water heater for Whirlpool. American uses a left hand threaded coupler, while the standard is right handed. Can't get the part. No one in this area carries it, and it seems this water heater part is on recall (never got a notice). I called Whirlpool, but their water heater division parts/service number has been disconnected. So I sit here on this Saturday morning with no hot water, no part and waiting for the repairman to come with a new $800 water heater to install. Last Whirlpool appliance I will buy.

ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI -- Bought a water heater from Lowe's on 2/15/2008. Last night on 2/22/09 noticed we didn't have hot water. Saw that the pilot light had gone out. It was about 10:30pm, and while I could get it to ignite, it wouldn't stay lit. So I figured I'd call in the morning. Today I called customer service, talked with a foreign speaking lady. From what I got from her is it would be a few days before someone could check it out. If I needed hot water that I should ignite the pilot and hold the valve down for a while and it should warm the water up a little. HOW RIDICULOUS IS THAT!!!! She quickly apologized and hung up.

So when Lowe's opened I went up there. The customer service representative there called Whirlpool and they basically told him the same thing. Finally they said they would get a part to me, and for me to call a service technician to get it put on. This is the worst customer service I have ever witnessed! Whirlpool has lost a customer for life!

HARTFORD, ILLINOIS -- I have a major complaint about the hot water heater that I purchased on May 4, 2008. I have had to have the ignition lighter replaced then now it is the entire heater. The person that came out says he has to replace the entire inside. He is changing everything but the tank itself. Do you know what it's like not to have hot water for over a week? Heating water to wash dishes is bad enough but when I have to go somewhere just to take a bath that's pretty bad.

I bought the Whirlpool because I thought that was the best brand because I have a washer and dryer that I have never had an ounce of trouble with. This heater is less than a year old and thank goodness it still under warranty but what happens when it goes out after May of the year? I paid a lot of money for this heater and being on Social Security I do not have money to spend for a water heater every year! Whirlpool is supposed to be a great brand but I can tell you now the hot water heaters suck.

BEAVERCREEK, OHIO -- My plumber bought a brand new Whirlpool Electric water heater and installed it. It did not heat the water above 90 degrees and it had condensation on the upper thermo. cover plate. Called company, they do not have a valid return policy. You can not just take the heater back to the store that you bought it from (Lowe's). I went with the plumber and Lowe's gave us the money back. Lowe's will not get the money reimbursed.

Lowe's spoke with Whirlpool. My plumber had to go to another town and purchase another brand of water heater and lost money on this job. I would not buy a heater from Whirlpool. This defect was a manufacturer's defect and they do not stand behind their product.

TEXAS CITY, TEXAS -- Water Heater problem. First mistake: I purchased a Whirlpool Water heater from Lowe's. I paid an expensive electrician to install it. Water heater did not work. We placed it back in the to return it to Lowe's. When I returned it to Lowe's, Lowe's asked me to call a 1-877 number (customer service in India). I was told I was not allowed to return this water heater to Lowe's.

This item was faulty from the factory. Nowhere on the box does it say "Do Not Return To Lowe's." There is a sticker on the tank, but I bought this item in the box, and so my second mistake was trusting Whirlpool and Lowe's. If I had known that Lowe's does not stand-by their products, I would not have bought from Lowe's. I bought a no - name brand water heater from McCoys and it works fine. I do not want to keep a product that was broken from the factory.

I will make sure that everyone I knows how Whirlpool and Lowe's does business. I have three homes and many remodeling products going on all the time, and I will not buy any Whirlpool products, and I will make sure all my contractors are aware of this, so they can warn others about this.

SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS -- We bought a new Whirlpool electric water heater. It was installed on Saturday, we didn't have hot water until Monday. We attempted to get it serviced on Sunday night by calling Lowe's (where it was purchased) but we were told we had to call Whirlpool. Whirlpool is only available during the week. Luckily, it started heating on Monday. Then a week later, it quit working.

We called Whirlpool who gave us a number to call. We called it and the repairman told us the heating element was bad and that it was tripping the breaker. The repairman charged us $69 just for telling us that. He also mentioned that Whirlpool sucked! Apparently, Whirlpool doesn't have a contract with any service company, so the customer has to pay. We argued and supposed to get reimbursed.

Now the problems is that we still have a water heater that is still not working properly. We are expected to get a person to come in and repair it after we go out and get the parts. This stinks... Whirlpool needs to get their act together. This type of service is not living up to the Whirlpool name that we are used to. If this continues, they should consider changing their name to WhirlPOOP!

DALLAS, TEXAS -- We bought a 40-gallon Whirlpool Flame Guard hot water heater in 2002. We kept having to replace the thermocouple, although we weren't aware that other owners of this heater model were doing the same thing. Last week, I went to buy yet another thermocouple at Lowe's, only to find out that Whirlpool had produced an "enhancement kit" for those who owned Flame Guard and Flame Lock models. There had even been a class-action lawsuit, which I didn't know anything about. Lowe's gave me the enhancement kit free of charge. It replaced the entire assembly, not just the thermocouple.

The problem is, after installing it, the thermocouple still would not stay lit. I finally called a plumber, who said I needed to replace the main gas valve as the thermocouple's stupid left-hand nut had stripped the threads. But he couldn't do it. Seems the heater is made so cheaply that he couldn't drain the water out without causing a flood, as the drain cock was plastic (not brass) and cross-threaded to boot. So I called Whirlpool.

I didn't get any help, except to be given the number of a "Whirlpool approved" plumber who wanted $175 just to walk in my door. Seems I was out of warranty so I was out of luck. This seems goofy, as the problem ALWAYS existed - I just didn't know about it until I went to Lowe's last week. So... I can spend another $175 for another plumber who may or may not be able to repair the heater, or buy a whole new heater. Whirlpool doesn't want to know or help. They won't even reimburse me for the plumber's invoice.

OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA -- We too, have the Flame Lock hot water heater made by Whirlpool. We found that if you call American Water Heater Company and give them your tank number, if it is the one that is faulty, they will send the new part out for free. We called one day and the next day, DHL Express delivered our part. My husband put the part in but had trouble. He called the assistance number included in the box and was walked through the process without hassle.

Our hot water tank would not stay warm and the flame kept blowing out. There is a class action settlement going on and now American Water Heater Co is trying to accommodate as much as possible to rectify the situation. Hope this helps you. Thanks.

ELIZABETH CITY, NORTH CAROLINA -- I had continuing problems with the water heater electronic controls since installing it. It never maintained the proper water temperature varying from scalding hot to luke warm. It ran up my electric bill over $100.00 on 2 separate occasions. Whirlpool sent me a new circuit board the first time and I replaced it. The last time I removed the heater and hauled it to The Dump. I have replaced it with an Power Miser 12 from Sears. End of problem!