Customer Reviews for Rheem Marathon 50 gal. Short 4500/4500-Watt Elements Non Metallic Lifetime Electric Tank Water Heater

Very nice unit, pleased with it. Works well

Even though it's 3 times the price of a 6 year tank, it's well worth it. I don't have to go through the hassle of changing out the water tank for the long foreseeable future. In the end, its value is much more than 5 regular tanks, if not 10. Also, since it's plastic, I don't have to worry about rust in my cooking water. It's also lighter than the metal tanks. I was able to move it and install it by myself.

All is going well so far thank you ~Cathedral Ledge Resort Intervale NH

We've beenin our house 11 years & have had to replace our 2nd tank. So our plumber recommended it as a life time option. Like the look, water is nice & HOT, looks good in the corner, the grey helps it fade away.

Product is difficult to secure, since it must be ordered online for curbside delivery. When delivered, complex installation due to shape of tank. Tank that was to be worry free from leaking for my lifetime, leaked within 12 hours. Highly not recommended

In our area, propane is now more expensive than electricity, so it made sense for us to now convert some of our household appliances from propane to electric versions. Top of the list was our on demand propane water heater. We replaced it with this 50 gl. Super Insulated Water Heater. There is tank type electric water heater which has a better efficiency rating, but it has a fan on top which makes noise while gathering heat from the air in the space to elevate the temp of tap water. I liked this tank for many reasons... first, it is light weight when empty, so I did the installation by myself. The inside tank and exterior are non-corrosive polymer materials... the inside tank being reinforced with spun glass (I viewed the manufacturer's production video). Traditional tank heaters will eventually corrode, even with the cathodic protection that must be periodically replaced. This unit should never require replacement due to corrosion inside or out. The original purchaser given a life time warranty... as long as you own your home. That's a winner for me! We are on whole house solar, so cutting down on all our energy use is key. This water heater has proven to be a smart move, as it remains at temp longer due to super insulation. I have to say that the unit we received doesn't appear like the one in the photo for this listing. It's much larger in diameter and shorter in appearance... I will post a photo of our unit as installed. If you have a tight water heater closet, you may want to carefully measure the diameter of the unit you are purchasing, as this is larger than others I've seen... This unit is more than adequate for a family of four and is definitely the right choice for us being on solar and wanting something that truly conserves our electrical use. I would highly recommend it if you can get over the sticker shock... Figure out if you benefit from converting from propane to electric. Compare what you pay for 27 kwh of electricity with what you currently pay for 1 gl of propane If you are solar powered, electricity is the clean choice anyway... This tank will out last YOU get one

Works great and easy to install. We love it

Adding to existing review to follow-up*** Overall, I do recommend the short 50 gallon Electric Rheem product. It took a day and ahalf to install for non-professionals but it was due to fitting pipes and not any issues of product. I originally ordered and the tank arrived damaged but the 2nd one was good, without dents. My trouble was mainly with customer service who wanted to charge me the current price at the time for the 2nd time purchasing, not what I originally paid. I was shocked with that answer but talked to other agents who accommodated and knew how to give good service. I have confidence that this product will last. Water heats up fast!

We bought this water heater because the electric company my husband worked for was highly recommending them. My husband and a friend installed it with no problems at all. I love this water heater. We don’t ever have to worry about it rusting out or leaking water between the inside and inside of the water heater like our old one did. If we had waited any longer to take the polls one out, it would have completely destroyed itself and had 40 gallons of water damage to our house. The Marathon water heater can never do that and will never rust out. I fully recommend this water heater for everyone.

This review is in-progress & will update*** I ordered the short 50 gallon Rheem electric water heater online & picked-up in store. There was wrapping over box but when we took off the wrapping over the box, we could see a huge dent/hole near bottom of box (see pictures) and product was damaged...dented in! We didn't attempt to install it like that since there were holes in the heater, can see the inner materials. The box looked like it had gotten damaged from a hilo. I called customer service same day. The return was easy enough but get this...HP customer service wanted to charge me the current price...not the price I purchased it at! The price has gone up over $200 from when I originally purchased it. They had me on the phone waiting for a supervisor to give authorization. I waited over 20 minutes on one call, then to tell me I couldn't get it at the price I purchased it at! I was then talking to a supervisor who must of had me on speakerphone because it sounded like he was talking through a tunnel and he didn't try to come in more clear. I got hung up on twice! I would say you have a 50/50 shot to get a HP employee that can actually service their customers. We will follow up on this review when we can actually install a non-damaged, non-returned water heater...........................................................................

We bought the 55 gallon short in 2008 (they do not seem to sell that exact size anymore) and it has been 16 years of no issues. The metal tank before that only lasted 6 years. Don't forget to drain a few gallons every year to flush out sediment. If you get your electricity from an electric cooperative or know someone who does, get it through them to save money.

Very impressive so far.

The water heater was packaged very well to prevent damage. Good quality brass fittings preinstalled and easily connected to. Prior to filling, light weight allowed for easy placement. Short height made connections on top easily accessed. Upon startup, no leaks and outlet water temperature about 127 degrees. Installation (after removal of old heater) only took about an hour using PEX tubing and sharkbite fittings.

A lifetime guarantee, compared to just six years on steel tank water heaters, was the deciding factor for me. I’d be very happy not to have to replace my water heater (and deal with the aftermath of a leak!) ever again.

It is too early to provide review on the Rheem Marathon… I’ll attempt to return in upcoming years if any issue is encountered.

Only time will tell on durability but I am hopeful. Our acidic well water shortens the lives of standard metal tanks. Also due to the light weight materials this is really easy to move around and install. Very easy for DIY.

Under most helpful reviews you will see reference to bad vacuum valves, one review from 2016. In their response to that review Rheem stated that they "are working with all of our team members to ensure that problems like this do not occur in the future". Installed my 50gl Marathon over the weekend and the vacuum valve leaks.

This tank leaked immediately. Cost hundreds to install and uninstall. Home Depot gave me $150 credit. A complete waste of time and money.

Was looking to see if technology caught up with the standard water heater as they have looked the same the last 35-40 years… until now! This Rheem water heater is awesome. Plenty of hot water when needed. Quite the conversation piece as well! Well worth the investment.

Seems to work great so far

Ordered this water heater as an add on to my geothermal water heater because it allows easy changes in temperature. I like the shorter size because it fits next to the larger one that makes connectivity a lot easier. Si far we are pleased with its efficiency in providing hotter water fir all our familiy’s needs

Love it.. looking forward to a lifetime of use

I installed this on 11/09/22. The entire relief valve, and all of the copper pipe I attached, blew up and flew across the room with water flooding everywhere. I called Rheem because I have a lifetime warranty, right? Basically, they told me "So what? Call the place you got it." IT TOOK 3 WEEKS TO GET THE 1st ONE. Call me a sissy, but me likes me hot hotwater.

Love that it will never rust out!!

Bought this for home, our grandson bought a country home with a very iron water well that needs extra filters to get good quality water. The wife and I had the opportunity to connect to city water, so we decided to give it to him for a housewarming gift. As I write this review the people from the softener company are testing the water. We wish we would have had this available when we were on well water, could have saved many hot water tank changes over the years!