Do not purchase a Whirlpool hot water heater, electric model made by American Manufacuring with a "Smart Center" circuit board. They manufacture for several companies who place their "brand" on the unit. Mine is a 50 gal. Model sold exclusively by Lowes. The company will deny it, but the Smart Center unit with the Whirlpool brand is the only selection you have shopping at Lowe's in the Baltimore area.
The circuit board controls the entire operation of the unit. Mine failed after only nine months. The company replaced the circuit board and after only two weeks the new one is now malfunctioning. It flashes a "code" saying the water is too hot. The problem is it shuts the entire unit down, and when the water becomes cold, fails to restart it. Not very "smart" in my opinion. One must manually restart by pressing a restart button. You'll find this out after your cold shower.
You'll also find out the so called "lifetime" warranty entitles you to a one time only replacement of the "smart center" circuit board and tank, should it leak. I guess "one time" doesn't sound as good as "lifetime."
What you get from American Manufacturing, which by the way is where your service inquiry is routed, not Whirlpool is "... Well you can't set the temperature to the maximum range and have it work." That's like saying you can't fill up your gas tank and have your car work!
Do yourself a favor and stay away from any water heater made by American Manufacturing, especially with "smart" technology. "Dumb" worked much better!
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