Customer Reviews for Westinghouse 50 Gal. Ultra-High Efficiency/High Output 10 Year 76,000 BTU Natural Gas Water Heater with Durable Stainless Steel Tank

So far the Westinghouse high-efficiency gas water heater has been really good after my DIY install. Upon startup it heated 48 gallons of 58°F water up to 130° in about twenty minutes. Performance since has been great. The old standard 50 gallon gas water heater it replace struggled to keep up with a family of four's demands in a 3000 sq ft house. This unit seems for have no problem with anything we have (purposely) tried to throw at it - laundry, dishwasher, and two showers at the same time just to see - and it was fine. No sign of lacking hot water. There was a lot of concern regarding multiple reviews stating combustion noise. I had contractors ready to come and balance the mixture, but there was no need. We fired it up on a Saturday night and it was quiet, heated up 400 lbs. of water, and never was an issue. My fingers were crossed but it turned out not to be an problem whatsoever. One of the contractors said that people might have mistakenly been using a propane unit in a natural gas application or vice versa. In addition, they said they had never had a noise problem starting up a high efficiency direct power vent furnace or water heater. It was fairly easy to get home from the store after delivery. We had to take it out of the crate but it fit into the back of a Honda Pilot SUV, but the full package would have easily dropped into a pickup truck, van, or minivan. It is not unmanageable heavy at 155 lb. but not as tall as a typical unit. (It is only 44" tall.) Of course it was no joy getting it into the basement, nor was getting the old one out a great time. Strapping it to an appliance dolly and having two people made it about as easy as possible. The manual was good and easy to understand for a DIY application. I recommend this water heater to people looking for 95+% high-efficiency upgrade to the typical 60% efficient machine. It is not a one-for-one replacement when you have to install the direct power vent system but the hot water makeup and the energy savings are worth it.

I have installed two of these in the last few weeks (1 LP and 1 natural gas) and I am very impressed with this heater. Due to the length of the exhaust and intake pipes, the settings do need to be tweaked a little and you need a combustion analyzer to do that. After adjusting mine with the analyzer, it makes no noise and runs perfectly and no error messages. I also have recirculating pumps on both my heaters and they work together well. I am truly amazed at how quickly it heats water and I feel that a family of five (with a 50 gal. heater) would never have to worry about running out of hot water. I can't testify to the longevity because of the short time I've had mine, but other than that, I give it 5 stars in all areas.It took about 3/4 day for the first one and about 1/2 day for the second. I was legal to use local intake air and I used a 2 in. exhaust.Good instructions for the install and adjusting and a YouTube video by HTP (maker of the device). I read a review that said he ran 3 showers for a long time it kept up and actually turned off and on showing it had capacity to spare. You can find used combustion analyzers for about $250 or buy a new Fieldpiece new for $350. All said if you want capacity and stainless steel tank for longevity I highly recommend this water heater.

Excellent, fantastic product, resulted in my gas & electric bills to dropping by about $55 combined per month. Lots of detail required to DIY setup, but if you take your time you'll be fine. Upsized air lines (in and out) to 3in Schedule 40 PVC. Natural gas supplied in 1/2in pipe, 1/4psi from the utility. Was loud at startup, had HVAC come in and adjust the Honeywell Gas Valve to HTP specification (this is an HTP Phoenix Light Duty branded under the Westinghouse name for the consumer market - parts are identical to HTP, no cost saving downgrades to move kit) using his manometer & combustion analyzer. Unit was tuned exactly to factory spec when startup low 'hummm' would occur. Gas had to be adjusted slightly to the richer side, CO and CO2 readings went up slightly, but the unit started and ran silently thereafter. Recovery time is incredibly fast, such that the unit will be combined with an air handler for auxiliary basement heating function. pH of condensate is about 2.9, therefore invest in a condensate neutralizer, as the unit produces copious amounts of acidic condensate. Would buy again, no doubt about it.

First one leaked from condensate drain cont into sump “leaking tank” next one to replace under warranty failed same way unfixable in slightly over one year??? Terrible product horrible horrible Westinghouse customer service

This water heater is the greatest I've ever seen and I personally LOVE it but beware... Your natural gas pipes in your home and the regulator from your utility must be in perfect working order or you will have issues. The slightest sizing or pressure issues are pretty much guaranteed to cause you grief. A combustion analyzer is a must IMO. Why buy an efficient appliance and use it at less than optimal operation? I had mine set up and was getting howling/foghorn sounds and ignition issues. After much frustration I decided to set this up on my own and I'm glad I did. I replaced a restrictive gas shut-off valve with a full-port ball valve and hard piped everything to remove a small section of gas flex pipe. That made it 95% good to go. A tweak to the gas valve using an analyzer made it 100%. I can't emphasize enough how quickly this tank heats now. I can get a 10 degree rise in 1 or 2 minutes even with a shower running. Seriously it's worth the effort to get it running.

I was not happy with the unit, when it arrived the control box was loose the cover was not in place so it did not support the the control box during shipping.I had to take everything apart and try to remount the controller but some of the screws were stripped,some screws that hold the lcd and buttons pcb in place were also missing,not good .

Awesome! 4.5 stars w/ pluses and minuses. First, if you are buying this for energy savings alone, if you have natural gas, think again. It may be the lowest operating cost per year water heater out there but the difference in operating cost with natural gas between this heater and a regular energy star non-condensing heater which cost $1200 or so less just for the water heater (not even considering installation costs which are substantially higher for the westinghouse heater) your gas savings based on national averages, is only 30-50 dollars per year. For propane, your savings would be substantially higher since propane costs more. Second, I'll speak to the quality of materials--exceptional. This heater has a stainless steel tank, therefore, it is much more durable than the regular non-condensing water heaters out there which have either glass coated steel or baked enamel linings. Too, regular tanks have anode rods which sacrificially corrode to protect the tank from corroding. Taken together, these two things help prevent your tank from rusting and ultimately leaking. But very few people flush their water heaters every six months as recommended to remove sediment and mineral buildup and even fewer inspect or replace their anode rods. I am not an engineer, however, I know it has to be cheaper (but not better) to build water heaters with steel tanks with anode rods and glass line them than to build them with stainless steel tanks otherwise, there would be more stainless water heaters out there. Why aren't there more stainless steel tanks? For the same reason people don't install slate roofs which last 100 years. Obviously, people aren't willing to pay for them. They ignore their water heater until it busts and they haven't planned or budgeted for a new one. Third, this water heater performs like a champ. I mean BOOM, it performs. A regular 50 gallon water heater produces about 41 gallons of hot water an hour at 90 degree rise and they typically have first hour ratings in the 75-80 gallon range. If you love long, hot firehose showers (which are practically regarded as a right of citizenship in the US) or if you have a large jacuzzi or garden tub (as I do) or a fancy shower, teenagers, or a large family, a normal 50 gallon water heater, is a pretty lame performer. This westinghouse heater will knock your socks off producing 100-200 gallons of hot water in an hour and it recovers in minutes and it is capable of producing a near continuous flow. Nothing can beat that but a tankless heater but they will break the bank and you have to delime them once a year or they don't last. Fourth, this thing is expensive. $2,000 to buy and I had to run the vent pipe 21 feet out the side of my house which wasn't cheap. But, you most likely won't have to upgrade your gas service or run a larger gas line as you would with a tankless water heater since this thing is only 75,000 BTUs instead of 160,000 to 200,000 BTUs for a tankless. What should you do? Depends on your circumstances. Money is a factor obviously for most of us but my question is why do we have disposable water heaters which we spend $1,100 on national average to replace every 8-10 years? It seems Westinghouse has the answer to that merry go round replacement but the premium is over $1500-$2000 or more over the average. Like most things in life good things are seldom cheap and cheap things are seldom good. Is it worth it? For me it is because I love the hot water particularly in the winter when I want to roast in a hot tub and I like knowing the thing uses less gas than anything else out there. I just hope the thing lasts. The tank should for certain. And I think this thing has been made long enough to get most of the operational bugs out of it. Pros: bang up performance, hot water super fast, stainless steel tank, appearance, durability and quality of materials seems high, energy cost very low; Con: ROI, not so much, more complexity, venting requirements which adds to the cost of most installations and the heater itself is very expensive.

the heating system was more complex then advertised

I bought mine in early 2017. The only way it's been able to operate reliably is with a flap over the inlet to act as a choke, otherwise it would not fire half the time. And even when it does when starting it sounds like an old Chevelle I used to have when I'd try and start it in freezing weather. None of the techs I've called in the East Bay will touch it because they're all afraid of it being 'different', even though the gas valve is exactly like that you'd find on any furnace. What a bunch of #$&@@!

I recommend this product, yes the drain tube makes noise.

Great hot water heater, overall you'll save money.

I bought and installed this water heater myself in 2015 (I know what I'm doing). It works great and we never run out of hot water hot water even when two showers run at the same time. Recovery only takes maybe 5-10 minutes. I did not have any issues with the factory set gas settings and it worked out of the gate. This is the second unit I bought after installing one in our previous house. I bought this for the 97% efficiency, high recovery rate and durability (316L tank). This should last many more years than a traditional NG water heater so I will save a lot of $$$ over the life of this unit. Since this is a tank water heater and 97% efficient, I am also using it to heat a bathroom floor through tubing under the tile with separate Taco controls. I also have a circulation pump on it for instant hot water to all bathrooms. You can't do this with a tankless water heater and would waste energy with a less efficient, slower recovery water heater.. I highly recommend this!!!

The water gets hot in a hurry.

I had been looking at this tank for a couple of years and finally got it. I replaced a standard 40 gallon natural gas tank with this unit. I wanted it because it is sealed combustion (no more risk of back drafts), very high efficiency (~$100 savings/year), stainless steel tank, and provides way more hot water than a standard tank. With the old tank only one person could shower at a time and we needed to wait between showers. With this tank two people can easily shower at the same time. We have endless hot water. Installed it myself and used a friend's combustion analyzer from his work to tune the gas valve. Found that we needed to tune it to the rich end of the allowable range otherwise there was some noise during startup as other people have mentioned. Now it is nearly silent when operating. I've had it operating for over a month and love it.

Installed this water heater 6 months ago. I was aware that there are two types of reviews for this product: Either "It's great!" or "What a nightmare!". I've been through both: 5 months of barely being able to get the thing to light. Many calls to Westinghouse tech support, which was sometimes helpful, often not. Discovered that in my major metro area, most plumbers have ZERO experience with these types of units . My experience with support from Home Depot is also not good. Angry emails, being assigned one support specialist, a bunch of photos and videos, and me doing all the work got the thing running, and it's great! Mine powers a radiant floor heating system. It fires once every 45 minutes, runs for a whole 2 minutes, and the house is very comfortable. As a retired contractor, I could do this work myself, but for others, here's my advice: Have your gas company certify your gas pressure and regulator performance before you purchase, as tech support at Westinghouse is stuck on gas pressure "issues." If possible, get someone who has experience with these products. Whoever you get, they need to have a combustion meter in their toolbox. Use REAL CAUTION if you are buying one of these as your primary water heater. If you get a good one, they are simply phenomenal (50 degree water heats to 120 in 5 minutes flat). Mine is for a secondary system, and I can't imagine what a nightmare this would have been if it had been intended as my primary water heater. In my experience, expect very limited help from Home Depot. In spite of all the problems, I DO recommend these heaters. I love the performance, savings, and comfort this unit has provided me.

This might be the best tank style hot water heater available. It makes hot water almost as quickly as a tankless one would. It would be 5 stars except, they need to redesign the spade terminal that holds the ignition wire. Mine fell off during shipping and it took a while to diagnose.

Do not waste your time with this heater. They will not help you with any technical support. I have checked my gas pressure and it is with in the specification. I even have a combustion analyzer. If you buy this product and do not have gas licence you will not have any warranty. It is a nice convent excuse for them. The company that manufactures these heaters is HTP. http://www.htproducts.com/ If you are DIY do not buy anyprducts from them. I wish home depot would disclose this information. Have a nice Day. .

It is a good product but make sure the plumber who installs it has a combustion analyzer as the units gas valve needed some major adjustment to fire correctly.

Before I purchased the unit I was assured by Westinghouse that it was a plug and play unit; wrong! I am scheduling the second visit by a technician to help set up the controls and adjust the burner. It will not reliably restart. The company's tech services are not much help. Operating efficiency is about 87%.

I bought this particular water heater because of it's stainless steel tank. I got tired of having to replace my WH every 5-7 years because of the tank rusting out causing it to leak. This unit has a larger footprint than the conventional gas unit it replaced, but everything is easy to get to.

This was installed about 30 days ago. I bought this heater because it is 76,000 btu vs most other 50 gal heaters that are 40,000 btu. Heats very quickly. From 70 to 130 degrees in 10 min. We have a large house and often run 2 dishwashers at the same time. The rapid recovery time is excellent. There is plenty of hot water. I believe that the stainless tank will last much longer than most and be a good value long term. Buyers should be aware that the exhaust is pressurized and will require venting with PVC, CPVC, or stainless pipe. The standard double wall galvanized pipe cannot be used. This is a very important safety issue. We used CPVC. It was available at 2 major plumbing wholesalers in Dallas. Materials were about $300 for 30 ft of pipe and fittings which I purchased for the plumber. The directions are very comprehensive, understandable and well written

We recently purchased the Westinghouse 50 Gallon gas water heater for our home and family of 6. I was drawn to the stainless steel look but after more research saw it is also a strong quality material. We are very happy so far and are anxious to see the savings we will get with this high efficiency heater.