Customer Reviews for Rheem Gladiator 50 Gal. Medium 12 Year 5500/5500-Watt Smart Electric Water Heater with Leak Detection and Auto Shutoff

Installed this hot water heater my self and was so simple to do. My hot water lasts at least 2 or 3 times as long as my old one. Also if you install it yourself don't freak out like I did when all the lights don't come on. The power light comes on and only the top element for about 15 minutes then it switches to the bottom element. I thought both lights would be on at the same time but the don't as it would draw way too much power. I have had it for about a month and couldn't be happier!!!

Nothing but problems from day one. Just replaced Elements! Bought in Sept. 2021. Forget about the bells and whistles this. Ones with! Not worth it! No help at all from Rheem! 12 year warranty is crap!

30 days in and we're loving this unit. We did have an alert for the water sensor but it cleared after our dehumidifier ran in proximity. I love the Wi-Fi feature and ability to schedule hotter water for morning showers then turning down and saving $$. When I contacted Rheem, they dispatched a technician next day to check the sensor and also walked me through setting up the app so they do stand behind their product.

Rheem packages their product well, so the heater was in great condition coming out of the box. As far as installation, with a small amount of plumbing and electrical knowledge, you'll be fine. A few items of surprise. The pressure relief spigot located on the top of the unit was facing towards the back. A call to Rheem - I was permitted to fix w/out voiding warranty. Secondly, the drain valve is plastic. Huge disappointment they cut corners here. As for durability, time will tell. 9 year warranty: first 2 years are full warranty and the last 7 are limited warranty.

Ordered this electric hot water heater online late one afternoon. Received a text message early the next morning that item was ready. Staff helped load into our truck. Plumber states easy install and so far, so good with operation.

Having a 2 bedroom 2 bath house I believe this 40 gallon heater will be more efficient than a 50.

Purchased June 2020, August 2020 lower element failed, no alarm. Rheem replaced control panel. November 2021, upper element failed, no alarm. Smart feature is supposed to monitor elements and alert poor performance and failure.

I’ve had this for almost a month now and it’s still working great! Helpful tip: there are a couple of different apps that are available to link with your water heater. I attached an image of the one that links up the best.

I like the simple LED panel that shows 1) it has power and 2) which element is on. I almost got a fancier heater that had bluetooth when I realized that I didn't need that. A water heater is pretty much a "set and forget" appliance, so I didn't need to spring for the added technology. This heats real quick. We had hot water within minutes of installation! The shorter heighth made it easy to install as we had plenty of room above the water heater to make the connections.

We had our thermostat water heater for 1 year, it burned out from the thermostat part. We ended up getting store credit and got a basic one. I don’t recommend these smart/thermostat ones.

Bought this unit two weeks ago, after a successful installation it smoke check itself 30 minutes later. Luckily it was the smart water heater and the app gave me a fault so I had an idea where to look. Fault said lower element issue which needed replace, it's a brand new unit!! After taking off panel notice black scaring everywhere and after digging around we notice that one of the wires where crushed by the lower element (what we thought because of the placement), so we continued to drained the tank and take out the lower element and realized that it wasn't being pinched by the element but rather the frame, lots of wasted water. The only thing that makes since is that when the slid the tank in at the manufacturing plant they crushed the wire in the process, and if this was the case, whoever connected the wire to the lower element missed the fact the wire was being pinched, which is kinda of scarey because this could of cause an electrical fire and could of but my family in danger. What's scarier, it never popped my breaker! Just be careful when buying this unit and dealing with them, took 20 different calls and emails to reach someone and wasn't that helpful.

Started leaking after 4 months. I had to rent a truck to return it. I incurred additional $400 for plumbers fee. Waiting for reimbursement that could take 3 months

The app based water temp adjustability is truly awesome. I’ve had this performance platinum gladiator for about 5 months and love it. I had a houseful of guests coming, turned up the temp from the couch, we never ran out of hot water, when they all left I turned it back down. Then I turned it way down while packing to leave town for a week, turned it back up when I got back home, and never touched it. Very happy.

Easy install and the hot water and efficiency are awesome!

The water heater is very well made and insulated. Because of that and the 5500 watt heating elements I was able to step down from a 50 gallon to this 40 gallon electric model. I like the information and control available through the app on my iPhone. The installation is no more complicated than a dumb model and actually this unit is nice to look at. You say why does one need a WiFi model? and I say you don’t need it it’s just helpful to have the extra information. Couple all of that with a 12 year warranty and 3 year in home warranty and this heater is a bargain.

The water heater was not supplying hot water and the lower light was not on. So, I opened the lower panel where the heating element is. The black wire on the right side had burned off and burnt the foam and plastic cover. It took multiple calls to Rheem to get this resolved. I had to wait 20 +/- minutes on hold for each call. Home Depot took 40 minutes to figure out how to get me a new water heater. I had to find my own plumber since no one Rheem called would do the R&R for the $250 they offered for labor. Rheem raised the amount to $400 for the cheapest plumber I could find. On a positive note, Rheem took responsibility right away. But it still took a total of 3 hours of my time. And I have to wait up to 6 weeks for a refund of the $400 plumber's bill, which I had to pay at the time of service.

Not happy with this water heater because it only lasted less than 3 years when it was supposed to last 9 years. It had warranty so I was able to get another one but I did have to pay the difference of $100 for the exchange.

Outstanding......the color is great

WE purchased this water heater in July, 2020. Purchased for the 12 year warranty . Have no opinion of the wi fi, we don't use it and never tried to hook it up. Yesterday morning I noticed my water was almost cold. We checked the water heater and it was off, the circuit breaker was tripped. Tried to call Rheem since yesterday---all day ---and this morning and the line is busy---CAN NOT GET THROUGH AT ALL. Call a Rheem Plumber listed on their site and he said he has 3-4 calls a week about Rheem having burnt wires. Went back to Home Depot and spoke to a manager, they agreed I could exchange the unit--it is only 8 months old. We had a plumber come out today to remove the old one--when he removed the top plate where the wires were you could smell the burnt wires--the whole area was burnt--so glad the circuit breaker tripped to my HOUSE MAY HAVE BURNED DOWN------Since I can't get through to Rheem by phone or on the internet ....I have to warn people about this issue. Shout out to Home Deport for FABULOUS customer service. I just hope this one doesn't BURN DOWN my house>>>>>>

Very easy to install, can control temp through my phone and see the health of the water tank. Has a vacation setting also as well that is pretty cool.

I installed the gladiator hot water heater in my garage 9 days ago and it has been nothing but a pain. The A102 alarm will go off between 8pm-4am like clockwork. I have to reset it every day, if you don’t you will be left taking a cold shower. There is NO leak or water ANYWHERE on or near the water heater. I contacted HD to see if I could return it, but they said after one day you have to deal with the manufacturer. I contacted them via email and have heard nothing back…ugh. The LeakSense feature is really the Cold Water feature, it will save you money by always shutting it down. I will NEVER buy a hot water heater with this feature in the future unless there is a way to disable it. If there was a button to turn this feature off permanently it would be great, but there isn't. I’m going to see if there is a way to hack it, to disable this headache. If not, I’m going to eat my $700 and get a water heater without this feature. I replaced a 15-year-old tank because it started to leak. I never thought about it until 5 days before I replaced it with this Junker. With the Gladiator, I think about it every day or I won’t have hot water. This is a waste of my time and mental overhead, I hate it soooo much.

Easy to self install. I was offered help to get it down from the shelf and loaded into my pickup.

After only 1 month, the control panel on this water heater started to spark, smoke and melt the plastic panel. If we were not home, there would have been a fire. I check further into this product and this same control panel was recalled for 2014-2016 models so clearly they never fixed the problem. Buyer beware that this product is dangerous!!!

Great quality water heater. If you want one with all those fancy bells and whistles , this one will do the trick. Easy to install, if you are replacing a similar type.

I purchased this water heater on 6/8/20. Immediately after install, I noticed some water around the pressure release valve and the sensor went off. In the instructions for install, they say some water may spill and so I over-rode the shut off, tried to dry the area, and waited it out. The alarm went off a few weeks later and it was the same issue. I waited a few more weeks to see if it was just a fluke and when I went to check on it in August, I noticed a ton of corrosion by the junction box. I called Rheem and they contracted a plumber to come take a look. He tightened the T&P valve but the very next day there was standing water where the anode rod was. I called Rheem again, and the plumber came to replace it with a new one. Literally within 5 minutes of installation, there was water coming out of the base of the T&P valve as well as one small hole at the top of the unit. The plumber said this was ridiculous and that in no way, shape, or form should this be happening. So now I'm awaiting my third water heater of the same model.

Very good water heater, more than enough for thee 2 of us, We even get through a few hours of powered off hot water during peak times, we have off peak water heating. The wifi app is great, and offers easy control of the device. Delivered well, and it was professionally installed by TCC Plumbing and Heating. We are very happy with this purchase so far.

I had previously had a 50 gallon GE and it was 12 years old. Time to. change! So i picked this Rheem 40 gallon to put in my closet next to the furnace. Hopefully will bw more energy effcient too! Home Depot way to expensive to install. Called my own plumber for install.

The Econet technology allows programming to schedule increases & decreases in temp based on your usage patterns. A great feature.

Great unit, was easy to install. Make sure there is no moisture in contact with the tank or it will trip the leak detection. My basement is quite wet so I had to remove the sensor from the straw until that issue is resolved. Would highly recommend this tank.

Love the way its built and the app as you connect to your internet can always see if there is enough hot water for you. So simple and install was easy. Great product you offer.