Rheem power vent 2 noisy?

Checking on progress in our house build and noticed today when the water heater kicked in it was surprisingly loud and whiny. Never had this kind of heater before so I'm wondering is this normal?

Hard to say from here since you have never had one B4. If it sounds like metal hitting something then maybe but if it just sounds like a fan running at high speed then all is well.

We had a power vent heater installed after our old hot water heater kicked the bucket. It was so noisy we had the heater rental company come back and replace it with a direct vent heater - no noise at all.
If your house interior isn't finished yet, you will notice noises more easily, but the power vent heaters are very noisy. (My nephew works installing them, says a lot of customers ask to get them changed for something less noisy)Ours was in the laundry room in the basement, we could hear it all through the house.

rheem power vent

is this a brand new uunit???

I just recently installed one and it was very quiet...

Rheem and Bradford white use the same exact fan motors....


probably something wrong with the fan....

it should be under warranty through Rheem

The comments from everyone make sense. The interior is still not finished and I know that will reduce the sound somewhat. But it so loud now that its hard to imagine it being that quiet when the finishing is done.

I'm not sure if direct vent is an option. The climate is cold (down to -40) and I thought I remembered the builder saying the high efficient heater and furnace needed this kind of venting as there is no chimney.

The heater is about 1-1.5 years old, it is a new construction that was suspended at the intermediate stage.

I've found the builder tends to minimize things, ie: "oh that won't be a problem, oh that's normal" so I'm not sure how to determine if the vent is too loud or normal.

it should be fine

It should not be much louder than your wifes hair dryer
.....that is what I tell people.....




it could take some getting used to if it is in an open area
where the sound can travel

it usually is in the mechanical room and once the
place is finished it should not echo much

its under warranty through the plumber--

so wait till its done and then see how it works out

I noticed the water supply line was shut off. Could that be causing it? I have now run some water through and bled out the line.

If it was run without water in it, it is probably ruined. If not, it probably won't change the sound level.

jadnashua said:

If it was run without water in it, it is probably ruined. If not, it probably won't change the sound level.

Click to expand...

Well I believe water was run into it, but then the main supply was turned off as the place was vacant for a long time and they didn't want to risk a leak.

But does the water in the tank 'boil off' over time leading to the empty tank situation and thus ruining it like you say?

If there are no leaks, and the tank's heat exchanger was covered it should not be damaged.