What Rheem sells here
Besides water heating, Rheem's home range lists pool and spa heating and boiling water taps.
Electric cylinders come in low pressure and mains pressure versions. One of them is a low pressure copper wetback cylinder, which Rheem says suits many wood, pellet or burner fires.
All Pressure (APVE) cylinders connect to either kind of system. Rheem says one fitted at low pressure can be upgraded to mains pressure later. Whether your house is ready for that is a plumber's judgement; see going from low to mains pressure.
Gas heaters run on natural gas or bottled LPG. The line-up covers gas continuous flow, indoor gas storage and Stellar outdoor gas storage, and Stellar is natural gas only.
Heat pumps go by the AmbiPower 280e, AmbiPower MDc-180 and Ambiheat HDc-270 names. In Rheem's description they keep water in a tank, much like an electric cylinder, and carry an electric back-up element for very cold weather.
Solar is the Premier Loline, a closed-loop (indirect) system with a gas or electric boost for cloudy spells.
What Rheem's guides ask of the installer
Rheem's installation guides spell out who may fit its water heaters, and say the job has to meet the New Zealand Building Code, Rheem's instructions, the AS/NZS 3000 wiring rules and local requirements.
The All Pressure guide is more specific again. It wants the cylinder in a safe tray, held by seismic restraints, with a cold water expansion valve on the cold supply.
In law, the plumbing has to be done by someone authorised under the Plumbers, Gasfitters, and Drainlayers Act 2006, and gas work by an authorised gasfitter. An electrician looks after the wiring.
The warranty, in Rheem's words
Rheem says terms differ from model to model and are printed in the owner's guide supplied with each new unit. For products made after 1 June 2018, the residential warranty applies in a single family home and starts on the installation date.
Its exclusions include installation that ignores the owner's guide, the installation instructions, the Building Code or local rules. A named example is leaving out a properly drained safe tray where the guide calls for one.
To claim, Rheem asks for the owner's details, the unit's address, a phone number and the installation date. Without that date, it wants the date of manufacture and the serial number off the rating label.
Ask before you sign
- What's the full Rheem model name, and will you leave its owner's guide with me?
- For this model, how long does the warranty cover the cylinder, the parts and the labour?
- Will it sit in a drained safe tray with seismic restraints, as the guide asks?
- Does it have an anode, and when does the guide say to check it?
- For a heat pump, where will the unit go outside?
- Who sets the temperature, and what will you set it to?
What we would do
Get the quote to name the exact Rheem model, and file the invoice with its install date somewhere you'll find it, because the warranty runs from that day. Read the exclusions in the owner's guide before the old cylinder comes out. Then have it fitted by an authorised tradie who specialises in hot water, so the installation matches what Rheem's guide asks for.