I'm ready to scream! The gas company came out (we had placed a call on Saturday). They had a control that would work on this unit only if they put their own thermocoupler on it (different screw threads from the Whirlpool one). I asked them if doing that would void the warranty and they said, "No, the warranty covers the tank only." They did the work and left. Ten minutes later their boss called and said they just got a bulletin from the safety board (I don't remember the exact name) that said all water heaters of this type need to be completely replaced if the control in any way affected by water. (He said something about a baffle too.) So now the repairmen have to remove the parts they installed, put the old ones back, and "red-tag" it for replacement. (We won't get charged for the work they did.) Apparently all water heaters now need to conform to new safety guidelines. I hope my insurance company will pay for a new water heater. We just paid off the loan to buy this one only six months ago.
- posted
19 years ago