State Debutes a New High-Efficiency Water Heater

[hausdok]

State has recently debuted a new through-the-wall power-vented high-efficiency water heater with a stainless steel tank. Called the Polaris, it won't be long before inspectors begin seeing these in residences.

To download or review a copy of the installation manual click here.

[Richard Moore]

The efficiency looks very good but I wish they had a bit more confidence in the product and offered a better warranty. 1 year parts and 10 years for the "high grade" stainless steel tank doesn't get me too excited about the quality. I did a quick check for prices on-line and found the 50 gallon units at around $4,000(?). That's a chunk-o-money and it would be nice to be assured the life expectancy is MUCH greater than a "regular" unit.

[msteger]

Do we know what the typical life expectancy for this type of system is? Does it vary from the basic 8~12 years of a regular water heater?

[hausdok]

It's got a stainless steel tank. Last I heard, they were projecting 45 to 50 year service life on water heaters with stainless steel tanks but nobody knows for certain because they haven't been around that long.

Rich,

I don't put much stock in manufacturer's warrantees, I've seen lots of furnaces that were only warranted for less than ten years last three times as long. Most household appliances have a one year warranty and the manufacturer doesn't even want to talk to you on day 366 after the sale yet they often last far longer than one expects they reasonably should. If they could get 30 years out of one of these around here it would be 2/3 times the average service life in this region and the increased efficiency would save the clients far more than the cost of install over the life of the unit.

One never knows, though; they might be pieces of crap and in a year or two we might hear that they're being recalled.

ONE TEAM - ONE FIGHT!!!

Mike