Customer Reviews for Rheem Gladiator 50 Gal. Tall 12-Year 5500-Watt Double Element Smart Electric Water Heater w/ Leak Detection and Auto Shutoff

Easy to transfer from the store by putting the seats down in the SUV. Installs fairly easy. Suggest buying at the same time all new connectors for your hot & and cold line attachments - dont use your old ones. It will save you from multiple trips back to Home Depot during the install.

Happy with performance and added features such as leak protection and advanced controls. Really like the 12 year warranty.

Worst purchase ever... If you like waking up to leak alarms when there aren't any, no one showing up to repair it, being sent parts to repair it yourself, and resetting bluetooth every time you lose power - BUY IT!! Stick with a basic water heater!

Doesn't connect very easy to the WIFI, and it's literally on the other side of the wall. Controller burnt up and is now useless. They want me to uninstall it and bring the whole thing back, to replace control panel

we bought this December 2020, nothing but A105 lower element errors. this results in no hot water. Rheem support said it would be a month before anyone could look at it. Garbage. I replaced the (tested good) element, same error. HD has none in stock so I can't even swap it...

Disclaimer: I'm not a plumber but I have a decent grasp on plumbing. I installed this unit myself a little over a month ago. In total it took about 3 hours from start to finish. I was in a unique position to be able to buy this and wait for it to ship instead of needing a new unit ASAP and buying whatever was in stock. Install was a breeze other than this unit being much taller than my older 50 gallon tank, which required me to raise up my supply lines. The app is nice to be able to adjust the temperature and view your energy usage (which is a huge plus). The app says you can put it in vacation mode, but I wasn't able to (which isn't a big deal to me). Despite this, I would still give it 5-stars because I bought the unit to heat my water, not because of an amazing (or crappy) app. Before I get lectured, you can't see the expansion tank because it's behind the ducting.

I bought the original Rheem gladiator in March 2021. It lasted almost a full 2 weeks and then started throwing a 104 A code. And tripping my homes breaker. We returned that unit to home depot and was given a new unit. The new unit lasted almost a month before it began tripping breakers but this one didn't throw any codes. I called rheem and they sent out a tech. My technician arrived the very next day, and replaced the lower element that was covered in scale and had a rupture. Here we are on 05/22/21 two days ago it began throwing codes and tripping breakers. I have learned this unit is not a true Rheem product. The Gladiator is a home depot product with a Rheem logo.

Great product easy to install on a budget for quality

This unit seemed to be be bad right out of the box. I purchased it because of what it does and the warranty from manufacture , however have had so many problems with it and getting a hold of Rheem Customer service was difficult at best. Already had alarm sounding , replaced the control board that didn't fix it , keep getting codes did a self test as requested by Rheem rep to determine issues of codes . Now what if I was not mechanically inclined and unable to diagnose with Ohm Meter which they requested or asked if had? Lucky I am and had. Anyway they sent out a new upper heating element which the Factory Repair Plumper replaced this morning. So far its holding up keeping my fingers crossed that I have no more issues with it. The wifi communication with it needs improvement . The amount of water which is showing is not correct seems to aways show either 1/2 or empty ... Rheem says don't look at that... REALLY,then why even have it ?? If this unit FAILS me one more time ... lets say I'll not be a so called Happy Camper and will demand a new unit.

Product was as described. Unfortunately, the outer shell is covered in dents from shipping. If it wasn't the last one available within 100 miles I would have returned it, but when your installer is there and the old unit is dead you are stuck with what you've got. The unit seems to work fine otherwise, just make sure you inspect it closely before taking delivery.

I am only giving this one star because I received the item and it ran for 17 days before it started tripping our breaker. We used a volt meter to test the elements & found the bottom element was bad. Drained the unit to replace the element and found it was covered in scale and broken. Literally busted open. If that amount of scale built up in 17 days our pipes wouldn't flow so that tells me we received a used water heater. I The facade was not smooth but that's cosmetic so I brushed it off. Now seeing the bottom element I know this item was not new. I am hoping either HD or Rheem can help explain this and make it right.

Do not waste your time on this . I changed a 15 year old Rheem that started to leak and installed the first unit that leaked through the elements before it was ever powered up. Removed and installed the second unit and after four days it tripped the breaker . After inspection electrical connections was full of water see photo . Like the title says Junk . I would never buy again

I just installed this unit two days ago, replacing an 18 year old unit that finally failed. WiFi was a consideration and also the built in leak detection. WiFi was an easy connection. Installation was typical with standard plumbing and electrical, filled the tank, turned it on and that's when the leak detection triggered. There was no water from the installation, all dry. I called Rheem Tech Support and they had me remove the leak detector sensor, and attach/tape it to the outside of the tank to let it dry out for about a week, also the external (red rope on the bottom). The sensor felt damp to the touch but not wet. I'll wait a week and reinstall and see how it goes. Cautiously optimistic.

Heats water well. Easy install. I like the LED indicator. Should provide many years of warm water.

First one I ordered arrived damaged, and Home Depot ordered me another one. Second one arrived and after I got it home and took it out of the box a week later I noticed the exterior had several dents from shipping. Not punctures, just several unsightly dents. Not surprised since it doesn’t come packed very well in the box and has almost zero protection. If it was any other appliance I would have returned it. But since it just sits in the corner of my garage, I can’t get too excited over several dents. I kept it and installed it anyway. It heats water like it’s supposed to. It works like it should. Just disappointed the manufacturer can’t figure out how to package it properly to prevent damage in shipping.

I had the Rheem water heater for 5 months and it kicked the breaker. Turned it back on and about 3 hours later it kicked off again. Upon opening the cover plates to the heating elements, I tested them. They should be 9.5 - 16.00 ohms of resistance with the power off. The bottom element measured 0 resistence. So I pulled the bottom element. The water heater was a Rheem Gladiator 50 Gal. Tall 12 Year 5500/5500 Watt Smart Electric Water Heater with Leak Detection and Auto Shutoff. It was only 5 months old. Upon pulling the bottom element, I found the element to be totally rusted and burned out. It was the cheapest piece of junk heating element you can buy. In addition the unit has caught fire under the heater itself and burned the wiring. If I can get a water heater to last a year I will be shocked. I pray the Lord bless all of you and guide you in truth in these last days we live upon this earth. Fast and Pray for guidence.

Great product. I really like the leak detection and auto shutoff built in. Installation was simple, getting it to the 2nd story attic not so much.

It was simple to get hooked up and collected to the wifi. The app to control it is very self explanatory and easy to navigate.

I have a two heaters. I installed them by myself in January 2020. They work great and remote monitoring and control is great. After thunderstorm we lost one (control board). It was fixed promptly under warranty.

So far so Good. Easy Installation. Took about an hour to heat up a tank full of water. Wifi features are nice. Can control water temp from phone app. Also shows water usage and kilowatt usage over several days.

During the installation a little water got into the drain pan and created an alert which triggered the shut off valve to close. Spent the next 5 days trying to figure out what the problem was only to realize that the smart features are working as they were designed. Very happy with the smart features and the phone App.

The water heater was a perfect fit for space I put it in. It was professionally installed and I like the indication for the level the water is heating. I wanted to purchase another Rheem water heater because the one originally installed in my house lasted 16 years before leaking.

Absolutely excellent purchase. Installed beautifully. We didn't have a slight hiccup with the install. I called the customer service phone number on the unit and got an English-speaking customer service representative right away! No waiting! He walked me through the issues with the leak detection light that was on and help me get it connected to the Wi-Fi all-in-one phone call. Simple fix! Very satisfied! I will recommend this to other customers and I have already recommended it to my neighbor!

Our 19 year old water heater gave up and we needed to purchase a new one. In my research the Rheem was recommended as one of the better brands and was available in the Hilo store which is 60 miles away. What I really liked was the Home Depot employee who helped us by answering every question we had before making the purchase. He also walked with me to another isle and recommended a timer for this heater and one that would work with another heater that we have in a separate apartment. We purchased the water heater and loaded it up on our truck and drove home. Our son installed it. We have had it for one week. What we like most about it is, that after a week and a half of showering with a pot of hot water we now can take hot showers. We have hot water in the mornings while getting ready for our day and hot water in the evenings for cooking, dishes, and showers. We are very happy to have a working water heater that takes care of our family needs.

Easy install, quality build. I really like the "connected" feature, you can easily adjust water temperature, setup schedules, and monitor energy usage.

Out of the box our unit was well packaged and dent free. Seems well built and we really love the WiFi connectivity, leak detection and mobile communication ability.

I purchsed thsi as a replacement of my AO Smith gas heater since it was only 2 years old and kept breaking down all the time. I looked for an electric model and found Rheem to exceed my expectations. I love the fact that it is W-Fi enabled and I am able to monitor and control the device from my smartphone!

Great Water Heater, this water heater is IOT enable with a easy to use app on my phone. Water heater features include leak sensor and automated water shut off valve. The water heater heats with conventional electric elements and a built in heat pump that uses heat extracted from the in coming water feed to heat its water. Because I live in Arizona I am delighted that when using the heat pump (economy mode) the water heater puts out lots of cold air into my garage! I understand you can get a venting addon which will push the exhaust cold air to the outside if you want to. The payback on the additional cost of this water heater over conventional water heaters is between 2 and 3 years depending on your cost of Kilowatts.. The App is easily installed on your phone from the Play Store getting the IOT app setup is fast and easy, the app is easy to use. There is a scheduling mode that allows you to program heating for cheaper vs. more expensive Kilowatts for my power plan. The app has a vacation mode so you can set your temp down to what's considered a safe water temperature to prevent legionnaires bacteria from forming. The app has a statistics function that displays energy usage daily, weekly, monthly and yearly. Easy to see what happens with expense when its a normal week vs when the kids come home for a weekend! Its easy to understand when you heat your water and when the hot water is not using energy.

She's a sexy beast! Hahahaha! Seriously, performs like you would expect a brand new water heater to perform, flawlessly. Mine is a 1 person household. The true test will be when I have guests with hot water in high demand. My last water heater was a Rheem and it trucked along for 19 years! Choosing Rheem was the simplest decision to make. Thank you, Rheem.

My AO Smith water heater, 25+ years, recently died of a massive stroke, which led to clear fluid all over my beautiful garage. Boy, it was a mess and took lots of work to clean & dry my garage. Hence, this is the principle reason I purchased this model with leak & auto shut off valve to mitigate another potential disaster. I installed this myself after reviewing several YouTube videos. To save money, I salvaged the old copper pipes with pre-soldered fittings from my dead water heater and connected them with Sharkbite fittings without the need for sweating pipes. This method of installation , a rigid system, took a little longer because I had to double/ triple check my measurements since I was combining existing copper pipes from the old water heater with Sharkbite fittings. It could have been easier with Pex or Sharkbite hoses. But, I wanted to save money & copper looks nicer. I picked it up from Home Depot in a rented Home Depot van for only $19.00. The main challenge was unpacking & placing it on the drain pan. My neighbor's landscaper helped me with that task. I added a few enhancements, an optional valve on the hot water side, thermal expansion tank & drain pipe. The water heater is working great after 3 days. The master bathroom, which is the farthest, now has better water pressure. Overall, everything is going well except for a few minor flaws...I had to slightly alter the aluminum 24" drain pan because the drain faucet is a bit too low...make sure you get a drain pan no higher than 2" for this unit. And at this moment, Rheem EcoNet doesn't work because my router won't allow it to connect without the MAC address. My network router uses MAC address filtering as an additional security layer. I haven't contacted Rheem yet regarding this issue because I personally don't see the need for it since the system is designed to automatically shutdown when there's a leak, thus this is why a 4 out of 5 stars.