Water heater help!!!

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
HELP!!! I am OVER the bone chiiling, scream inducing, North Pole temperature water that comes out of my shower! No matter how hard I try, I can't cope...I need a hot shower in the mornings!!!

My criteria:

1) Must produce HOT water, lukewarm not acceptable
2) Can be electric IF I can use it with my inversor
3) Needs to potentially run at any time of the day (see #2)
4) Not a huge setup, needs to be apartment friendly

My initial research led me to Propane Water Heaters has anyone tried these? Are there electric models that fit the bill?

Any insight is greatly appreciated!
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
948
113
How many batteries can you afford to buy?
Do you have the space to store them safely?

(Never store the batteries under the Inverter as the battery fumes can destroy the electronics of the Inverter)

A small 10-12 gallon 110v electric water heater is all you would need, unless you like to spend a lot of time in the shower. OchoA sells the water heaters

Get the power rating of the heater, then calculate how much power you would need to run it for about 20-30 minutes. Wait 10-15 minutes after turning it on and get in the shower, the remaining timer minutes will get you through the shower.

It is STRONGLY recommended that the Water Heater be on a timer, one that activates at the push of a button for a preset number of minutes. I built my own timer.


Don
 

LTSteve

Gold
Jul 9, 2010
5,449
23
38
On Demand Hot Water Heater

Hi:

Don't know what your budget is or if your electricity is thru the grid most of the time but an on demand hot water system is reliable and will save you money. After going through a couple of small electric hot water tanks I switched over to this and it works great. Only one problem, you need a 220 feed which is what a clothes dryer or stove needs. This system only heats the water when needed and takes about 30 sections to begin. The up front cost is more, approximately $600usd installed but you will probably recoup the additional cost in 18 months. Good luck.

S
 

pularvik

Active member
Jan 2, 2011
424
38
28
We have on demand GAS heater in our rental house. Seems to work really well. Needs occasional tinkering by our property manager but on the whole we have as much hot water as we need. So, no need for 220 and if you are not on the grid it's probably the only way to go.
Myrna
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
We just shipped an on-demand propane water heater down last week, glad to hear positive reports. We bought ours from a manufacturer in Miami, on eBay. It runs on 110. They had bigger units that ran on 220, but it's just 2 of us, and we don't take long showers, so hopefully this will work out. We went with the propane because where we live the lights are off more than they are on.
 

Buzzard

Well-known member
Feb 28, 2004
516
30
48
86
Costambar
We have installed an on-demand propane hot-water heater. Our model was manufactured in Brazil, in think.
Be aware that the unit 'kicks-in' based on water pressure as sensed by the unit. Our unit is designed to respond to a lower level of pressure then normal (whatever that is). This is important if you wish to use the unit when there is no electricity powering the water pump, and you are relying on gravity from a tanaka, on the roof. A friend brought one of the 'normal' units and found this out, too late.
 
May 29, 2006
10,265
200
0
The design for a basic propane heater hasn't changed in over 40 years. If you take short showers, you can get by with a small 10-20 gallon electric unit. Electric units are more expensive to run and can become inefficient if you get scale built up on the heating elements. Replacing elements can also be a hassle if they have scale built up on them. On the plus side, they are easier to install than gas.

For propane, you need to have a way to vent it, but this shouldn't be too much trouble with cinder block walls.

We put in an on demand propane heater in a tenant apartment(in the US) about 5 years ago and it simply didn't last. We recently replaced it with a standard propane heater. It was more efficient while it lasted though. Check for GPM with an on demand system.
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
Does anyone know the prices for both propane and electric water heater? Say a 10 Gallon electric, cheers.
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
We have installed an on-demand propane hot-water heater. Our model was manufactured in Brazil, in think.
Be aware that the unit 'kicks-in' based on water pressure as sensed by the unit. Our unit is designed to respond to a lower level of pressure then normal (whatever that is). This is important if you wish to use the unit when there is no electricity powering the water pump, and you are relying on gravity from a tanaka, on the roof. A friend brought one of the 'normal' units and found this out, too late.

I have read about that issue with water pressure also. I have a tinaca on the roof so yea pressure isn't the greatest. Do you have any details on that model?
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
We just shipped an on-demand propane water heater down last week, glad to hear positive reports. We bought ours from a manufacturer in Miami, on eBay. It runs on 110. They had bigger units that ran on 220, but it's just 2 of us, and we don't take long showers, so hopefully this will work out. We went with the propane because where we live the lights are off more than they are on.

Yea, I was thinking propane because I have the same problem being apparently on a D electric grid.

Do you have the name of the manufacturer? I am in Miami so I could just shoot over to them and check them out.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
5,823
290
0
55
Propane water heaters are cheap at Ochoa or Ferreteria Americana. I bought mine for about 11,000 pesos a few years back. As mentioned the water pressure must be sufficient to turn it on.
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
I read somewhere that a trick to kick start these heaters if you have low pressure is to turn on the unit and block the water output with your hand. It supposedly tricks the unit into thinking there is enough pressure and starts the heating process.
 

suarezn

Gold
Feb 3, 2002
5,823
290
0
55
I read somewhere that a trick to kick start these heaters if you have low pressure is to turn on the unit and block the water output with your hand. It supposedly tricks the unit into thinking there is enough pressure and starts the heating process.

I don't see how you can do that without disconnecting the output pipe which I guess you could do, but then not sure how you'd connect it back when there's water coming out of it without making a huge mess. Doesn't seem practical. I wonder if any of them come with an option to just turn it on regardless of water pressure...
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
You are probably thinking of a regular instant water heater.

I'm referring to the style of water heater I linked to on my first post: Propane Water Heaters

The output on this type is a hose with a shower head. So to summarize, turn on heater, place your hand over the shower head opening to block the flow of water, this tricks the unit into thinking you have enough water pressure and it kick starts the heating process....in theory. Again, this is not my experience but a feedback I read on one of these units.
 

SantiagoDR

The "REAL" SantiagoDR
Jan 12, 2006
5,808
948
113
In La Sirena (Pola - Santiago) yesterday I saw two (2) different size gas water heaters, could not see the capacity as they were up on the shelf.

The prices were $4,500 and $9,000 pesos.


Don
 

PeteyPablo

Bronze
Apr 30, 2011
726
1
0
In La Sirena (Pola - Santiago) yesterday I saw two (2) different size gas water heaters, could not see the capacity as they were up on the shelf.

The prices were $4,500 and $9,000 pesos.


Don


Hey Don, by any chance did you get a chance to see an image of what it looked like? Is it like the ones in my link above?
 

Ringo

On Vacation!
Mar 6, 2003
2,823
41
0
Hey Don, by any chance did you get a chance to see an image of what it looked like? Is it like the ones in my link above?

GO TO THE MANY STORES. LOOK. ASK QUESTIONS. LEARN. DO. FINISH.

Finding YOUR exact answer by asking on a website is just about impossible.

You have some guidelines and advice. Now get off your butt and solve your own problem.
 

lisagauss

Bronze
Feb 16, 2011
721
0
0
GO TO THE MANY STORES. LOOK. ASK QUESTIONS. LEARN. DO. FINISH.

Finding YOUR exact answer by asking on a website is just about impossible.

You have some guidelines and advice. Now get off your butt and solve your own problem.

Its likely that he cannot go see the product because he is not in the DR.