EcoSmart ECO 18 Electric Tankless Water Heater, 18 KW at 240 Volts with Patented Self Modulating Technology , 17 x 14 x 3.5, White

Reason(s) for purchase: 1. Save $ on energy cost 2. Our tank water heater wasn't getting the water hot enough (could have been goingout or was adjusted IDK) 3. Free up some valuable real estate in our laundry room (more like a closet)So, I managed to buy this model for $360 brand new. I had originally paid $505 and was on amazon about a week later and noticed that thisproduct was on sale as Amazon's deal of the day. Sent the other one back and bought the sale one lol. I decided to go with thisparticular model because I would much rather have too much than not enough. It's all about the incoming temperature and living in Hawaiithis product should do the job for us (4bd 3bth).I will update on actual savings in $ but keep in mind that each state charges differentamounts per kWh (Hawaii charges x3 of the national avg. so savings may appear more drastic) and families use different amounts ofhot water, but at least it will give you an idea.Pros: -Unlimited hot water -Supposed to save $ on energy-Frees up valuable space -Looks ModernCons: -Initial cost may be more than tank (will recoup $ over time) -In order to keep warranty must be installed professionally-Requires three 40 amp double pole breakers -Most likely need new electrical wiring ran-Seems to take a bit longer for hot waterInstall: Install "can" be fairly simple for the average DIYer if you can follow instructions and a few safety guidelines. The hardestpart is running the wiring to the electrical panel. Everything else is pretty easy. If your breaker box is in the same room as yourplumbing the install should be cake. Just make sure that your work is done to code. Wife and I installed it together (she helped run theelectrical wiring to the breaker box). Ours was across the room in the hallway. It actually took us two days working a couple of hoursto run our electrical (a different story for another day). After running the electrical it probably took me 30 minutes to an hour tofinish the rest (installing breakers, mounting and wiring the heater)After use: We have only been using it for about 3 or 4 days now and it is going to take some getting use to. The water definitely getshotter than it did before. The hotter water was the first thing that the wife noticed, but it does seem to take a bit longer to gethot water to the faucets. Not a lot of extra time but it's noticeable, but other than that I have no complaints. That's not even acomplaint..... More of an observation.Bottom line: I plan on installing one of these in our next home. I recommend this product to any who is debating whether or not to buya tankless water heater. Just do your research and makes sure that it will fit your needs. My wife regretted this purchase after havingto bust holes in our walls/ceiling and realizing how much work it was for us. Now that it's done she tells me all of the time that sheis glad that we installed our new tankless water heater. Plus it does everything that we wanted it to do.Update: Product is still working flawlessly and I haven't noticed any light flickering at all. Plus I am running this on a 150 amp service, but my incoming temperature will always be 60-70 degrees F all year round so shouldn't come close to maxing this thing out. After 1 1/2 months of service this is what I noticed: 1. Saved $14 on first full electric bill 2. Almost seems like a waste whenever I wash my hands because by the time the water gets hot I am long gone unless hot water is already in the lines (not the machines fought). I thought about purchasing some point of use heater but changed my mind (not my forever house) 3. Love the bit of extra space in the laundry room. Feels more like a laundry room now that we can actually fit some clothes baskets in there. 4. Wife still enjoys it quite a bit. We even turned it down to 115 degrees. I was hoping to save more per month but even at this rate it would pay itself off in about 4 years or so (including everything....wiring, drywall to patch, texture, paint, valves and filter= Roughly $600 ). Not bad....Hoping next month we notice more savings. Will see I guess. Either way this product performs as advertised. Highly satisfied.

Great! Easy to install if you’re familiar with running electrical and minor plumbing. Definitely would run a filter on the inlet side. Installed a 18kw unit in SC (inlet temp 62f) and have no issues! Water is hot, and I mean HOT. We use high sierra low flow shower heads already at 1.25 gpm, so even though we shouldn’t be able to, we can run 2 showers with no problems. It’s super convenient to have unlimited hot water and not be heating a 60 gallon tank 24/7, using only what we need when we need it. Flow wise; it’s a bit slower, but it’s more consistent than before, not having to adjust valves as you run the kitchen sink as someone is showering. Definitely worth the money, especially since it’s less than the cost of a 6 gallon point of use tank from Home Depot or Lowe’s.

I've had this for 10 months (updated: 2 years now) and it's worked great. I have really high powered water pressure in the showers here, and sometimes also am running a laundry washer and sink. I tried running the washer on Hot, then I turned on 1 sink and both showers to very hot and they all had plenty of hot water.It was pretty easy to set up. While their disclaimer says that you need to have a licensed electrician install it to get the warranty, over the phone 2 people there explained that it's fine for a handyman to set it up, and that they will still honor the warranty as long as the problem clearly is not due to bad installation. In other words, if the problem is due to poor installation, then obviously they won't want to send you a new one. That's more than fair and means that you can save a lot of money having your handyman do it if he has electrical experience. I spoke to some people who said that most companies will put that a licensed person is required to install it for liability purposes to protect themselves. In real life, Ecosmart will cover it even if a non-licensed person installs it. Just write their name and phone number on the warranty registration card and send it in.Also, though their site says (I think from memory) that it needs 120 amps total, we asked them if putting it on a 100 amp subpanel would be enough, and they said yes, and we did that and it's fine. I was told by a number of people that if you put it on a 100 amp subpanel and for some reason it gets more than 100 amps, all it does is switch the subpanel off. That's the point of a subpanel. It makes it so only 100 amps can reach your main panel. So even with 2 showers, a large washer and a sink going, it didn't go over 100 amps. And my showers have great water pressure, so it probably would be like 3 showers in most houses.I only have 150 amps total, and everything has worked great.I found customer service great to work with. If you have a tech question, ask them if you can speak to one of their technical people. They were happy to help me figure it out.The price for this was much lower than other places I researched, and not much more than a tank. I've saved a lot of money on my energy bills as it only heats up water when you need it. I think the savings will pay for the difference in 1 year, and after that it's extra money in my pocket every month. I believe Amazon was a little cheaper than getting it directly through them but check because that could change over time of course.Also, it doesn't take more than about 10 seconds longer to get hot water than with my tank. With a tank, the water in your pipes cools off, so 90% of the wait for hot water is the old water running out. I used to have to wait about 1 minute to get hot water in my showers. With this unit, it adds only 10 seconds to the process as it quickly cranks up and starts heating the water flowing through it.For the occasional mindless person who claims that because their one unit was a dud, that all of them are - get a brain and learn some math. If you buy 40 units and 10% of them are duds, then you can make some claims about overall performance. If you go to any tank or tankless heater that has more than 80 reviews, you'll find at least a couple of reviews by people who got duds. It doesn't mean they all suck. Be honest and just say, "Mine broke and I was unhappy," and don't try to make up that everyone is going to have a problem because you did. In this day and age, pretty much all manufactured things have some duds, even high end computers like Apple. I got a dud iphone and had to have it sent back for a new one. Does that mean you will? Chances are low.I have another property where I still have a tank, and just as many things can go wrong with a tank as with a tankless. And when they go wrong with a tank, it can wreck the floor of whatever room it's in or close to, along with whatever things (furniture, cabinets etc.) are in touch with the floor. I can't wait to replace the tank with a tankless. When the time comes, I'll research what the best buy is out there for price and performance. Ecosmart was when I did, but I'm not wed to them or any other company.I also regained half a closet as it takes up almost no space. I put it in the upper corner of a closet out of the way. You can set the water temp with the turn of a knob. I love it. I will never go back to a tank.UPDATE: I've had it for 2 years now and still super happy with it.