Greetings,

I'm hoping that someone out here in the newsgroups can shed some light on
what has become a VERY FRUSTRATING exercise in futility.

I have been gathering information on behalf of my parents who have a
relatively urgent need to replace their existing Sears Kenmore-branded 66
gallon/12 year warranty ELECTRIC Water Heater. Most of the research I have
done for this "project" has been conducted online; accessing manufacturer's
websites, doing google searches, and contacting local installers.

As the water heaters have ALWAYS been in the laundry/utility room of my
parent's approx. 3600 s.f., two-story home, the heater MUST BE ELECTRIC as
they have always been located under a staircase.

In conducting my preliminary research, I came across the MAYTAG branded
water heaters, which I understand are in fact manufactured by State
Industries (and has recently been acquired by A.O. Smith). What caught my
interest was the MAYTAG SERIES 12 PC Intelligent electric water heater, with
its ability to utilize a programmable 24/7 digital thermostat much like a
furnace or A/C unit. As my parents are in their early 70's, the
self-diagnostis and the ease of controlling the heater, and the claim of
potentially reducing electricity costs for operation by UP TO 15% seemed
very attractive. As I continued my search, I learned that there were
various dealers in the country who handled Maytag heaters, and that the
www.maytagwaterheaters.com website provided a 1-800 telephone number to find
out where to by them locally. Fine, I though, we could get one purchased
and installed right away!

HOW WRONG I WAS! The two sources close to home cited by the customer
service rep. DO NOT deal with Maytag brand water heaters, EVEN THOUGH they
handle both A.O. Smith and State water heaters. I have contacted around
half a dozen water heater installers in the greater SEATTLE-TACOMA area, and
they have either never heard of maytag heaters, or they state that they can
no longer obtain them??!!!??

CAN ANYONE please provide information as to the true state of availability
of MAYTAG branded water heaters in WASHINGTON STATE? I have come up with
nothing (almost). One installer told me he could order MAytag heaters, but
it would take anywhere from 3 to 6 weeks!!! HELP!

Again, if anyone knows if MAYTAG heaters are marketed in the Puget Sound
region of Washington State, I'd appreciate any info you can provide. I'm
looking at the other makes like A.O. Smith, Rheem/Ruud, American Waterheater
(whose website is NON-Functional @%$*@), etc.

Please reply at your earliest convenience....it's a rather urgent need!!!

Kind Regards,

Matthew Wanamaker
Federal Way, WA