General Electric Water Heaters, Storage, Heatpump, and Tankless Water Heaters

G.E. Water Heaters and Web Site

One would think that GE, as big and wealthy as it is, could do better than number 15 in the Google search results, but that is where it is.

The first thing you see when you arrive on the home page is GE’s new “Hybrid” water heater… a heat pump water heater. It’s not on the market yet, but is supposed to be available later this year, I think it said November.

The heat pump is mounted on what I presume to be a standard electric water heater and the controls allow you to run it in several modes, like heat pump only, heat pump with electric assist, and electric only etc. There is a vacation mode too.

GE’s heat pump water heater has an impressive Energy Factor of 2.3! That is the best I have ever seen. So if you really want a green plumbing system, at least the hot water part, this is the heater for you!

GE Tankless water heaters

While I was reading up on all the tankless water heater hype I ran across these statements:

“Care for your water heater should include evaluation of water quality. If the water exceeds the target levels provided in the table, you should treat or condition the water.

If you are in a hard water area, it is recommended to install a GE water softener prior to the water heater.”

Apparently scale buildup can ruin your tankless water heater and can even void the warranty!

Here are the maximum levels allowable without treatment to keep your warranty valid.

* Source: Part 143 National Secondary Drinking Water Regulations

MAXIMUM LEVEL

Total Hardness Up to 200 mg/L (12 grains)
Aluminum* Up to 0.2 mg/L
Chlorides* Up to 250 mg/L
Copper* Up to 1.0 mg/L
Iron* Up to 0.3 mg/L
Manganese* Up to 0.05 mg/L
pH* 6.5 to 8.5
TDS (Total Dissolved Solids)* Up to 500 mg/L
Zinc* Up to 5 mg/L

So if you live in a area with hard water you might want to get it tested before you purchase that tankless hot water heater… you might need a water softener as well.

Standard Gas and Electric Water Heaters
Like the other water heater sites, the GE site has no shortage of models. I really like the search functionality they have though.

You can search by fuel type, size in Gallons, length of warranty, and tank diameter. You are presented with all of the models that meet your criteria. Then you can sort them by price. Very handy if you are trying to choose between the 64 models they carry.

I Checked out what I think is the most expensive 50 gallon electric water heater… the Model #: SE50T12TAH

Here are the specs:

Brass drain valve
Heavy duty anode rod
Double 5,500 Watt Heating Elements
Stainless Steel Upper Heating Element
Energy Factor 0.94

Great energy factor and the 5,500 watt heating elements are the biggest I’ve seen anywhere for residential water heaters.

The GE site is useless for trouble shooting information.

I didn’t see anything else of particular interest, so it’s off to find another water heater site with storage and tankless water heaters to check out…

Bill the Hot Water Guy