Review on Leisure Products LR425 Water Heater by Tray Smith

I bought this product four years ago and have had no problems with it. It worked well, drastically limiting propane usage while still providing hot water on demand and preventing the blast furnace water heater from turning on at any time of the day or night if I forgot to turn it off. I only use propane when we're taking a shower and need a quicker recovery. However, about 3 months ago during a trip I plugged it in and the GFCI socket worked straight away, tried another GFCI with the same result. I tried the non-GFCI socket and it stayed on, but since it wasn't comfortable holding it that way, I just left it on until we got home. I removed the heating element a few weeks ago and it looked relatively good. . I started researching various forums and Western Leisure's website as to what the problem could be. After trying several solutions, I contacted them. Dennis was very helpful, responding quickly to some emails and offering additional ideas. About a week later he forced me to pull the heating element out of the water heater again only to find that the element had completely fallen apart, the outer seam was torn and it was rusting from the inside. Obviously previous models like mine weren't fully sealed at the factory and over time a little moisture can get in causing corrosion and eventual failure. According to their website, they are now taking extra steps to prevent this from happening. I bought a new item there (hey, four years is a long time to expect someone to cover an item) and I'll be happy if it lasts as long, but I hope it lasts longer.