Hey, I noticed that there was a little bit of talk about the Marathon electric water heater on here, and thought I'd give you what I found with mine. My old propane water heater developed a very slow leak, so I had time to check around before buying. Here are some of the things that sold me on the Marathon.
Lifetime tank warranty. They say it's not prorated like most steel tanks are, just if it every leaks you get a new heater. It's got a poly tank, not steel. Even the other parts such as thermostats and elements have a 6 year warranty.
Super insulated. One place I saw that it only looses 3 degrees in 24 hrs, another place said 5. That pretty much rules out the argument against tank heaters that you are heating and reheating a whole tankful of water even when nobody is using it.
Payoff period. The initial cost is a little high--maybe around double what you would pay for an el cheapo at Home Depot. I found a website that gave the # of BTUs that the average family uses in a year's time. It had everything broken down into how many kilowatts/therms/gallons of energy it would take to create this many BTUs. When I plugged in the numbers for electricity and propane in our area, even assuming that propane will stay the same price (it has gone up since), I figured that I would get back the difference in price in approx. 4 years. After that it'll be saving me money.
Brand name. Marathon water heaters are made in the US and are a division of Rheem. Rheem has a good reputation from what I've heard. It's not just some start up company that may not be around if you do need to cash in on warranty issues.
Solar Applications. I have interest in adding some kind of solar setup in the future. I bought a Marathon so I wouldn't have to buy another storage tank when I graduate to solar.
Here's a real-life example of how well insulated this tank is. This summer we went on a several week trip. I decided to turn off the water to the house, and also turned off the breaker for the water heater. Some time while we were gone, my sister-in-law asked about using our washer since their washer wasn't working. I told her how to turn on the water and the heater. When we got home, I turned the water back on and assumed that my sil had left the breaker on. My 6 year old climbed into the bathtub to get cleaned up from our trip. She was already in the tub with a bunch of water in it when she said something about the water not being as hot as it usually is. By turning the water all the way to hot, she got water that was easily hot enough to finish her bath. I knew what had happened and quickly turned the breaker back on. Several days later, I had the chance to ask my sil when she had last used the water and when she had turned off the breaker to the water heater. After comparing notes I discovered that the water had been unheated in the tank for a few hours over a week!! And after a week, it was still warm enough to comfortably take a bath. That sold me on the claim that it looses very little heat just standing there when nobody is using hot water.
This review is long enough. I just thought you might be interested in hearing some real live data. Sometimes you don't know what is advertising hype, and what is the real deal. I think this is the real deal. Send me some questions if you've got any.
Kansasplains
Lifetime tank warranty. They say it's not prorated like most steel tanks are, just if it every leaks you get a new heater. It's got a poly tank, not steel. Even the other parts such as thermostats and elements have a 6 year warranty.
Super insulated. One place I saw that it only looses 3 degrees in 24 hrs, another place said 5. That pretty much rules out the argument against tank heaters that you are heating and reheating a whole tankful of water even when nobody is using it.
Payoff period. The initial cost is a little high--maybe around double what you would pay for an el cheapo at Home Depot. I found a website that gave the # of BTUs that the average family uses in a year's time. It had everything broken down into how many kilowatts/therms/gallons of energy it would take to create this many BTUs. When I plugged in the numbers for electricity and propane in our area, even assuming that propane will stay the same price (it has gone up since), I figured that I would get back the difference in price in approx. 4 years. After that it'll be saving me money.
Brand name. Marathon water heaters are made in the US and are a division of Rheem. Rheem has a good reputation from what I've heard. It's not just some start up company that may not be around if you do need to cash in on warranty issues.
Solar Applications. I have interest in adding some kind of solar setup in the future. I bought a Marathon so I wouldn't have to buy another storage tank when I graduate to solar.
Here's a real-life example of how well insulated this tank is. This summer we went on a several week trip. I decided to turn off the water to the house, and also turned off the breaker for the water heater. Some time while we were gone, my sister-in-law asked about using our washer since their washer wasn't working. I told her how to turn on the water and the heater. When we got home, I turned the water back on and assumed that my sil had left the breaker on. My 6 year old climbed into the bathtub to get cleaned up from our trip. She was already in the tub with a bunch of water in it when she said something about the water not being as hot as it usually is. By turning the water all the way to hot, she got water that was easily hot enough to finish her bath. I knew what had happened and quickly turned the breaker back on. Several days later, I had the chance to ask my sil when she had last used the water and when she had turned off the breaker to the water heater. After comparing notes I discovered that the water had been unheated in the tank for a few hours over a week!! And after a week, it was still warm enough to comfortably take a bath. That sold me on the claim that it looses very little heat just standing there when nobody is using hot water.
This review is long enough. I just thought you might be interested in hearing some real live data. Sometimes you don't know what is advertising hype, and what is the real deal. I think this is the real deal. Send me some questions if you've got any.
Kansasplains
