Have you purchased a GE Geospring hybrid water heater? (washer, Lowes, Air Conditioner)

[DougStark]

I live in the Chandler area and purchased a GE Geospring hybrid electric water heater about 5 yrs. ago. All was fine until two weeks ago when the unit quit. Parts have a 10 yr warranty- labor not warrantied.

So, I called the Customer Service number on the machine and had one of their GE technicians take a look at it (about a 5 minute look for $90 plus dollars for the service call. Parts were free.) The tech said they don't repair the units. (I wish tech support had told me this upfront.) The tech ordered about five parts, which arrived by FedEx.
After removing and replacing the parts (elements, thermostat, and other elect parts), the unit still does not work.

Needless to say, I'm not pleased. But by doing the math, I've figure I've saved about $2500 dollars in electric over those five years compared to a conventional, electric water heater (natural gas is not available in my area.)

So, I've decided to bite the bullet and buy another brand new GE Geospring unit again (the price has dropped to $999 now.) The new units are now made in Kentucky; mine was made in China. So I'm hoping the quality of this new unit will be improved over the Chinese made one.

Do you have any similar experience with this type of water heater? I'd like to hear what others have to say.

PS- There's no way I'm buying a conventional, electric water heater; they're energy hogs. And I don't think a solar water heater is without its own unique problems either.

[PNWGuy]

How did you calculate you saved $500/yr?

[PNWGuy]

Nm, I see the energy guide online says annual cost is $220. My 50 gallon electric water heater says $600/yr, thus approx $400/yr in savings. What you are forgetting though is that your garage in the summer is probably 120 degrees, providing additional heating of the water, reducing the amount of electricity needed to heat the water. But that is nit picking.

Can you tell me how noisy the water heater is? Our tank is in an exterior closet adjacent to the front door, I am worried the sound will be heard through the walls.

[hikernut]

Wow, that's pricey!

We have natural gas, thankfully. We run two water heaters, a BBQ, clothes dryer, and cooktop all for just a little over $400 for one year.

Could you run propane? I have a co-worker who lives in Scottsdale who has a propane tank for some appliances.

[Pink Jazz]

Originally Posted by hikernut

Could you run propane? I have a co-worker who lives in Scottsdale who has a propane tank for some appliances.

The OP should probably check that with the HOA, since some HOAs do not allow large above-ground propane tanks, thus the tank would have to be buried, which would be a major expense. Since propane is not a common heating or water heating fuel here in the Phoenix area, I wouldn't be surprised if many HOAs here disallow large above-ground tanks.

Also, due to propane water heaters being unusual for the Phoenix area, local availability might be limited.

[DougStark]

Thanks for the suggestions to switch to propane. I've briefly considered this option because I prefer gas vs. electric for cooking. But, the effort to convert to propane doesn't seem worth it to me.

As far as the GE Geospring water heater noise: mine's in my garage, so the minimal fan noise it makes while running doesn't bother me. What bothers me is GE's poor service, especially my experience where the technician wasn't even allowed to "fix" my broken water heater. I'm just going to bite the bullet and buy another new one from Lowes. Our crappy, hard water doesn't help things either. But I detest salt based water softeners (for many reasons), so I don't plan on putting one in to reduce the scale build up for my new water heater. Hopefully I'll get 10 yrs service out of this new one.

PS- If you operate the hybrid water heater in the heat pump mode exclusively, the electric savings will be even HIGHER that what the energy label states. The yellow energy label assumes the homeowner will be using the unit in the hybrid mode (a mix of conventional electric water heating and heat pump modes.) In my 5 yrs of operating the unit, I've gotten sufficient hot water in the heat pump mode alone.

[azriverfan.]

Don't buy expensive appliances. It's not worth it. They don't last and you have to end up replacing them anyway. Appliances aren't designed to last a long time like they were in the past. I bought two expensive LG front loading washer/dryer 5 years ago and I already have to replace them. I have rental properties with cheaper appliances and those have lasted longer than some of my personal more expensive appliances.

Whether it be a water heater, dishwasher, microwave etc. buy an inexpensive appliance, don't buy the warranty and expect to replace it in 5 years. You don't have to buy the cheapest appliance; get something reasonable but definitely avoid the ones with bells and whistles.

I would not buy that GE hybrid. And in my experience, all of these latest and greatest (solar etc) promise the moon and rarely deliver when it comes to savings. They are just gimics. Even with SOME of these hybrid/electric cars, the additional cost to purchase the vehicles is more than the gas savings you would achieve with them.

[Pink Jazz]

Note that since April of last year, the minimum energy factor for 50 gallon electric water heaters is now 0.95, increased from 0.90.

[PoppySead]

You basically have an air conditioner on top of it. If it's not leaking I think it could be repaired but that could run, depending on the problem, as much as getting a new one. If you need any advice pm me and I'll be glad to help you. I own a plumbing company.

[hikernut]

Originally Posted by azriverfan.

Don't buy expensive appliances. It's not worth it. They don't last and you have to end up replacing them anyway. Appliances aren't designed to last a long time like they were in the past.

Yes, this is extremely frustrating to me... very expensive appliances and mechanical systems needing to be repaired and even replaced so frequently. A friend of mine bought a brand new house a few years ago, and within the first two years he had to (1) replace one of the air handlers for his A/C, and (2) have the control board replaced in the GE refrigerator.

I suppose it's mostly the relentless pursuit of cost cutting that's at the root of the problem? I also wonder if more stringent regulations are to blame? Whatever is happening, I'm getting tired of it. I don't need any more bells and whistles, or appliances that send e-mail to the repair shop. I just want something that works! Good luck, I guess.