Electric Tankless Water Heaters?

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DipreSantana

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I need info on these, I have 3 showers, of which 2 are used, but not at the same time, can someone with similar requirements tell me of a good electric tankless water heater if they have one?

And how much more ins the electric bill after installing it.

Also, what's the avg water temp in Santiago?
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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They are expensive, but they work very well. They consume a lot of electricity at RD$10.28 a kw/h.....

I will ask my son who has one installed. (BTW, there is a thread here on this very subject)

HB
 
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puryear270

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Where I live, we have a solar water heater (with small tank on the roof). It works great. Engineers on the site can give you a better explanation. Given that I have seen them in several locations throughout the country, I'm guessing they are cost effective.
 
Hillbilly

Hillbilly

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Most cost effective is the solar unit, no doubt.

I really should install them...cash outlay is my problem...and it is not that much..

HB
 
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PeterInBrat

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Speaking of solar heaters, here is a design made out of soda cans:

YouTube - zsnowshredder's Channel

I suppose you could run some pipe through something like this with a small circulation pump to a reservoir to make a water heater. You'd want the pump to be on a t-stat so it only runs when the sun is heating the water above a set temp. For about 80 empty beer cans and some work, it looks like a cost-effective system.
 
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DipreSantana

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The infrastructure in my house isn't set up for a solar water heater, and I'm sure getting it to work will be very expensive, not only that but the actual water heater is like 70k, where as a nice tankless unit is like 20k.
 
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Hernandez

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I have Eemax 95T, ordered it online for 200 dollars plus shipping (EPS). Works fine with dominican 208 Volts. 9 KW is enough to fill the bathtub with really hot water, not only for shower. Minimum flow rate is 0.75 gpm, that means that the faucet must be fully open to activate the heater, because the water pressure here is very low.
 
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DipreSantana

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Hernandez said:
I have Eemax 95T, ordered it online for 200 dollars plus shipping (EPS). Works fine with dominican 208 Volts. 9 KW is enough to fill the bathtub with really hot water, not only for shower. Minimum flow rate is 0.75 gpm, that means that the faucet must be fully open to activate the heater, because the water pressure here is very low.
Click to expand...

My water pressure is amplified by a pump and a pressure tank, how much more is your electric bill now?
 
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socuban

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DipreSantana said:
Tell me, how much gas do you use per month?
Click to expand...

I couldn't begin to tell you as the unit is installed in a condo complex with common gas (another +). I have no doubt that per BTU, gas will always be cheaper than electric in the DR.

"A water heater with an energy factor of 0.62 means that for every dollar spent heating water, $0.62 is being used to heat the water. The remaining $0.38 is wasted."


"And unlike a tank-type heater, the temperature remains constant at the selected set point. There is no stored water and no pilot light, so Takagi?s high EF range is between 0.81 and 0.94, depending on the model and gas type."


"Tankless Operation: Takagi units operate differently. Each unit modulates fully between its minimum and maximum BTU/hr input ratings. It only uses the amount of gas needed to do the job, so there?s no waste!"

Takagi USA - The tankless water heater pioneers. Experience "Endless Hot Water"

I was going to bring the unit into the DR in luggage and got lazy - sent it via Vimenpaq. Aduanas hit me up for US$425 in "luxury item" fees. Forewarned is forearmed;)
 
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TheHun

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Did you think about to use a propane water heater? I use an Evo on-demand heater in 2.5 years now and it works perfectly. A lot cheaper than electrical, don't have to worry about power - which is off quite often, the only negative thing is that you need to get your propane tank refilled in every few months.
BTW, it's cheap here, you can get one for a big house for US$ 3-400.

The Hun
 
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PeterInBrat

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JDJones said:
Beer cans? You gotta be kidding me! Talk about taking it to an extreme. That guy has waaaay too much time on his hands.

HB, you can make a very simple one for the price of a roll of copper tubing, and keep your hot water tank as a storage unit.

The water comes into the tank heated, so the heating element doesn't kick in.
Click to expand...

The guy seems to have company now making these things. There is nothing wrong with thin aluminum tubing painted black as a means to absorb heat. If he tried to have the tubes made, they would be far more expensive and not much better.

Cansolair Solar Panels - FREE Heating without the Pollution

Looks like each unit can produce the equivalent of about a 1500 watts heater even on a cold day. Do the math on what that could save in the DR per day as an add on to a powered heater with about 6 hours of heating. Think what a hotel could save if they had a bunch of these up on their roofs...

If you really want to go low tech, you could just lay a black hose on a tin roof before going to the water heater, but without a circulator pump, it wouldn't do much.

I've been happy enough in the DR if there is some reservoir tank on top of the house just to take the chill out of the water. Given the price that some people are willing to pay for hot water in the DR, a low cost DIY solar system seems to make a lot of sense. With some tweaking, you could also distill your own drinking water with an evaporation system.
 
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DipreSantana

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TheHun said:
Did you think about to use a propane water heater? I use an Evo on-demand heater in 2.5 years now and it works perfectly. A lot cheaper than electrical, don't have to worry about power - which is off quite often, the only negative thing is that you need to get your propane tank refilled in every few months.
BTW, it's cheap here, you can get one for a big house for US$ 3-400.

The Hun
Click to expand...

How many gallons of propane do you use per month?
 
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Hernandez

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DipreSantana said:
My water pressure is amplified by a pump and a pressure tank, how much more is your electric bill now?
Click to expand...

I believe that tankless water heater is more economic than standard model with a tank, because tankless heater is working only when the faucet is open and hot water is running.

My electric bill is close to 10K pesos because of 3 air conditioners, electric dryer, washer, dishwasher, etc... so water heater just adds a little, I don't care ))
 
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DipreSantana

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I have a crazy idea, I don't need the water to be hot, just warm, so I was thinking, why don't I just buy a shower head heater and hook it up to the pipe that supplies the water to the shower, and get a low flow shower head, that should be enough to heat the water to 95-100 degrees, which is all that I want.
 
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Matilda

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Sep 13, 2006
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I have one of those shower heads that you wire into electricity and when you turn it on out comes hot water. Cost including installation less than 2000 RD$. I think you can get better models though, although it works fine.

matilda
 
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PeterInBrat

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JDJones said:
Beer cans? You gotta be kidding me! Talk about taking it to an extreme. That guy has waaaay too much time on his hands.
Click to expand...


From what I hear, the guy is getting $2800 Canadian per unit plus $500 for installation. Not bad for 240 beer cans and some plexiglass...
 
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Olly

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Mar 12, 2007
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Dont do it - most houses electrical systems are not designed for 11kw and the tankless heaters fur up with calcium deposits in hard water areas in about a year. I have pictures of the problem. Go for gas or tank heaters.

OLLY
 
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xtoclark

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TheHun said:
Did you think about to use a propane water heater? I use an Evo on-demand heater in 2.5 years now and it works perfectly. A lot cheaper than electrical, don't have to worry about power - which is off quite often, the only negative thing is that you need to get your propane tank refilled in every few months.
BTW, it's cheap here, you can get one for a big house for US$ 3-400.

The Hun
Click to expand...

We also have an EVO on-demand (but ours is 14L) using LPG, bought locally. I would reccomend using 'gas' instead of electricity for heating your water for the same reasons as the Hun. Light can go as it pleases but as long as there is enough water pressure, my shower is still steaming.

This is my first foray into the word of tankless 'gas' heaters and I have to say, it's not terrible. The water will stay very hot for 15-30 minutes(total guess, haven't actually timed it, yet.) It takes about 2 minutes to heat up.


DipreSantana said:
I have a crazy idea, I don't need the water to be hot, just warm, so I was thinking, why don't I just buy a shower head heater and hook it up to the pipe that supplies the water to the shower, and get a low flow shower head, that should be enough to heat the water to 95-100 degrees, which is all that I want.
Click to expand...


Dipre, with 4 people taking regular showers daily (hot water is not used for dishes or laundry) we go through about a tank (BBQ sized) a month.

As a side note, I used to have one of those shower head heaters when I lived in el Campo... Can I just say that those units scare the beejezus out of me? Trying to take a shower was, literally, an electrifying experience. Which was not a great one. Every time I had to take a shower I felt like I was about to take a bath with a toaster and hairdryer.

Also, they seem to pull a lot of power, don't have exact figures but the ones I have seen dim the lights just like a hairdryer, if not more. Then again, thats a very subjective view since I can only imagine it would depend on your wiring and hookup.
 
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