A lot has transpired over time about this problem, so what I am writing here is to the best of my recollection. I have emails I can provide for some of this, but of course verbal communications were never written down verbatim.
On January 9th, 2019, Sunshine installed came to my home to replace a central humidifier for me. Four days earlier (January 5th, 2019), I had had a brand new Rheem gas water heater installed by another contractor.
The Sunshine technician found he had to drain a water line as part of the humidifier installation. He could have drained the water into a bucket and dumped it in a nearby basement bathroom. Instead, he thought he'd save himself some time by draining the water directly into the nearby emergency water heater drain pan. At first, I thought nothing of it, as I assumed the technician knew what he was doing.
A few hours after the humidifier installation though, my water heater went out. The status light was indicating a problem with the fuel sensor (a sensor to sniff out potential vapor/gas leaks). I opened the access panel and found that the water in the drain pan must have wicked up through the vents in the bottom of the water heater. The inside bottom of the water heater was all wet, and the water was even wicking up into all the insulation in the walls of the water heater.
I called up Sunshine to alert them to the problem. To their credit, they quickly sent out a technician to fix the water heater. The technician after a bit of study (he was somewhat unfamiliar with Rheem water heaters, as Sunshine installs only Bradford White water heaters), he was able to get and replace the fuel sensor and get the water heater working again. He did mention to me that he had no idea why the Sunshine technician who replaced the humidifier would be so stupid as to drain the water into the drain pan. Of course, there was still a lot of water inside the water heater, and he had no way to get it out. He suggested leaving the access panel open, in the hope that the water would eventually evaporate from inside.
A day or so later though, the water heater went out again. This time the status light was indicating a problem with the igniter. I called Sunshine again, and this time William Frew, the owner called me. I explain the situation and how it looked as though the water heater would need to be replaced. He told me that that was NOT going to happen, but that he would personally make sure that the water heater would be repaired and all would be put right.
Mr. Frew came out personally to see what was going on. He was able to replace the igniter and get the water heater working again. He also found out that the original technician who had replaced my humidifier, besides screwing up my water heater, had also botched the humidifier installation. Mr. Frew was also able to get that fixed as well, all the while mumbling about how good help is hard to find these days. He again promised me that he would make sure that all was taken care of. I even got him to agree that, if worst came to worst, and the water heater kept going out, he would indeed agree to replace the water heater.
A day or two after that, the water heater went out again. This time it was again the fuel sensor. As I happened to at that point have a spare fuel sensor, I was able to replace it and get the water heater running again. From this point on though I have left the access panel off, and the fuel sensor pulled away from the water heater, in case it was water vapor that was causing the problem.
I also had the original contractor, who installed the Rheem water heater, come out to take a look at things. He observed all the water inside and informed my that my Rheem 12-year warranty (one of the main reasons I selected this particular water heater) was now likely null and void. He also told me that his installation warranty was also unfortunately, null and void as well.
I email Mr. Frew about the new problem and asked for his advice. He replied that he really didn't know what else to do. I replied back again asking for advice, or where we should go from here, but never received a reply back. Over the next month or two, I emailed Mr. Frew many, MANY times, but never got a response. It was only after I called the main office, as well as emailed Mr. Frew again, suggesting that I'd be leaving very negative feedback on every website I could find, as well as possibly bring lawyers into this that I finally heard back.
Sunshine emailed me that they would like to send out a technician to check up on the water heater and perhaps replace the fuel sensor. I replied back that that would be fine, but I wanted to know first know what the long-range plan was if errors kept popping up. The only reply I received was again asking me if I wanted to set up an appointment with a technician. I again asked what the plan was in case this did not permanently fix the problems.
Eventually, Mr. Frew again contacted me, asking what wou