Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater: Rheem vs Bradford White
Hello, we’re deciding between the 65 gal Rheem Performance Platnum vs Bradford White Aerotherm heat pump water heaters. We have a family friend contractor installing. I’m less interested in the US vs international and cost difference. Most interested in long-haul quality and noise.
I also don’t understand the warranty difference. Rheem has a 10 year “non-serviceable” warranty. How does that compare to Bradford White’s standard warranty over the long haul? Not sure I like that when something goes wrong, you’d have to replace the whole unit. And what happens after the 10 years?
There’s also the noise issue. I’ve read the threads here discussing and we’d only want to get a Rheem with a post-Jan 2022 build date. I’d be curious to know if anyone has experience with the noise levels of a post-Jan 2022 Rheem or the Bradford White Aerotherm. Thanks!
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I'm interested to hear replies as well. I've been researching HPHW's also. Besides the noise issue for Rheem, the customer reviews are all over the place. There seems to be quality control issues that would normally stop me from purchasing an appliance like this from Rheem, but the competition is slim. AO Smith seems to have the best reviews so far.
Anybody?
I've installed maybe 2 dozen Rheem hybrids over the past few years, including my own house. Only one had a problem; a faulty thermistor that customer service diagnosed, supplied and paid me to replace.
Another has a fan that has a bit of a whine to it. Service sent a replacement but the homeowner has since gotten used to the noise enough to not bother replacing it.
I've been eyeing Bradford White for their top connections, but they're around $300 more expensive at my suppliers than Rheem is at home depot. They're also not as efficient on paper as Rheem.
i have a rheem manufactured in 9/2021 and it is 60 dB at chest height a meter away and the sound is a 190 Hz tone. a friend has a GE geospring manufactured in 7/2016 and it is 50 dB and white noise. we have complained up a storm about the noise and fortunately our installer is going to replace it for free with a regular electric one.
one way to check if you can handle the noise is to figure out a way to play a 190 Hz tone from a speaker and then adjust the volume until it is 60 dB as measured with your phone. then go to the living areas and see if it's bearable. i wish we had done this.