EcoSmart ECO 27 Tankless Water Heater, Electric, 27-kW - Quantity 1, 17 x 17 x 3.5

04/23/24 installed06/07/24 working well so farCold Water Supply Temperature and Gallons Per Minute (gpm)- currently where i live the incoming cold water temp is 59 deg on 4/23/24 (inlet temp)- the water heater is set to 120 deg hot water out (default outlet temp)- this means the water heater has to raise the incoming water 61 degs (from 59 to 120)- i can run a 2.0 gpm shower and 1.0 gpm faucet and have endless hot water.- this means the water heater is providing a total of 3.0 gpm of hot water when the cold water coming in is 59 deg. it may provide more but i have not tried to run 2 showers yet. i will update this review when i do.- will update this review the next winter when the incoming water temp drops.- you can use a IR Temp Gun pointed at the bottom of a sink next to cold or hot stream to measure the water temperature, over a 5 minute period. a IR temp gun sells for $10 on amazon.- you can also install low flow (water saver) shower heads or flow restrictors in shower heads to enable multiple showers to run at the same time.- the amazon eco-27 page has a picture from the eco-27 brochure showing the cold water temperature for where you live and a chart showing the gpm of hot water out based on your incoming cold water temperature.Power Requirements- the eco-27 requires (3) 40 amp circuits w/ double pole circuit breakers (120 amps) so you need 200 amp electrical service/breaker box.- you must use 8 gauge (awg) copper wires (8-2 w/ ground) from the circuit breakers to the water heater.Flush Valves (Iso-Valves)- the eco-27 uses 3/4" NPT threads so if you install flush valves buy 3/4" NPT flush valves (not IPS).- i purchased these valves on amazon: HQMPC Tankless Water Heater Isolation Valve Kit 3/4" NPT- you can see the Iso-valves in the picture- iso-valves are optional. you may need them you may not. i put them so i have the option of flushing the eco-27.- if your water is hard (lots of minerals, calcium, chalky white stains around faucets) then cleaning the heating elements is a good idea. note that water softeners remove some of the minerals from the water before the water reaches the eco-27.- if you install iso-valves then once a year or so you can use pump vinegar thru the water heater to remove any calcium build up on the heating elements. there are you tube videos on this procedure.- you can also pull the heating elements from the unit and soak them in vinegar (only put the copper section in vinegar) so you do not have to buy/install iso-valves.- you can buy a set of replacement heating elements on amazon as of 4/25/24 they are $69 for a set of 3.Plumber Unions- if you do not install flush valves, which is fine, you may want to consider installing plumber unions to make removing the water very easy. (Note flush valves include plumber unions as part of their design).- with unions you can buy a replacement heater (hopefully you will not need to do this in the first 10 years after the installation of a eco-27) and install it yourself (you might save some big dollars by not needing a plumber come out and rebuild the connections to the water heat.Purging the Water Heater of Air Bubbles- if you turn off you water supply and turn it back on you may introduce air bubbles into the eco-27.- to purge the air bubbles turn off the 3 breakers to the water heater and turn on a few hot water faucets for 5 minutes to ensure there are no air bubbles in the eco-27Installation of Water Heater- i had plumber come by in the morning to install the water heater.- i had an electrician come by in the afternoon to install (3) 40 amp circuits. The old electric tankless heater used (4) 30 amp circuits that used 10 gauge wires so i had to have 8 gauge wire installed from the breaker box to the water heater.Cost of Installation (including tax)423 for the eco-27 (amazon)64 for the iso valves (amazon)495 for the plumber933 for the electrician---------------------------1915 total installed costDocuments- you can go to ecosmartus.com to download several pdf documents on the water heater.- you can also google eco-27 trouble shooting for a couple of very informative pdfs on trouble shooting.

To preface, this is being written by a 30 year old woman, a total girly-girl, though I don't mind getting my hands a little dirty if it means saving a TON of money. My husband and I did this project in half a day.We just lost a 2 year old tank heater due to our sewer backing up, and we didn't want to risk another one, since they can't be used once flooded. We decided on a tankless after reading a lot of reviews. Pricing them locally, they were anywhere from $650 to $2,000 with decent reviews. I found this one on Amazon as well as Sears and a couple other online places with 5 stars on every site. The price fluctuated a lot, but never went over $500. I bought it for $438.This heater is nice and compact. It is 17" on the longest side, and only weighs 11 pounds. Coming right out of the box, I was impressed with how small it was! The packaging from the factory was good, but one corner mount was a little bent and the plastic knob fell off.We had to build a small wall to mount it on in our 120 year old basement. Just a couple of 2x4's mounted to the ceiling and it went right up! Mounting it was incredibly easy. I could hold it up with one hand and mark the holes, then leveled it and screwed it right in. The bent corner flattened right out.Using flexible water heater hoses from our local hardware store, I was able to attach the plumbing to the new heater from the old connections in just a couple of minutes. When I first took the covers off the bottom of the heater, a little bit of water leaked out, but after asking around, I'm told that is normal from the pressure testing they do in the factory.Running the electric was the most complicated part of the process. Our main breaker is 150, and though the manufacturer recommends 200, the 150 is sufficient. We were fortunate that our box had plenty of space for the 3 double-pole breakers. The wire required is very thick and heavy, and was a little hard to work with. We ran three lines from the heater to the breaker box.Installing the wire in the heater was simple. The instructions only say to hire a professional electrician. Really, you just run the wires through the bottom, put each one in the electrical panel, connect the ground, and you are done! Connect the breakers, and wallah! You have a water heater!We initially set the temp at 115 degrees, but dropped it down to 110 and it is perfect. It does take a little bit longer for the hot water to reach the shower or sink, but once it does, it stays hot, and stays consistent. Our shower head has a flow rate of 2.5 gpm, and it stayed nice and hot! My husband, son, and I all took hot showers and it was amazing to not have to wait in between!The instructions recommend setting the water heater at the hottest temp preferred for showers, with the idea that you only turn on the hot water and don't need to mix in cold. This is brilliant!So far we are very, very pleased, and love that we don't have to worry about a backed up sewer ruining our investment. The project took about 3 hours total with 2 people working on it to install. We were able to do it with all the normal tools we had laying around the house. Our cost for supplies was around $300. It would have been less but my husband cut one of the wires too long, which made the third one too short, so we had to buy an extra $40 25' wire in addition to the $95 75' one we initially bought. We needed the following:-wire-3 40amp double-pole breakers-2 conduits for the breaker box-2 flexible water heater hoses-adapters for the hoses from where we had to cut the pipes off the old water heater, primer and glue to connect them-plastic holders to nail the wire to the raftersThat's it! The wire was the most expensive part after the water heater. The hoses were about $13 a piece, and the rest were just a couple of bucks.I'll update after we've used it for a while!***1 YEAR UPDATE***It's been a year since we installed our electric tankless water heater, and could not be happier! It does take a little bit longer for the hot water to reach our faucets, but when it does, it is unlimited and stays nice and hot. We can run 4 showers or baths and do a sink full of dishes, all after running a load of laundry, and still have hot water.Our gas and electric bills come as one, and we have not noticed any difference in our bill compared to previous years, switching from a gas tank heater to an electric water heater. I think the fact that we are only heating and using the tank "on demand" vs. having a gas tank that constantly heats, is why.I still recommend this tankless heater to everyone that will listen!