HYBRID WATERHEATERS GEOSPRING VERSES RHEEMPERFOMANCE PLATINUM HYBRID 50 GAL.

solarvic · February 2017

The China built Geospring water heater I installed in Oct 2010 finally broke down. The heat pump quit but it still works with the heating elements and I have been using it that way for about a month. Even though the parts and tank are guaranteed for 10 years I figured it makes better economic sence to replace it with a new one. Have read some horrow storys about collecting on the warranty. I read this on the reviews for the Geospring. The owner had to have a ge installer come to make a house call to anilize the trouble. $200.00 service call. Ge sent the parts and the installer come back and installed the part and there was another $200.00 service call and $95.00 labor to change the part. So this guy had $495.00 for service even though the part was free. Since I got 6 1/2 years of trouble free service I know I am way ahead of the game. I bought a new Rheem Performance Platinum Hybred 50 gal water heater from Home Depot for $999.00 that is more modernized and has a better energy rate factor of 3.5. It has provisions for ducting warm air to it and cool air away from it. Also quieter 49 db and it will fit in a tighter space as all hook ups are in front of water heater. Because of the ducting you can have the back right up the wall. So now that I got myself convinced that this is good for me I was hoping to hear others viewpoints about the Rheem. Also when I was trying to look at the energystar website they have Ge Partnered with Haier a Chinese co.

solarvic · February 2017

I have made this post as I was hoping that someone would give me some feed back on comparing these 2 water heaters. I guess I already know all I need to know about the Ge geospring water heater from my own experience. I figured it would be better to replace the Geospring with a new water heater instead of fixing it and having the tank start to leaking in a couple years. First I was considering of buying a Nyle Geyser and connecting it to the Geospring till it got a leak and bring the original waterheater and get the rest of its life. I decided against the Geyser because the energy factor is just over 2.0 and I don,t think my power co would give me the rebate. I actually got the new rheem for about the same price as it was on sale for #999.00 at Home depot with free shipping and It qualifys for a $300.00 rebate from my power provider.

westbranch · February 2017

this one? http://www.homedepot.com/p/Rheem-Performance-Performance-Platinum-Hybrid-Electric-50-Gal-Water-Heater-Featuring-High-Efficiency-Mobile-Alerts-and-10-Year-Warranty-XE50T10HD50U0/300620237?keyword=Rheem+Performance+Platinum+Hybrid+50+gal+water+heater

Interesting it uses ~3.44 KWhr per day

PS look at the price (in OMAK)

solarvic · February 2017

Westbranch, thanks for replying to my post. I remember you from before when I use to participate here and enjoyed it. I have not been here for about 3 years or so. Not to many of the old ones left from when I was here before. Yes Westbranch that is the one I bought at home depot. Preety good price and I get a $300.00 rebate from my power suplyer. I checked the energyguide on my present Ge Geospring and It list operating cost of $198.00 per year and uses 1856 kwh per year with an energy factor of 2.35. The rheem yearly energy cost at 12 cents per kwh is $151.00 and estimated usage rate of 1255Kwh with an energy factor of 3.5.

inMichigan · February 2017

I am looking forward to how it works out for you. A heat-pump style water heater is on my to-do list in the coming year or two. When the time comes, I'll have to do some manual reading. I would like to be able to program it to heat during the day and not at night (assuming it stores enough hot water for us). I'd just like to know I have that mode in my back pocket should net metering go away.

solarvic · February 2017

There are lots of youtube videos about it. For me that would not be a problem turning the temperature down at night as my waterheater is in the utility room next to my kitchen. I could just turn the temp. down at night and it would not run. There is an interface that you can get for the water heater that you can control with your cell phone if you have one. I can,t tell you much about it as I don,t have a cellphone yet and might never have one. I had to carry a Motorola radio on my job and got tired of the boss,s dogging me all the time.

Raj174 · February 2017

I have a Geospring 50 gallon water heater. Installed it in August of 2014 and it is still working well. While it is running it draws 500 watts and runs for 2 to 2.5 hours to recover to 120 degrees from two 10 to 12 minute showers from the night before. For my wife and I, it's more than adequate. During the 6 months from fall to spring we try live on solar power except during cloudy weather of course. So I have a timer set to power the Geospring from 12 PM to 3 PM to take advantage of solar over production.

One interesting thing I found out about the Geospring is that after the compressor shuts off, it often powers on one of the 4500 watt heating elements for about 1 minute. Why? I couldn't tell you. Anyway, the first time it happened, I heard the 4000 watt Radian inverter fans start winding up and I saw it was supplying about 5000 watts to something. But before I could get to the bypass switch It had shutdown. It didn't take long to figure out what had cause the shutdown and I replaced the 4500 watt elements with 1500 watt elements and no more shutdowns.

InMichigan, you may want to look into an 80 gallon model. Several brands make that size. Although they are of course more expensive, there is nothing like running out of hot water in the winter.

solarvic, Better luck with the new water heater.

Rick

solarvic · February 2017

Mi geospring was the first model that was made in China. Is yours the usa built one? When I was doing my research I saw a youtube video of a 2017 builders convention where there was a waterheater installer that said Ge doesn,t build the Geospring any more. On the energy star site they list Ge as having a partner Haeir which is a china company. On the new rheem I got it says on the name plate it was assembled in Mexico. Still looks like it is hard to get a usa built hybrid waterheater. vic

Raj174 · February 2017

Yep, mine was built in Louisville Kentucky

solarvic · February 2017

Rick, Since you are off grid did you ever think of installing a dc water heating element and just connect it to a solar panel? I bought one from Missouri wind and solar that had the thermostat knob on the heating element. I couldn,t use that on my geo s spring because the way the element is made you can not tighten it tight enough for it not to leak. You can,t get to the nut that you use a wrench to tighten the element because there is a can over that with the thermostat in it and it is about 2 7/8 dia. . I have been looking closely at it and thinking maybe I can make a wrench that I might leave on it permentally so I can use it. I know on my Geo spring I disconnected the ac wires for about a week and the waterheater still kept working on heat pump mode without any problem. Since I am grid tied and the waterheater is rated to use $151.00 per year it is probably a waste of time. I already have had an excess of generation the last 3 years and don,t want to stir up the power co. Am thinking I might not even ask them for the $300.00 rebate for the water heater since they don,t make any money on me. Just happy with power co that the let me use them for a free battery.

Raj174 · February 2017

Hi Vic,

I am not actually off grid. I have a hybrid inverter battery system that is grid tied. So I can feed the grid, be off grid or a combination of the two called grid zero, which allows one to shave off a percentage of grid consumption while having the power the grid to start a 2 ton heat pump for A/C and heat that has a high surge current. I live in north Florida so winters are mild and we rarely need heat as we have a well insulated house. So in winter I am mostly off grid while it's sunny or partly cloudy. My system produces 9 to13 kWh on good days, and is enough to supply our home and make enough of hot water with the Geospring.

The PV powered DC heating element is a good idea and I have considered it in the past, but it would require some wiring in the attic and since I am an old geezer too, I can't do it and I won't to pay to have it done unless I have to. Maybe if the Geospring quits, I'll go that direction. I am an electrician, but my ladder climbing, attic crawling days are in the past.

Rick

solarvic · February 2017

Well I live up north in north western Pa. where we can get 20 degree below 0 some times. What makes a heatpump water heater work for me is my gas well. People ask m e why I don,t just put in a gas water heater. The reason is I live in a double wide mobile home that has no way to get in the attic. Can,t put a gas water heater in the crawl space because there is only 42 inch crawlspace under the I beams that support the home. I couldn,t go any deeper as a swamp borders my back yard. As it is now I have a dry basement floor and my well tank never froze yet. The The person that dug my basement didn,t want to go any lower. I didn,t want to put it where I did but it was the only spot that the septic tank inspector would approve. So that is the reason I do not have a gas water heater and I answered all the reasons that I thought about. My utility room has a gas space heater that I turn on for the whole heating season till spring comes. It keeps my whole house comfortable for me and If I need any more heat I either run the furnace or turn on an electric oil filled space heater. So the utility room gets to 85 t0 90 degrees and the heat pump water heater works well at that temperature. I also have a grid tie inverter that helps some in the summer and heat pump water heater helps to cool kitchen as kitchen borders the utility room. So this is basically how my system works.

HYBRID WATERHEATERS GEOSPRING VERSES RHEEMPERFOMANCE PLATINUM HYBRID 50 GAL.

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