Tiny water heater

[BobN]

Our house is plumbed with excessively long stretches of PEX going from kitchen sink through the floor/slab, then up the wall through the attic, then down to the hot water heater. This means that it takes a long time for hot water to get from the water heater to the faucet. I'm contemplating buying a small water heater and putting it under the kitchen sink to supplement the main water heater for hand washing and other quick needs. There is 20A service under the sink for a garbage disposal, so that restricts me to really small water heaters.

Due to the house construction, it would be REALLY DIFFICULT to change the plumbing or electrical. There aren't enough lines to run a closed-loop circulation pump.

Amazon has a cheap Biselong BI-2.5 (Chinese) water heater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B083CVZ1DF. Home Depot has a similar, not-as-cheap Westinghouse Apolo ‎ES025A3G https://www.homedepot.com/p/Westing...eater-with-6-Year-Warranty-ES025A0G/331847775. The Westinghouse brand seems to trace back to Fogatti Holdings, a Hong Kong company.

Both claim 2.5 gallon stainless steel tanks, insulation, and 1440 watt heating elements. Biselong claims certification by CE, FCC and ROHS, but doesn't mention NSF. I didn't see any mention of certification for the Westinghouse unit. The Biselong has a 2 year warranty and Westinghouse has a 6 year warranty.

Do you have any experience with units like these? If so, are they a good solution or "more trouble than they're worth"? What would you advise?

Thank you!

 

[Reach4]

No experience, but your idea seems good.

There are recirculation systems that use the cold water line as a return. I would think you would want that to turn on for a timed interval only when a button is pressed, because if continuous, you are wasting energy and you get warm water out of the cold for the kitchen.

 

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[Eman85]

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0148O65IE?ref_=ppx_hzsearch_conn_dt_b_fed_asin_title_4&th=1
I have this water heater in my shop under the sink, been there for 5 years now and it works great. Before that I had this one https://www.americanwaterheater.com/media/41431/lpe70.pdf and it was great for about 20 years before it leaked. Never used one in the house like you want to but it would be nice to have the instant hot water.

 

[Slomoola]

I would move. What a mess. You would never get hot water that way. Was like the kitchen, was an after thought.

That 20 amp circuit is for the disposal. Don't try to steal from it for some heater. Run a new direct line from the panel. Good luck with it.

 

[JohnCT]

I put in an Amazon Chinese Vevor 4 gallon water heater that feeds two bathroom sinks in a small commercial building I will be selling (just toilets and sinks, no baths or showers). It had no hot water at all after a boiler replacement and I used this 4 gallon wall hanging POS because it was cheap and it took up virtually no room in the 8'X8' boiler room, plus I didn't have to run any more electrical wires or add a breaker to the panel.

The good - it works perfectly. I had a dedicated 15A outlet that only fed the boiler room and 1 bathroom, but there's nothing plugged into either socket. It pulls 12A during heating and never tripped the breaker. 4 gallons is enough to feed both sinks for hand washing.

The bad - the projected life is like 8 years, and I would be surprised if it lives that long. It does supposedly have an internal sacrificial anode rod, but I won't have the building by April so I don't care.

My house has a similar problem - it takes 30 seconds (forever) to get hot water to the kitchen sink, so when I get a chance, I'm going to buy a quality name brand 2.5 gallon heater and install it in the basement below the kitchen sink. I think Bosch makes one. I'll have hot water in less than 5 seconds I reckon. By the time I used less than a gallon of hot water, the heater will already be getting 140F water to replenish itself. I doubt it will be using much AC at all.

 

[Fitter30]

Watt÷ volts= amps
1440÷ 120= 12 amps
Grunfos , Watts and others make this type of system
www.bigfrogsupply.com/products/595916?variant=8998958851&country=US&currency=USD&utm_medium=product_sync&utm_source=google&utm_content=sag_organic&utm_campaign=sag_organic&glid=CjwKCAiAs4HMBhBJEiwACrfNZXp21ZEb-wS3KYP3pp76mjlxAtKrpDYBG518C8yOT9icqmiV105qkhoCl0kQAvD_BwE&gad_source=1&gad_campaignid=21904145435&gbraid=0AAAAADgHSH-kvOaklGEZtg3p8Dhsvv3Ve&gclid=CjwKCAiAs4HMBhBJEiwACrfNZXp21ZEb-wS3KYP3pp76mjlxAtKrpDYBG518C8yOT9icqmiV105qkhoCl0kQAvD_BwE

 

[JohnCT]

I'm going to buy a quality name brand 2.5 gallon heater and install it in the basement below the kitchen sink. I think Bosch makes one.

It seems that all "tiny" water heaters on the market including Bosch are made of Chinesium, at least as far as I can tell. Reviews on all these mini heaters are terrible.

I do NOT like recirc systems at all, so my back up plan is to run a dedicated 1/2" copper from the boiler coil to the kitchen sink bypassing the 3/4" trunk from which it's tapped. It should cut the time by almost half. Not great but a big improvement.

John

 

[Slomoola]

I remove the water restrictors in the sink aerators. Much more water flow and faster hot water. Try removing your aerator completely and see how fast your hot water comes to you.

 

[JohnCT]

I remove the water restrictors in the sink aerators. Much more water flow and faster hot water. Try removing your aerator completely and see how fast your hot water comes to you.

Interesting idea, but I have one of those whiz bang modern faucets with the integrated spray and "dish rinse" dealies, so that won't work for me.

John