Sorry about the quality of the photos, but the printing was really light on the label.
I ran across this GE gas fired water tank this morning. This warning label was on the tank:
“THE MANUFACTURER’S RATING LABEL FOR THIS WATER HEATER HAS BEEN REMOVED. DO NOT INSTALL OR ATTEMPT TO OPERATE THIS WATER HEATER”
I have never seen this before, and was looking for some insight. My gut tells me that it was possibly returned to the place of purchase as defective and then resold.
My narrative was “The hot water tank needed to be replaced as per the manufacturer’s warning”.
When a WH is replaced under warranty, only the label is returned to the manufacture. The label has the serial # on it. A new WH (with a new serial #) is then given to the contractor. The old tank is supposed to be trashed.
So when you see a WH without a label, most likely someone has turned in the label under warranty to get a new WH.
