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Product By Stiebel Eltron(3 customers reviews)
2010-08-22
By Donnie Anderson
For those who don't know, Stiebel Eltron make the best electric tankless heaters on the market. They have the digital thermostat, and it will keep your water to the exact temperature you set regardless of demand. I set mine to 106'F and it is exactly 106'F, regardless of if I have just 1 tap open or 5 plus a shower, dishwasher, etc... As for installation it was fairly basic. Just an in and out for the plumbing and the electrical was fairly straightforward. You need 3 x 60A 208-204V lines plus a ground. That means 6 spaces in your breaker panel. This is the biggest electric tankless that can go on a 200A service. Anything larger and you need a 400A service. I am a licensed electrician so instalation was simple for me. Otherwise I would definitely hire an electrician to do the hookup. It can be intimidating to do the electical yourself with all the options. Do you use flex, tech cable, just plain old lumex, etc... I piped mine in using EMT and #6 wire, although you only need #8. Construction quality is top notch. The manual is excellent. And it works like a charm. It is capable of giving 140'F scalding water just like a regular storage tank. But I set mine to 106'F; the temperature I want for taking a shower. I just turn the hot water faucet on and I get the exact tempature I want. No need to play with the cold water to get the temperature I want. No more fluctuations in temperature when a toilet, washer, or dishwasher kicks in while taking a shower. No need to have expensive mixing valves or temperature regulators. Also you eliminate the need of draining your storage tank every year or 2 and cleaning it out, replacing annode rods, or just waiting for it to leak and flood your basement after 10 years so you can replace it or call the power company to have a replacement rental installed. I have a water softener as well so there should be no maintenance issues with the tankless. I am expecting a 30+year life cycle. I figure the cost of a good 12year storage water heater is around $500-600. This tankless water heater was [...]. But it will last 30 years as opposed to 15 years with a storage tank so it actually cvomes out to [...] for 2 storage tanks as opposed to [...] for the tankless. I save [...] in the long run. I also don't need temperature regulators or expensive faucets on my shower so I save money there. The tankless is also more efficient so I save a little bit again there. It all adds up. Also the maintenance of a hot water storage tank is a pain. And the risk of it leaking and flooding unless you replace it every 10 years even if it still works. Also it's no good to cook with hot water from a storage tank because of all the built up gook and grime and deposits in the tank that are in the water. Now I have pure water straight form the source, not water that has been sitting with deposits in a tank. For the price this is the best electric water heater on the market. It is way cheaper than going solar which costs over [...]. But if you decide to upgrade and go solar, a tankless is a perfect compliment to bring your solar heater water up to the final temperature if required. So a tankless is not a wasted purchase if you decide to add a solar heater down the road.
Definitely 5 stars.
2010-08-04
By C. Labuda (Oxford, MS USA)
I had to replace my two-year old American Heat tankless because the temperature fluctuations were so large that you had to pay attention so that you didn't get burned. Additionally, the American Heat took as much as 5 minutes to generate hot water. The Siebel-Eltron controls water temperature very precisely and heats up quickly, usually in less than a minute. Let's face it, tankless hasn't really caught on yet in the US whereas in Europe tankless heaters are used quite widely, so they know how to make these. Stiebel-Eltron is top of the line.
2009-10-18
By Jon L. Sharp (Texas, USA)
I am very happy with this purchase. Mounting the Tempra 29 Plus and the required new electrical box in the closet was as easy as 8 screws. Wiring it all up was a little more work. The plumbing is simple if you put it where your tank was. And losing our old 50 gallon tank gave us some new closet room for the house! The product itself is absolutely fabulous and is only about 4-5 inches deep and maybe 15"x15"ish. It looks very well made. (Those Germans always make good stuff!) Once installed, your water will easily get hotter than you can stand and I felt no fluctuation in the shower when the washing machine and a sink were also running hot. The ONLY negatives I see are 1)the dedicated line requirements and 2)a couple of our fluorescent fixtures flicker/strobe slightly when hot water is running. I feel like that might simply be due to cheap bulbs or something because the "flicker" is isolated to just two fixtures in the whole house. Bottom line: Buy it. Just be prepared for a little extra cash to go to a new electrical box, 3x50amp breakers and some 8ga wire. But in the end, you'll be happy, you water will be hot, and you won't be heating 50 gallons of water all day long for nothing any more. I can't wait for the next electric bill to see what my Tempra 29 Plus is saving me! Seller's note: A minimum 200 AMP household electrical service is highly recommended and will likely be required to install this model. If you are unsure of your electrical capacity in your home, please consult your electrician before ordering.
