XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) So, we've lived in this house for 22 years. The hot water heater is about 60 ft away from the kitchen faucet. It takes over a minute and a half for hot water to reach the kitchen sink, and about 1 and 3/4 gallons of water go down to drain before it gets there. A few months ago I got a Richmond point-of-use hot water heater. There was two options for wiring. One was 120 volt. The other was 240 volt. I thought it was going to be a big project. I wanted to go with the 240V and no.8 wire. I hired an electrician. They came over and put the circuit in under the sink and wired receptacle end onto the hot water heater. I didn't get a chance to hook up the PEX lines before we left for the Labor Day weekend. When I got home I hooked up the pipes and ran water. Nothing happened. I got my little $30 tester out and checked and there was no voltage. The electrician came back today and determined that a wire had come loose inside the box at the receptacle. I plugged it back in and looked. No light came on on the dash. So I tried running some water and when I did the light came on and the temperature started to rise. I read the directions a little more. There's no temperature adjustment on the water heater. It's really blazing hot too. Edited September 6, 2023 by XXitanium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 I'm going to be wasting a lot less of clean water and the energy to heat it. My wife is concerned that the hot water coming out of the faucet is too hot and might be an actual hazard. I'm considering putting in a mixing valve to try and adjust it. The other option would be to convert it over to 120 volts and see what comes from that. I'd rather keep it the way it is. My wife mentioned that with the ability to get the water that hot at the tap it would make beer making quicker. Does anybody have any advice on mixing valves? Google has about a million different varieties. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 So this is a rare case when it's really a hot water heater? Or did they plumb it on the cold side, and it's just a water heater? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 No, there 's 60 ft. Of cold water between the water heater and the faucet. The only purpose of this is to get hot water right away and stop wasting energy and water that just goes down the drain. These heaters can be used as only water heaters with only a cold supply to a sink if you need that also. I consider this a normal installation as well though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 Just now, XXitanium said: My wife is concerned that the hot water coming out of the faucet is too hot and might be an actual hazard. If 121 is the water temp, there's zero danger. You start worrying at about 132, and over 145 is risky. Below 120 can allow bacteria to grow, though with a tankless I don't know if it matters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 1 minute ago, XXitanium said: No, there 's 60 ft. Of cold water between the water heater and the faucet. The only purpose of this is to get hot water right away and stop wasting energy and water that just goes down the drain. So it's just a water heater for the first minute or two, then it's a hot water heater? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 It saves me 2 minutes of my personal time at a crack also. Quick math and being conservative, 2 minutes per heat up at four times per day. Comes to 1700 some minutes. Divided by 60 is like 48 hours of standing there and waiting for hot water. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 It made hot water like mad. From what I can tell a tops out of 161°. After my wife got done running water for the dishes, the new breaker tripped. Everything is new, including the breaker all the way to the new power outlet. ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) We put in #8. Measured volts was 242V. ...allowed to vary 5%, my understanding. https://www.southwire.com/calculator-vdrop Edited September 6, 2023 by XXitanium Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 37 minutes ago, SwampNut said: So it's just a water heater for the first minute or two, then it's a hot water heater? Ha, yes. It changes duty somewhere in the second minute of operation. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackhawkxx Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 My water heater is also at the other end of the house but with thought you can use the cold water. Also our water is way cheaper than electric. An extra thousand gallons of water cost me $5. I thought of moving the natural gas heater but the work/reward is in no way worth it. Bill, you are still working so I know time is a thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALCXX Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 My hot water heater is only about 25 feet away. I re-plumbed the house about 15yrs ago with Aqua-Plex. Made a big difference replacing all that copper tubing and iron pipe. Hot water much faster even in winter. and yeah 161 is pretty damn hot. Are you sure it's a fixed set point? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Furbird Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 Interesting. All of my hot water valves are on one main wet-wall with the exception of the washing machine. Mom and dad have the exact opposite problem as their water heater was in the utility room right next to the washing machine; on the other end of the house from the bathrooms. Of course when they added on their new bathroom is right there too so they're not worried about this problem anymore. This could have come in handy 40 years ago when we had to wait 2 minutes for hot water when we came in to wash our hands for dinner! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 2 hours ago, CALCXX said: Are you sure it's a fixed set point? No, I'm not, but an external valve I could adjust without taking the case off the water heater. I may have wired it too high a voltage? https://www.richmondwaterheaters.com/product/Richmond-Essential-Point-of-Use-Tankless-Electric-Water-Heater/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALCXX Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) Bill, the name plate reads 120V. Hmmmm Is there another diagram undercover in the make up box showing the taps and elements in series or parallel ? It must have a thermostat also. Adjusted where? I would be surprised if it is fixed at 161. Edited September 6, 2023 by CALCXX 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Hmmm, looks like I applied too much turbo boost. How long till it turns into a fuse? "RMTEX-04 and RMTEX-06 only show output temperature and are non-thermostatically controlled” ...maybe I just turn off the breaker till I can rewire it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 It may be easier to just grab a bigger model with temperature settings too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 5 hours ago, XXitanium said: How long till it turns into a fuse? Should be fine, it's water-cooled. Well, when it's in cold water heater mode, not in hot water heater mode. Our gas water heater is set to around 145. "Don't be an idiot" along with a faucet that's easy to visually set to a temp is my solution. EDIT: To be clear, it's not a magic faucet, but the mix ratio is obvious because it's one lever with 90 degree sweep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Model number of your valve? ... a friend is in the biz. I'm thinking one of these POU mixing valves - his suggestion. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 15 minutes ago, XXitanium said: Model number of your valve? Not sure if you're asking me. It's not a valve. The faucet just has an obvious mix ratio. It depends on humans not being retarded. You can have my excessively hot water when you pry it out of my burnt fingers. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
XXitanium Posted September 6, 2023 Author Share Posted September 6, 2023 Yeah, I have a mixing valve on my shower that keeps it from getting too hot. It would be what would be the general bathroom for visitors and maybe small children might use it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CALCXX Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 (edited) Bill, I see the model -04 does not have a thermostat. More like an Insta-hot for making tea. You are supplying it with twice the voltage beyond the nameplate rating. Turn it off and get control of it. If you are going to keep it, have the Electrician come back and move one phase off the 2-P breaker back to Neutral and supply it with 120. Your chart shows 1P 30A breaker 10ga wire minimum. Edited September 6, 2023 by CALCXX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SwampNut Posted September 6, 2023 Share Posted September 6, 2023 And if they put in a neutral by chance, don't just wire off one phase and the neutral on a split phase breaker, not safe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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