Water Heater Makers Agree to Settle Dip Tube Suit
A federal district judge has given preliminary approval of a settlement of nearly a dozen class-action lawsuits
against six national manufacturers of water heaters with defective plastic
dip tubes that have caused considerable consumer problems. Judge
Howard F. Sachs of the Western District of Missouri Division agreed to
allow the manufacturers to reimburse customers up to $175 each for
already-completed repairs to their water heaters and to compensate
plumbers up to $185 for replacing a dip tube and flushing pipes.
The cases were filed in 1999 in Michigan, Missouri, and other
states against tank manufacturers Rheem, A.O. Smith, Bradford White,
American Water Heater, Lochinvar, and State Industries. The
settlement allows for replacement of nearly 14 million dip tubes
manufactured between August 1993 and October 1996 by Perfection Corp.,
which chose not to be part of the settlement. Perfection has
acknowledged that during that time it made tubes without a key chemical
ingredient, according to the Kansas City Star.
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Dip Tube Lawsuits
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Dip tubes are an internal pipe that extends from the cold
water inlet nearly to the bottom of the hot water heater. Normally,
the tube directs cold water to the bottom where it will be heated before
rising to the top of the heater. Many older heaters have copper dip
tubes, but the defective ones in the lawsuit were made of plastic that deteriorated
over time, decreasing the effectiveness of the heater, clogging faucets
and pipes with plastic chips, and prompting many customers to call their
water suppliers with complaints about contaminated water.
The court order is preliminary to a hearing in April,
but customers can begin filing claims through Crawford & Co., the
company hired to administer the settlement.
For more information, call 800-329-0561.
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