Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

This unit replaced one that lasted ten years and after about a month is working fine. As a mechanical engineer I always try to figure out why something stops working. When I opened up my previous unit, which seems to be identical to the new one, I expected to see a rusted out tank or some other obvious failure, but I didn't. I will examine it more closely some time and keep it for spare parts. I suspect that the leak was nothing more than a loose fitting or bad o-ring. To decide which unit, of the many on the market, to buy to replace the old one I did a lot of research and came up with some conclusions. I can't say for sure if these are 100% correct but I think they are worth sharing: As near as I can tell there are many of these under sink hot water heaters on the market that all look identical except for the label on the front. However the prices vary by almost a factor of two from about $150 to around $300. Some of the more expensive ones have a stainless steel outer shell and claim to have a stainless steel water tank. The former adds nothing of value to the unit since the outer shell would never cause a leak, and in fact has drain holes in the bottom. The latter does have value but I'm pretty sure all the units have a stainless steel water tank, regardless of price. So why the spread in costs? It appears to be due to different warranty periods. The one that I am reviewing, which is the cheapest one I found, has a one year warranty. The highest priced ones have a longer one, typically three years. Based on my research these seem to fail in one of two ways: very quickly, indicating a likely manufacturing defect, or after from four to ten years (or maybe more depending on water chemistry or amount of use). Both warranties cover the first failure mode and neither covers the second. My advice is to get the cheapest one that that has some sort of warranty (like the one I am reviewing). One more thing. A lot of people have commented on the tank leaking and destroying the wood cabinet. I put a plastic pail under the tank to catch the water. Note that even a perfect tank might leak if the thermostat is set too high and the leak is often a small shot of water to relieve the pressure. (November 2020): I have now had this unit in operation for several years and it continues to operate perfectly. I am constantly appalled by the cheap, poorly made stuff that's for sale but this unit is not one of them. It appears their business model is to sell a reasonably priced appliance that will have a reputation for quality and rely on reviews and word of mouth to sell a lot of them-what a refreshing approach! Please be assured that I have no financial interest in this product.