Hot water heater

cruzan1

Active member
Sep 12, 2016
114
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28
Is it possible to purchase a North American style water heater here? 50 gallon with an actual thermostat? The small boiler and on/off light switch ain't cutting it.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
Is it possible to purchase a North American style water heater here? 50 gallon with an actual thermostat? The small boiler and on/off light switch ain't cutting it.

I’ve never seen one. Is like to suggest that you look into an on-demand hot water heater. They sell both propane and electric. We have 3 propane’s, purchased at Ferriteria Americana. One in each bathroom and one that’s shared between the kitchen sink and the washing machine. They work great.
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
seconded. we have electric on demand water heater, brand name rheem. works like a charm. one of the best investments we made.
 

Uzin

Bronze
Oct 26, 2005
1,386
20
38
My friend last year bought a an electric water heater (like you describe) which he said is Made in great US of America, can't say if it is 50 gallon though, smaller I think. But it looks the part, unlike the cheap local blue colored ones they mostly sell here.

But I thought they all have a thermostat (otherwise how they avoid boiling the water etc.), there was one cheap one with damaged thermostat in the neighbor's house and it was leaking, so would not stop heating, that ran over 10k pesos in electric bills in a few weeks, before it was found out - check regularly.

We have propane gas on demand here, it is okay and very economical except you need good water pressure for it to work properly, if you are on high floors that could be an issue - maybe electric ones don't have this requirement.
 

AlterEgo

Administrator
Staff member
Jan 9, 2009
23,097
6,247
113
South Coast
My friend last year bought a an electric water heater (like you describe) which he said is Made in great US of America, can't say if it is 50 gallon though, smaller I think. But it looks the part, unlike the cheap local blue colored ones they mostly sell here.

But I thought they all have a thermostat (otherwise how they avoid boiling the water etc.), there was one cheap one with damaged thermostat in the neighbor's house and it was leaking, so would not stop heating, that ran over 10k pesos in electric bills in a few weeks, before it was found out - check regularly.

We have propane gas on demand here, it is okay and very economical except you need good water pressure for it to work properly, if you are on high floors that could be an issue - maybe electric ones don't have this requirement.

True about the water pressure, but they do sell small pumps you can attach to the water line if that happens, or if, as in our case, you are sometimes using water from a tinaco when electricity is down. The pump works well on an inverter.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,696
8,127
113
I have a 10 gallon tank with a timer. I set the timer on 20 minutes every night when I go to bed, and have enough hot water to take a nice hot shower every morning and a warm shower in the evening.

Using a timer makes a big difference.

I have two 12K inverter split A/C's as well, an over/under washer/gas dryer and my electric bill runs about 1200 pesos a month.
 

Adrian

Member
Oct 22, 2003
192
11
18
I have a 10 gallon tank with a timer. I set the timer on 20 minutes every night when I go to bed, and have enough hot water to take a nice hot shower every morning and a warm shower in the evening.

Using a timer makes a big difference.

I have two 12K inverter split A/C's as well, an over/under washer/gas dryer and my electric bill runs about 1200 pesos a month.

I have been looking for a timer for our hot water heater. Do you have any details of the timer and where you bought it?

Thanks
 

dv8

Gold
Sep 27, 2006
31,266
363
0
how the hell do you turn it on in the evening and have hot water in the morning?!

we had a regular small heater with timer before and no way in hell that the water heated up in the evening would stay even remotely warm until the morning.
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,696
8,127
113
how the hell do you turn it on in the evening and have hot water in the morning?!

we had a regular small heater with timer before and no way in hell that the water heated up in the evening would stay even remotely warm until the morning.

I'd hazard to guess I have a heater with good insulation, although I have had the same experience with the last three I've owned.

If yours isn't holding heat all night, I'll bet you have a leak in one of your hot water pipes. That's happened to me too.
That will do it in a heartbeat.

it could also be yours is not heating the water very much. It has to get hot to hold until the next morning.
 

JasonD

Bronze
Feb 10, 2018
1,009
2
38
I'd hazard to guess I have a heater with good insulation, although I have had the same experience with the last three I've owned.

If yours isn't holding heat all night, I'll bet you have a leak in one of your hot water pipes. That's happened to me too.
That will do it in a heartbeat.

it could also be yours is not heating the water very much. It has to get hot to hold until the next morning.

Besides the insulation, the location of the heater is also paramount as heat may be lost due to exposure to outside weather.
 

william webster

Platinum
Jan 16, 2009
30,247
4,329
113
I don't want to sound negative but our poster needs to remember that trying duplicate the NoAmerican life here can be problematic

I know a washing m/c in Cabrera...
perfectly good Samsung or LG that needs constant repair due to the power surges blowing the motor.
About $200US a fix.....

Maybe , just maybe, a natural gas hot water tank (converted to propane) would work here
but most of us use the on demand type.... for a reason

Go with flow - is the advice
Reinventing a wheel might be futile

Just saying.......
 

bienamor

Kansas redneck an proud of it
Apr 23, 2004
5,050
458
83
I'd hazard to guess I have a heater with good insulation, although I have had the same experience with the last three I've owned.

If yours isn't holding heat all night, I'll bet you have a leak in one of your hot water pipes. That's happened to me too.
That will do it in a heartbeat.

it could also be yours is not heating the water very much. It has to get hot to hold until the next morning.

I use a heavy duty appliance 24 hour timer set to run for 30 min twice a day. so far so good. they will burn out but I have only had to replace 1 in 3 years cost 600rd. always have hot water, its about a 30 gal tank
 

jahjahwarrior

New member
Mar 14, 2017
137
5
0
The $60 criolla water heaters last 2 years, no anode but does have a thermostat.

I use kasa / tp link smart switch, rated for 1500 watts, has worked two years no problem at all. Runs half an hour when I wake up plus after work, and anytime I say Alexa turn on the water heater...
 

pularvik

Active member
Jan 2, 2011
424
38
28
Have been using propane "instant water heaters" for 6+years. One an imported and very expensive Rheem, and 2 very modestly priced Dominican ones. The rheem required an electrical connection to operate the start-up, but the dominican ones work on a battery.All worked well for us except for the one the rats got into consuming all the wires. These are very efficient as they fire up only on demand.

Curiously, we seem to use cold water most of the time as cleaners here work well in cold water. Cept for showers of course! Please remember,- hot water does not kill germs,- boiling water maybe!
 

JD Jones

Moderator:North Coast,Santo Domingo,SW Coast,Covid
Jan 7, 2016
11,696
8,127
113
JD if you are paying 1,200 pesos a month with 2 a/cs etc I want you system...

The inverter type A/C's made a huge difference in my electric bill. I used to pay around 2300-2500 a month with two regular type splits.

In my case, my A/C runs from 5 pm to 5 am. I never run both at the same time. I have them set at 78 degrees, which feels cool when I walk into the room, but barely noticeable after 5 minutes.

I use my Microwave sparingly, try to keep my fridge closed (and full of bottles of water that hold the cold) and wash and dry 3 loads of clothes every week.

I have an LED TV and watch it for an hour a day during the week, and 5-6 hours a day on weekends.

And, the water heater that is on for 20 minutes each day.

Simple stuff, but it adds up.

Try signing up for 'miconsumo' with EDESUR and have them send you daily reports of your consumption and start from there.