Under sink water heater

[CarDoc66]

My kitchen faucet is the furthest possible distance from my propane fired hot water heater tank. I usually run almost a gallon of water to get warm water and probably another half gallon for it to be hot.
My water bill has recently doubled. A new company was allowed to take over and within a year they’ve doubled the price of water. Not wanting to waste water (and money) I’ve been looking into an under sink electric water heater. I already have a switched 15a, 120 volt service under there, when they built the house it was for the option of a garbage disposal.

Here’s my delima:
Most tankless units are 240 volt, and anywhere between 4-13kw except for a few that are 120v and 1.5kw. I don’t have any way of getting an 240 outlet there. Almost all the reviews I read on them say the 120 volt ones don’t last.

So I looked at the tank type. Plenty of 15a, 120v options but reviews are terrible. Anode rods that disentegrate every 6 months and leaks. Even people with water softening systems state they only last 8 months or so.

Can anyone recommend what my best options would be? At this point I’m thinking of moving the water heater (in the basement) to right below the kitchen. Maybe you know of a bullet proof system? I’d rather spend the money and get something worthwhile.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Rand]

I think your ROI would be nonexistant.

 

[walterjay]

Go to hotwater.com and look up residential electric heaters. They have several that will work in your situation. They are AO Smith units and pretty good. I have installed several of them over the years. All the others don't last.

Look at the 0-10 gallon ones.

 

[CarDoc66]

I think your ROI would be nonexistant.

I agree. I really don’t care about it as an investment, more of a convenience. It’s annoying to have to wait so long for hot water. The water bill just hit a nerve with me and I said it’s time to do this.
I appreciate your candidness about it!

 

[walterjay]

I recommend the AO Smith EJC-6. Very good unit.

 

[Kira]

Same boat but with an irony.
Our new LPG furnace has a fitting for a hot water heater. This new gear is farther away from the water heater's current place.
When we stop using the old, electric 30 gal., it'll take longer for the hot H2O to arrive..

 

[CarDoc66]

I recommend the AO Smith EJC-6. Very good unit.

I was just looking at that model. Six year warranty is good. I have to see if it can be hooked to the hot water line (for an “inline” connection) because I just need it to pick up the slack for the first few gallons. Looks like a tank unit is what I will have to get, all the tankless are 240/208v.

 

[John Galt]

In my summer cabin I have a Bosch 2.7 gallon water heater. It is NOT an instantaneous heater, it has a glass lined tank. Available on Amazon for about $180. There are larger sized units available. It plugs into 110V and provides instantly available hot water to the kitchen faucet. It is mounted in the cabinet with the sink directly above it to the side. Mine gets its supply water from the cold line but I could have just as easily plumbed it so that the hot water fed it.

I installed it in 2021and just 3 weeks ago replaced the anode rod. I Wish I had taken pictures. It could easily have gone another 2 years. This heater is on well water, the life of the rod depends on the water quality. The cost of the rod was about $8 and it took all of 10 minutes to change it out.

^

 

[Timmastertech]

Rather than add an electric water heater under the sink, why not a recirculation pump and thermal valve to recirculate the water and keep the hot water pipe full of hot water https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grundfo...YyhHnKbeSwWQEsoSoh5yw8RxTMpGwU1JGTFicOvcY5iIE

 

[walterjay]

I was just looking at that model. Six year warranty is good. I have to see if it can be hooked to the hot water line (for an “inline” connection) because I just need it to pick up the slack for the first few gallons. Looks like a tank unit is what I will have to get, all the tankless are 240/208v.

It can indeed be done as an inline unit.

And the Grundfos recirculating system is an option. Have installed a few of them.

I have installed Bosch and had early failure.

 

[CarDoc66]

Rather than add an electric water heater under the sink, why not a recirculation pump and thermal valve to recirculate the water and keep the hot water pipe full of hot water https://www.homedepot.com/p/Grundfo...YyhHnKbeSwWQEsoSoh5yw8RxTMpGwU1JGTFicOvcY5iIE

I never knew those existed. I’ll have to research the pros and con of this vs a tank under the sink.

EDIT: This is a brilliant solution. Uses less energy than a heater, easier install plus programmability. Seems like a reliable solution, sorta like a circulator for a furnace. As luck would have it the kitchen is the furthest, and the system will support two additional valves If needed. My local HD has one in stock by Watts, which the item looks identical to Grundfos (except the color). I think this is my project for tomorrow.

 

[Rand]

you do need a loop with a check valve? (might be built into pump)
for the recirculating.

A small tanked water heater if you need more than 3gallons of hot water you are stuck with all the cold water in the tank now.
That it filled up with from the line.
and of course tankless which would be more ideal needs much more power.

Recirculating is the best option if you can run a return water line to make it a loop.

 

[Speedbird001]

I never knew those existed. I’ll have to research the pros and con of this vs a tank under the sink.

EDIT: This is a brilliant solution. Uses less energy than a heater, easier install plus programmability. Seems like a reliable solution, sorta like a circulator for a furnace. As luck would have it the kitchen is the furthest, and the system will support two additional valves If needed. My local HD has one in stock by Watts, which the item looks identical to Grundfos (except the color). I think this is my project for tomorrow.

Definitely want one of these myself. If unexpected $ hits every lay off for a month or two, I'll have one.

My vision was to have a motion detector switch in the master bath that would set it off for a minute or two. 99% of the time I walk in the master bath I want hot water for shave, wash hands, shower etc.

(Alas, this month I opted instead to drop 5 bills at the Vet, not to mention upcoming Christmas spend)

 

[CarDoc66]

Well I read this and said not so fast. It makes sense, if the valve under the sink is sending water back through the cold water pipe it’s going to make your cold line always warm. A tank still might be a better option.

 

[awguy]

I have the Watts recirc pump from Home Depot. My electric bill is about $10 a month higher with it on or on timer. Since I already have their hybrid heat pump water heater the recirc pump kind of defeats the heat pump and I've turned it (recirc) off.

In other news. the heat pump saves about $30 a month on the electrical bill. Much more in the summer.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

You can rewire and re-identify the disposal circuit for 240v. If you don’t have electrical knowledge call in an electrician. They can install a 2 pole 20 amp breaker and re- identify what would be the neutral in the disposal circuit as a hot leg. You can leave the switch as a means of disconnect or they can install a blank trim plate with the hot wire and switch leg “wire nutted” together this would keep the receptacle hot all the time instead of the switch always in the on position

 

[CarDoc66]

You can rewire and re-identify the disposal circuit for 240v. If you don’t have electrical knowledge call in an electrician. They can install a 2 pole 20 amp breaker and re- identify what would be the neutral in the disposal circuit as a hot leg. You can leave the switch as a means of disconnect or they can install a blank trim plate with the hot wire and switch leg “wire nutted” together this would keep the receptacle hot all the time instead of the switch always in the on position

I thought of this but I cannot accomplish this due to the fact the under sink circuit is fed off the 120v GFI outlets along the counter top.
Kudos for your reading comprehension……you noticed I said the circuit was switched.

 

[fantastic]

I had a 5 gallon tank 1500 watt heater under my sink cabinet for the exact same reason you need. I eventually eliminated the tank under sink because of water damage to the bottom cabinets. You have connections that might leak, tank will leak eventually, etc. I ended up moving my 30g water heater in the basement to be right under the kitchen area. If that is a solution then I would suggest it.

The next suggestion would be a small tankless water heater that is INLINE coming from the water heater. You want the hot water line that comes off your big water heater to feed the cold line of the small tankless. A small tankless water heater is what I'd suggest to you if you can't move your big water heater closer to the kitchen sink.

Last resort would be to make sure you had a big catch pan under a tanked water heater if you still want to go that route.

 

[CarDoc66]

I had a 5 gallon tank 1500 watt heater under my sink cabinet for the exact same reason you need. I eventually eliminated the tank under sink because of water damage to the bottom cabinets. You have connections that might leak, tank will leak eventually, etc. I ended up moving my 30g water heater in the basement to be right under the kitchen area. If that is a solution then I would suggest it.

The next suggestion would be a small tankless water heater that is INLINE coming from the water heater. You want the hot water line that comes off your big water heater to feed the cold line of the small tankless. A small tankless water heater is what I'd suggest to you if you can't move your big water heater closer to the kitchen sink.

Last resort would be to make sure you had a big catch pan under a tanked water heater if you still want to go that route.

I’m leaning towards moving the tank across to the opposite side of the basement at this point. I’m paranoid about water damage from an under sink tank. I’ve went through water damage on my previous home, it was a disaster.

 

[Rogueman2016s]

I’m leaning towards moving the tank across to the opposite side of the basement at this point. I’m paranoid about water damage from an under sink tank. I’ve went through water damage on my previous home, it was a disaster.

Look into a mixing valve. It may shorten the length of time for hot water to leave the faucet.