Latest reviews about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

LeavingKenmore says "Questionable Quality? Or just a dud?" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

LeavingKenmore — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 20:44:32 GMT

I purchased this water heater in May 2004. It began leaking in September 2009. I was hoping for at least 10 years of usage with this unit. I'm disappointed and will look for a replacement that will not be a Kenmore. Appears they simply don't make them like they used to.

Update October 2009: I will now eat crow. I did end up replacing my bad water heater with the same Kenmore model (55 gal Power Miser 12).

As my previous post shows I was quite disappointed with the short life of my previous water heater. So, I did look around for other water heaters, I even looked at the new tankless models. I also went into the Sears store and talked with the sales rep. I opted to have a Sears tech come out and inspect the leaking water heater. The service tech was knowledgeable and courteous, a complete professional. The tank had simply failed and full replacement was covered under the warranty. I picked up the replacement from my local Sears and had it installed. It has been in place now for a few...

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jamiej82 says "what a piece of ****! and sears customer service is a joke!" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

jamiej82 — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 10:35:00 GMT

I purchased this the day after Thanksgiving in 2006 because my old one went out the day before. Worked wonderful until about a year ago. Now sometimes it will work great but other times it will not. The pilot keeps going out for a few weeks every few hours. Then it will work fine for a few months. I am extremely tired of taking cold showers. When I call Sears, they say they will send someone out to fix it but it will cost at least $75. What a joke! I have read many other complaints about this same problem with the Power Miser problem. Kenmore or Sears need to fix their ****** equipment without trying to make a buck off the problems that they are well aware of. I have bought several appliances, not to mention jewelery, clothing, and electronics from them but no more. I will also tell everyone I know about their so-called customer service. For any appliances in the future, I will take my business elsewhere.

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dmacman says "longest lasting well built" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

dmacman — Sun, 09 Aug 2009 02:54:15 GMT

This is about the Sears 55 Water heater. I bought my home in 1980 and the water heater was there then. 30 years is a long time to have a water heater in place. I have enjoy hot water always, even when running more than one appliance( dish washer, washing machine).

i know someday soon i may have to replace this older model with a new one. when that times comes i intend to purchase from Sears another 55 model as it served me for this long i would hope the new one will do as well. Sorry Sears but you made this model i have without putting in the planned obsolesence.

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MajorJo says "2 stars" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 03:15:07 GMT

Until Monday I would have given this product 5 stars. It's 3 years old. Never had a problem. More than adequate for our household of four. Then suddenly no hot water. I checked the manual. Hit the reset. Nothing. $168 for twenty minutes of work to replace the thermostat. The previous water heater in this house lasted 18 years without a problem. What has happened to reliability of appliances?...

Pta4hire says "Easy Install, Ultra Quiet" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Thu, 21 May 2009 09:30:23 GMT

I just bought a house in central Mass. and the old heater was an old 40 gallon Kenmore (6 year warranty). My friend (who is a maintenance specialist) and I installed this thing in about an hour and a half and let me tell you, if you use "Shark Bites" it's very easy. The tank itself is very lightweight for a 55 gallon. I recommend not only using the "Shark Bites" (plumbing connector), but also buying new copper tubing. You can get 10ft. of M-rated copper tubing-3/4 inch (it's blue lettered) for about 15 dollars at Lowe's. The old tank was easy to take out, shut off the power, disconnect power to the tank, drain the tank with a garden hose and then remove the plumbing connections. The new tank needed new pipes because the 55 is taller than the average 55 gallon tank (more likely because of the extra insulation,) BUT the girth/diameter was the same as the 40 gallon so it fit exactly into the same space (mine is located in the closet on the main floor). The controls are very easy to adjust......

Tornado says "This Water heater holds the heat!!!" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Tue, 12 May 2009 09:01:50 GMT

I Have had this water heater installed for over three years now. I have found it to be a great unit for my 2k sq ft home with three baths. Recently it shined in our time of need. Where I live just suffered a tornado and our power has been off for three days. I am writing this review from work after I looked up the manual to find out Watt/Amp it needs so I can hook it into my generator. After three days with no power average outside temp around 65F. I had to take a shower and was dreading it for the fact it would be super cold. It was still so hot that I had to turn it down during my conservative shower. I am very pleased that it could hold the heat in that well and be there when I needed it most. ~Jeff...

smartalconsumer says "Great Value Water Heater" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Thu, 30 Apr 2009 02:15:07 GMT

This water heater is the best I have ever owned. I have yet to come close to running out of hot water. It is quiet and efficient. With other cheaper brands, I have experienced an annoying knock in the pipes, but not with this heater. I have had it for almost two years now and haven't had a bit of trouble with it. I highly recommend it....

Stnwll says "Can't beat the heat." about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 17:30:05 GMT

This is a good economical water heater. Installed myself in 15 minutes and it was a breeze. I searched and read reviews of many heaters and found this to be the best bang for your buck. With regards to complaints about element problems I have not had any issues. If I did I'd buy a replacement element for $10 and be done with it, the complaint about special order and all that jazz makes me laugh. The elements are standard thread same as Rheem, AO Smith, Ruud, Reliance and the like. Go to your local hardware store they'll have a dozen of them hanging on a wall. The heater recovers quickly and tenperature settings are pretty accurate, I've run 2 showers and a dish washer at the same time and had hot water to spare. The heater even comes with 1/2" thick 3/4" dia. foam insulation for the entry and exit water supply lines (very nice touch)....

Marlin01 says "Going Strong..." about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 03:30:06 GMT

I bought this heater to replace a Kenmore that lasted 16 years. This is why I went with another Kenmore. After 2.5 years the water still heats just as fast as the first day. I've had zero issues with this heater. We have 3 bathrooms with 2 showers and a dishwasher that can run together and not run out of hot water. We replaced the 40 gallon at our 2nd house with a 40 gallon Kenmore about 3 months ago and I replaced my in-laws heater this weekend with another 40 gallon Kenmore. I bump the temperatures to 140 for the dishwasher. Dishes were not getting clean at the default 120 degree settings....

SteveinPA says "A Pretty good value..." about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 04:00:05 GMT

I had to replace my 66 gallon A.O. Smith water heater after 23 years of use. In this economy I did not want to pay the price of their new line and, I wanted to install it myself, so I chose the Sears Power Miser 12 - 55 gallon unit. I feel for the price it represented a good value. I debated on buying the nine year warranty unit. It too is a good option and could save you $60 bucks if you are on a tight budget. The Kenmore seems solidly made and I like the idea of the ridgid foam insulation as opposed to the old fiberglass bat type insulation which can become saturated by leaking water and will never fully dry out. The wiring explanation in the Owners Guide leaves a bit to be desired for a novice installer. My old two wire set-up had to be connected like this: Yellow (heater) to white (house 220) and blue/black (heater) to black (house 220). Ground to ground of course. Try setting the thermostats to 135 degrees if your incoming water is VERY cold as mine is. The factory 120 degree setting......

Anonymous says "Just in time..." about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Wed, 03 Dec 2008 02:30:09 GMT

Our old water heater gave out after almost 10 years, being that I know nothing about water heaters, I had to learn quickly. Got an estimate from a company, too high, sears luckly had it on sale. They wanted almost the price of the water heater to set it up, plus other misc. charges for a licence and some other things. I just had some family come and do it for me. The water heater worked fantastic, we had hot water within 5 mins. And it was pretty easy from what I saw to install it yourself with the instructions. It's very quiet and still working great. Save yourself the money and do it yourself....

58limited says "Kenmore Power Miser 12 - 55 gal." about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 09:45:08 GMT

I've had this unit for 9 years but have to replace it due to Hurricane Ike (it works but insurance wants to replace it due to salt water exposure). I will be buying another Power Miser 12. The original one never gave me problems and was extremely well insulated. Once, I turned off the circuit breaker that powers it and went out of town for a weekend. 48 hours later the water was still hot - not warm, hot. I recommend this water heater....

DonSF1 says "Broken on delivery" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Fri, 19 Sep 2008 01:00:02 GMT

Had to wait an extra day before they could install and then when they did install we discovered that the water heater wasn't working at all - now I have to wait yet another day for them to deliver another one that hopefully works - so does it heat water???? I don't have a clue but this does not instill very much confidence in the product. Remember the days when Kenmore meant the best?? Well, apparently not any more. Save yourself time and money - this unit is not worth the extra money if it can't heat water....

chuck2518 says "water heater" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Fri, 05 Sep 2008 16:00:33 GMT

Don't look any further I looked at them all.This is the best one for the money! Works great.This is my first electric water heater, they are far more eficient than LP gas, sticker on box said 95%. LP only59-63%.No noise, tank is insulated perfectly top of tank is cold to the touch. Great recovery 2 adults 3 teens never out of hot water....

Glendale1 says "Kenmore junk" about Kenmore Power Miser 12, 55 gal., Electric Water Heater

sears-feed — Sat, 30 Aug 2008 12:30:07 GMT

This is the second Kenmore I've owned in 7 years. The first I bought in 2001 was a 50 gal water heat and it rusted out within five years. Sears replaced it with larger 55 gal in Jul 2006. Two years later the 55 gal water heater sprung a leak. MyHome Service (SEARS) came out the next day and found the heating element to be the problem. Said they could replace the part, but I told them I wanted new one. Sears charged $75 for service call and $300 for a plumber to install. Don't be sold on the 12 year warranty unless you buy the service contract. No more shopping at SEARS for me....