Best 110 volt tankless water heater for shower

Does any one have experience to use 110 volt tankless water heater for shower? Does it work perfectly and delivers good flow of hot water without running out in the middle ???

Actually I want to use 110 volt as a point of use for shower but confused. Need your suggestion???

I seriously doubt it. I have a 240V point of use heater. It doesn't "run out" but the flow rate is limited. Works OK for washing my hands.

In the summer you can probably take a quick shower like those in the ships. During winter time hell no, the incoming water is very cold.

I seriously doubt it. I have a 240V point of use heater. It doesn't "run out" but the flow rate is limited. Works OK for washing my hands.

Seems, It will not be a good decision for shower.

In the summer you can probably take a quick shower like those in the ships. During winter time hell no, the incoming water is very cold.

This was bothering me and making me confused that how would it will work in winter...

Need to know the temp rise at the required flow rate and the incoming water temp to know for sure.

Do you have a picture or link of what you want to buy/use?

A reasonable tankless to support one low flow shower is 240v 30A. 120v are designed to support one lightly used sink and even then is not hot hot. Obviously this goes downhill quick in the mid-west in winter.

Not a chance. Think about it, an electric kettle takes 2-3 minutes or so to boil a quart of water. A shower flows around 2 gallons a minute, 115v just cant keep up with the demand. The tankless should list the flow rate it supports, tankless heaters don't bring the water to boiling but to a set range (maybe 115-130)

If you are willing to get wet, turn off the water, then scrub, followed by a brief rinse; you will have a shower like the men who sailed on the Diesel Boats of WW2.

If you're stuck on 110V then you'd be better off with a small tank heater.

Ya probably can if you’re really quick.

I have a small pool house that has a tanked electric water heater. We rarely use the space so figured a tankless would be perfect, but even in GA and having 240 available, it would be marginal. My cousin put tankless on the house he lives in on Maui and it works great, but that is on Maui and also 240 volts. No chance in Chicago

I have used an on demand electric to run a normal 2.x GPM shower with an inlet temperature of around 62-70 degrees. degrees. It takes a lot of power, 60 amps @240. It does work very well though.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LZRF9M/?tag=atomicindus08-20

With Chicago water being something in the 40's you would need something 2x this size. I dont think you have a viable option with 110v unless you do a 5-10 gallon point of use tanked water heater, and keep the showers quick.

In Chicago, I’ve taken many showers with a 110v point of use. I forget the gallon size now been a few years since I used it. I would go as much capacity as you can.

They work well.

But as said, you need to be efficient and quick in the shower.

Do you have a picture or link of what you want to buy/use?

I searched on amazon different models including Stiebel Eltron 236010 Model, 3000W Instant Electric Tankless, iHeat HS-4 and others. And could not make decision. I also read this blog to get more information about 110v tankless water heater. https://waterguru101.com/best-110-volt-tankless-water-heater/

I have used an on demand electric to run a normal 2.x GPM shower with an inlet temperature of around 62-70 degrees. degrees. It takes a lot of power, 60 amps @240. It does work very well though.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LZRF9M/?tag=atomicindus08-20

With Chicago water being something in the 40's you would need something 2x this size. I dont think you have a viable option with 110v unless you do a 5-10 gallon point of use tanked water heater, and keep the showers quick.

Actually It would be my first experience with tankless. What do you say about Ecosmart 18??? would it be suitable???

The European 110v heater will run a bit hotter on North American 120v power but will likely still be incapable of heating water for a shower. Even for a low flow shower head you should be looking for a 240v heater.

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How are you going to get 110 volts from the standard 120?

If you are willing to get wet, turn off the water, then scrub, followed by a brief rinse; you will have a shower like the men who sailed on the Diesel Boats of WW2.

Hiw else do people shower?
That's how I've always done it.

I have used an on demand electric to run a normal 2.x GPM shower with an inlet temperature of around 62-70 degrees. degrees. It takes a lot of power, 60 amps @240. It does work very well though.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001LZRF9M/?tag=atomicindus08-20

With Chicago water being something in the 40's you would need something 2x this size. I dont think you have a viable option with 110v unless you do a 5-10 gallon point of use tanked water heater, and keep the showers quick.

"Cold" water is 70*? Wow.

I've always had ~36-38* cold water. The fridge warms it up.

I just spent $1800 on a new water heater. Considered a thankless, but with needing to redo the gas feed and add a smoke pipe, I decided not to.

GPMxDELTA Tx500=BTU Figure a 60*delta T for a temp rise. With a. Low flow 1.5 gpm shower head at a 60* you will be looking at pretty much all hot water with very little cold on the mix, so, 1.5x60x500=45KBTU. A kilowatt is 3,214 btu so 45,000/3214=14 kw to heat the water.

A 120 volt water heater on a 15 Amp Circuit with a 1.5 or 2 gallon tank will not support "Hollywood Showers". The recovery rate is too slow.

No way can you do this, unless your incoming water temperature is very high (70+ degrees F or higher). I spec these things for a living. We put 25kW units on kitchen sinks and showers in a commercial facility and still got complaints about the water being too cold.

With a 120V 20A circuit, you can run a 12-gallon tank heater. I just purchased one to hide in the corner of my kitchen in that dead space next to the stove. That, coupled with a low-flow shower head and one of those shut-off valves installed at the shower head (so you can turn off water while you soap up), will do the trick.

Don't do it! I had one for just a sink, and it couldn't keep up. I just installed a 10 gallon normal water heater and it works great!

Actually It would be my first experience with tankless. What do you say about Ecosmart 18??? would it be suitable???

A Ecosmart 18 will be close for your region Its rated @ 105 degrees with a 47 degree inlet @ 2.0 gpm

If your shower head is less than 2.0 then it will work. If you have a higher than that (Most shower heads are rated around 2.5 gpm) I think you need to step up to the Eco 24, which also needs 100 amps of electrical service. I know I could not feed this in my house in California as I only get 125 amps total from the power company.

GPMxDELTA Tx500=BTU Figure a 60*delta T for a temp rise. With a. Low flow 1.5 gpm shower head at a 60* you will be looking at pretty much all hot water with very little cold on the mix, so, 1.5x60x500=45KBTU. A kilowatt is 3,214 btu so 45,000/3214=14 kw to heat the water.

Thanks for the equation. The math checks out with my real world experience with a 13kw unit.

It's all about flow rate and temperature rise. In the summer, in a warm climate, with a low-flow shower head you can do it. In the dead of a chicago winter... I guess it's always going to be better than a cold shower but don't expect much.

How are you going to get 110 volts from the standard 120?

Use one big resistor in series.

A 120 volt water heater on a 15 Amp Circuit with a 1.5 or 2 gallon tank will not support "Hollywood Showers". The recovery rate is too slow.

I had a 2 gal. Water heater in the garage and it was good to wash two pairs of hands before running out.

Use one big resistor in series.

Why, so that it just becomes waste heat in the air?

While I certainly would not recommend it, I believe that he meant that a 110 VAC spec'd water heater will run slightly hotter on 120 VAC. He's right... let's do some quick math here.

If a Euro spec heater is rated at 5k watts, 110 VAC, that is about 45.5 amperes. 5000 watts is about 17,060 BTU/hr.

If you applied 120 VAC to it, the output would rise to approximately 5,454 watts. That's about 18,609 BUT/hr.

The heater may have a spec that says something like "110 VAC +/- 10%" which means that it would safely operate between 99 - 121 VAC. But I wouldn't bother with it... too many issues related to Code, UL, etc...

Just my two cents, adjusted for inflation.

Mark

Why, so that it just becomes waste heat in the air?

While I certainly would not recommend it, I believe that he meant that a 110 VAC spec'd water heater will run slightly hotter on 120 VAC. He's right... let's do some quick math here.

If a Euro spec heater is rated at 5k watts, 110 VAC, that is about 45.5 amperes. 5000 watts is about 17,060 BTU/hr.

If you applied 120 VAC to it, the output would rise to approximately 5,454 watts. That's about 18,609 BUT/hr.

The heater may have a spec that says something like "110 VAC +/- 10%" which means that it would safely operate between 99 - 121 VAC. But I wouldn't bother with it... too many issues related to Code, UL, etc...

Just my two cents, adjusted for inflation.

Mark

This is very easy to figure out. All on demand water heaters have a temp rise VS GPM rating/chart. Use it to figure out how low of flow you need to get roughly 104* water. Any thing else is just guessing

For the 100 time, Can we just go with:

110-115-120 are the same for general forum discussion purpose

220-230-240 are also the same for the forum.

For the 100 time, Can we just go with:

110-115-120 are the same for general forum discussion purpose

220-230-240 are also the same for the forum.

No they are not, 120V & 240V heating equipment operated at 110V or 220V will have performance issues.

No they are not, 120V & 240V heating equipment operated at 110V or 220V will have performance issues.

ZZzzzzzzzz NO ONE CARES. plz staaaahp. I have appliances rated for 117V. they work JUST FINE. no one cares about them either!

the point is a standard 15A circuit is not going to give you a "normal" shower. doesn't matter if it's 100V in Japan or 129V from your cheap HF genny with a failing VRM.

I've been puzzling what to do about hot water in my shop and adjacent great room. We'd like to have guests be able to use the great room, but the hot water wouldn't be used often. I've learned from past experience that the water sitting in a water heater tank for months can get funky. I have a small 120V tank model, which is about 10 gallons, IIRC. It's good for a quick shower, but once you feel the water starting to cool, you have about 15 seconds to finish up. In the winter, I have to shut off the water and drain the system because the building isn't heated. I think a tankless would have to be huge to be really effective. I'm considering getting a propane fired one. I plan to put a propane fireplace in the adjacent great room, so I'll have propane in the building anyway.