This is a Stiebel Eltron 24 that uses 2 - 60 amp double pole breakers and #6 copper wire located only about 5' from 200 AMP modern Square D service panel. Total of 4 conductors and 1 ground. All 4 conductors have 121.5 v between conductor and ground and 243 V between conductors. There is no voltage drop from panel to heater....and no voltage drop at breaker or heater when unit is turned on. Input water temp is 55F. Each conductor draws 13 amps when heater is set to max 125F........and output temp achieves only 106F at 1.5 GPM. When warmer 90F water is input to unit....it still only achieves 106F.....and draws less amperage. It appears this unit is only trying to achieve 106F. I have exchanged the unit with manufacturer and the new unit does the same thing. Manufacturer says the unit I returned test OK in their lab....at 208V it makes 125F water at 3.5 GPM with 46F water input.

I'm baffled......what conditions could exist at my house to limit this unit to 106F out put? Why does the unit only draw 13 amps if it really is trying to make 125F output water.....it should be drawing close to 50 amps on each conductor? Why are both LEDs on the unit on solid.....indicating they think they can achieve the desired stting output temp. Im located in Montana at 4600 feet......would that screw up anything? All connections are tight, I replaced the breakers just in case. The output temp is measured directly at tank so there is no loss in the pipes or mixing issues. I'm baffled and the manufacturer help line.....while very helpfull is also baffled. I called an electrical engineer / master electritian who was very nice and had me verify the voltages over the phone.......he said they are fine and he sees no external reason unit should not perform. He asked me to check with Stiegel to ensure unit would work ok at 243 V.......they said 243 is fine and they have units working at 250V.
Thanks for the input guys....let me answer your questions......

No its not a flow issue.....it produces 106 F water at 1.5 GPM or 3.5 GPM.

No the input and output are not reversed....same as diagram and verified by tech support.......right is input, left is output.

As I stated...I sent back a unit that did not work at my house....and did work at the manifacturers lab.....so it would not seem to be a defect in the unit.

Does anyone have any ideas what external factors may cause this condition and ways to diagnose them?
The solution to the problem was plumbing. I reported earlier that the water temp was measured at the out put of the unit.....therefore eliminating heat loss in the plumbing and any issues with mixing valves that existed in the plumbing. However......I did not isolate the plumbing by turning off the valve below the test port.....so I was getting mixing backflow. It turns out a mixing valve at the output of my propane hot water tank was mixing the 145 F water output of this tank to an acceptable tempurature.....but was mixing the 125 F water output of the tankless heater to 106 F. Thanks for all the input.

are there any drawbacks?

we have a 50 gal lp water heater which will probably have to be replaced in near future. There are 3 adults & 1 youngster in the house. Which will be the most "green" as well as saving $$ over a period of time & yet provide sufficient hot water as needed?

We are trying to pick a water heater to replace our old one. Our hot water currently smells/tastes metallic, the heater we have is 12 yrs old, & the problem has been going on for almost a yr, so I'm thinking the prob. is more than just the anode rod at this point. Any thoughts on the contrary?

Our cold water also sometimes smells metallic. Most of the time it's just when the hot water's "warming up" & coming out cold at 1st, but I'm worried there may be rust or metal buildup in our pipes now. What to do? How to tell? We tested our h2o, it came back ok - maybe test was bad?

If we do need to replace it, got any input on tankless vs. regular electric? We have no access to gas. Have heard tankless can get buildup faster. I know w/tankless, w/out electricity we'd have no hot water, but that is ok. We like the space & electric conservation. I've been researching & think we could afford one, prices have dropped.

What brands - tankless or regular - would you recommend?

Thanks!
We'd also be taking out the old one and installing the new one ourselves, so any advice on that would also be appreciated!
We do have enough amps, that I do know. I think it's 200, but whatever the case it is something my husband checked before we started shopping for one, in case we needed to rule the tankless out.
Luc, thank you so much, that is very sweet, and I may be emailing u!
As far as how it tastes ... I should clarify - we aren't drinking the hot water from the tap, but you can sort of 'taste' it in the steam from the shower, and, our dishes out of the dishwasher have a metallic taste to them, because of the residue or something I'm guessing. Also, our cold water also has a weird flavor. Like I said, we tested it, but got normal results. So that's even more confusing.

I have a fifth wheel camper with 30amp service. Unfortunately last fall I wasn't able to winterize my camper in time for a hard freeze and froze and broke the water heater holding tank. Since I have the water heater out now I was thinking it may be time to switch to a tankless rather then replacing the old unit it. Is there a unit that anyone could recommend? Basically all I'm looking for is a hot shower that lasts for a lot longer then the 6 gal heater that was originally in the camper. Any help would be great, thanks.

I am specifically interested in the SETS and American Home brands and would like to know if anyone has them and how they do or do not like them. Also, I am interested in information on other brands if you have them. Thanks. I NEED THIS INFO ASAP AS OUR WATER HEATER BROKE THIS WEEKEND AND NEEDS IMMEDIATE REPLACEMENT.

Some handy men just installed an electric hot water heater. It seemed to be working at first try-warm to hot water was coming out. Then we shut off the water and electricity to the house to do some work under a sink. They turned everything back on and left. I went to turn on the hot water only to find very low pressure and then no water. Then I turned on the cold and turned it off got better water pressure on the hot side, but still no hot water. One of the guys is coming back tomorrow, but I'm worried. I've had so many plumbing problems in this house. What could it be? Should I leave my hot side on in hopes that I finally get water running through there? Please help me and thanks in advance.
they didn't touch the temperature setting...could this be the reason for the lower flow? I'm getting a better flow, but the water isn't much warmer than the cold side

This is for a 2 bedroom apartment, 1 or 2 occupants at the most. I need to make some more space in the utility room to accomodate a dryer, and thought I'd replace the 40 gallon hot water tank with a tankless unit. It's about 3 feet away from the breaker box. It would supply hot water to the whole unit (kitchen sink, washing machine, bathroom).

What size of a tankless water heater would I need? Obviously, the higher gpm the heater provides, the more expensive it would be. This is a rental property, I don't live there. I guess the major demand would be in the shower/bathroom. I would tell the tenant not to run 2 hot water sources at the same time or else use warm water in them.

I don't need a complete analysis, but I just wanted to know do these type of water heaters really save you a lot of $. People have told me that they really spin the meter fast when they are running. I just want a side by side comparison. Let's just say that with the electric water heater that I have now 28 Gallons that I take a shower everyday for the same amount of time 15 Min & now I take a shower with a Electric Tankless water heater I take the same amount of time 15 min. Will I save money with the tankless heater?

Thanks for your reply In advance.

I have replaced my house hot water heater with a tankless hot water heater. I still have an old oil burning hot water heater for my baseboard heat. I figure that a gallon of water will go about 294 ft. in 1/2 in. copper tube. Can I replace the oil burning water heater with a 20 or 40 gallon electric heater? If so, suggestions on how or what not to do?
I thought about that, but paying nearly 0 USD for a month and a half of a fossil fuel is far more than the electric would be. Plus, it is for heat only and it is currently an oil water heater being used. Is there a difference?

I was wondering if I could use my home electric tankless water heater to heat the pool as well as my home? If not could I run one just for the pool?

I bought this electric tankless water heater about 2 years ago, (ADK-1) its been working fine all this time but its been starting to smell worse every time anyone in my family uses it and i am afraid it will catch on fire. Please help.
Well today i was testing it out and i heard a loud explosion! This instant tankless water heater blew up and it opened up really bad voiding my warranty lol

I am looking to purchase a 120v electric tankless water heater specifically to be used for my kitchen sink and dishwasher. I am looking at sizes and am unsure of the size I need. I also see min flow GPM and max flow GPM. What does this mean and what size GPM will I need? Also, any recommendations on brands and places to purchase the heater? THANKS!!!!

Our water heater was over 12 years old and it's kaput (leaking from corrosion).

I'd like to replace it with an electric tankless hot water heater... can anyone give me a guesstimate as to how much it should cost us for the unit and installation?

Thanks!

I am looking to replace my water tank with a tankless water heater. What price range should i expect to pay for install and the tankless heater itself. Also is Home depot and/or Lowe's a good deal?

My home is entirely electric no gas. I currently have the typical 50 gallon water tank.
The tankless water heater would be for the entire home - It is a 3 bedroom townhome that is 1800 sq. feet.

My reasons to get the tankless water heater are.
1. Tired of having to wait 30+ minutes between showers.
2. My current water tank takes up half of the storage closet and its in the front of the closet.
3. In the future It would help sell my townhome over another in the neighborhood as all the townhomes have a very similar floorplan and similar look.

I am thinking of replacing my hot water tank with a Stiebel Eltron Tempra tankless electric water heater. I have been told that electric tankless doesn't work very well. Does anybody out there have one, and do you like it?

Can anyone give me a link or PDF document that explains how electric tankless water heaters work...I need diagrams and explanations of the components etc???

I am clueless about tankless water heaters other than I like the idea of it. My apartment has an old electric water heater. I'd like to get a tankless but I dont want it permanantly installed. Is there a way to just disconnect the old one and have this one installed so it can be reversed if I move out? and can the average joe install one or is it pretty complicated if one is good at following directions?
We use very little hot water as it is so the smallest unit is all we would need.

I am considering installing a Tankless Hot water heater here in the next few months and was wondering whether or not I would have to switch part of my lines over to copper. Anybody installed the electric version of a tankless system and have problems? Thanks
First, DakotaWayne I am a bachelor living in a two bedroom, one bath trailer with a dishwasher and sink (neither get much use) and a washer and dryer. So its not like Im living in a 5 bedroom house with 10 kids. Second, I am a little bit old school so I call CPVC "PVC", you go to Lowes they are going to give you CPVC because they know what you mean. Just letting everyone know my living situation.

I was thinking of replacing my regular tank water heater (electric) with a tankless on demand model (propane). I thought it would save money on my electric bill but on my electic company's home analyzer calculator, it states that if I replace it with another electric model (newer as our tank is really old) I will save -110 a year but if we replace it with a propane tankless model we would only save -4 a year. How can a propane tankless heater use more electric than an electric tank water heater? Anyone have any experience or knowledge of these water heaters?
Not sure how to figure out how much electric is because I am billed different amounts for different times of day or something. I have copied and pasted my bill below. Propane is .65 a gallon. My neighbor installs propane and was the one who is trying to talk us into it. Said he would do it for free. We just needed to pay for unit. He has one but his house is new and we have old well pump and hard water. We have a water softner but our water pressure isn't the best.
200 KWH at 2.85800000¢ per KWH 5.72
600 KWH at 2.59800000¢ per KWH 15.59
980 KWH at 2.44900000¢ per KWH 24.00
Transmission Charge:
1,780 KWH at 0.73000000¢ per KWH 12.99
Transition Charge:
200 KWH at 1.21300000¢ per KWH 2.43
600 KWH at 1.07500000¢ per KWH 6.45
980 KWH at 0.99300000¢ per KWH 9.73
Generation Charge:
Capacity and Energy
200 KWH at 5.81900000¢ per KWH 11.64
600 KWH at 5.11400000¢ per KWH 30.68
980 KWH at 4.69200000¢ per KWH 45.98

Has anyone here switched from regular electric water heater to the tankless hot water heater. If you have please answer if you could.
How much difference did it make on your elec. bill?
Were you able to install yourself ( I'm pretty skilled in electrical and plumbing, I've done alot of remodeling).
Have you had any regrets since you changed?
Is there a brand that I should stay away from?
Any other input is also appreciated. Thanks a million.

We need a new water heater and are very torn between a tank, a tankless gas, and a tankless electric. We're leaning towards the electric. Any advice?

The unit requires three 50 amp 2-pole breakers and three runs of 8-2 romex. I understand that different states have different electrical codes...my question is for Pennsylvania. Is there any reason why I would have to install a separate sub-panel for the three 50 amp 2-pole breakers that supply the heater, or can I just install the three breakers in my main panel? The heater will only be about 10-15 feet from where the panel is.

anyone have any information on this?

I am considering changing out our 10 year old electric hot water heater with an electric tankless system... I don't have access to gas/or lp.

The benefits I see are that you only heat the water when you need it, and it doesn't sit in the tank waiting...

The thing I have trouble wrapping my head around is going from tank electric to tankless electric - it seems like a wash - i.e still using electricity.

Is there a significant savings in going to tankless... even if I select an electric tankless system.

I have the standard electric hot water heater which is pushing 13 years old. I'm noticing that it is not supplying enough hot water when showering, etc. Thinking of going tankless to save electricity and water, but I need to know how well they work. Any comments, suggestions, etc. will be greatly apprececiated.

More of an electrical question. I've got a new tankless electric water heater I installed myself. Being tankless, this uses a lot of power (6 AWG wire with a 70amp breaker 220 monophase). I've got it wired through an AC disconnect near the heater due to the thick cable.

Everything is fine and I'm quite sure I wired it up properly. However, with all that power I just want to be sure on the facts regarding electrocution danger with such a setup. I've got the ground wire properly connected. Not sure if this matters, but the ground wire is in very close proximity (maybe even touching the case) to the wires in the AC disconnect. I have plastic PVC plumbing in the house.

Given this setup, is there any danger that I could ever be electrocuted if this heater were to short out or malfunction or if that ground wire ever touched one of the hot leads? Can water in a plastic pipe even carry that kind of power? Thanks for any information!

I would like to know about them and if they work good or not. I hear the gas ones are great but tell me about the electric ones. we have kids and 2 bathrooms and like hot showers. do they put out hot water? how about your electric bill? what kind do you have? what do you recomend? Thank you