Top 10 Best Electric Water Heaters 2022 Pick By Experts

So, here’s the deal, if your going to tackle this project yourself.. Your going to need quite a few tools.2 Adjustable wrenches, Teflon tape, measuring tape, a whole lot of patience. And some experience with plumbing. And more tools.And if you have to install a new gas line.. yeah good luck with that, you may need a plumber/ a whole lot of digging! and it will cost you a pretty penny, so I hope you saved up?For me my water heater went out. My second water heater to go out. When this second one went out, the inner liner around the relief valve went bad. And so this pin hole leak grew.. and grew, and since I thought things were just fine.. well my utility room ended up getting pissed on by my old water heater. So I had heard of tankless water heaters and of Rinnai in particular, and its Japanese quality, and decided this time around I was going to try something different.One of the big things you may forget about is the venting with this install, both the amount you need and the tools for the job.. One, depending on where you live and your buying this unit, you might get screwed vent wise. If your here on Amazon thinking about buying one, it means your probably slightly educated about new plumbing tech, and you don’t have any local dealers.The closest Rinnai dealers/service guys were like 50 miles away for me. So I decided to install this badgirl myself. Or try to. Or fail trying! I think failing while your running is the best.. because that momentum you build up before you fall face forward into failure.. thrilling and impactful!Two mistakes I made when ordering this were:1.I didn’t think of a GREAT way to cut the venting material. (I was like I have a hacksaw, should be no problem, WRONG! it was tedious at best) you really need good solid clean cuts with the venting material, because of the airtight seals the gaskets form in the material.. Like if you don’t have good clean cuts, the joining of the material will go from really annoying.. to use your imagination. )Here’s a solution! Also you can use this to cut drain pipe later on when you need to. Also it looks like there’s a long lead up time to getting the actual product for some unknown reason so if your planning ahead, may want to just go ahead and bite the bullet. Why else do you have that prime account?https://www.amazon.com/dp/B001H4NUB4/ref=twister_B00N4NUEBA?_encoding=UTF8&th=1orhttps://www.amazon.com/Ridgid-31662-4-Inch-8-Inch-Acting/dp/B001P3091Q/ref=pd_sim_469_15?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=B001P3091Q&pd_rd_r=GP12BP3ZE2BREP7SECBD&pd_rd_w=bqkeZ&pd_rd_wg=Z0EMp&psc=1&refRID=GP12BP3ZE2BREP7SECBD2.I ordered the outdoor vent termination kit right? well that’s all well and good if I had an extremely short distance to go.. But I had a foot beyond that, and also needed some 45degree elbows. And vent extensions. Spoiler! (I could not buy the vent extensions locally! no one had any… so I end up ordering those off amazon as well!- – -but after I had my new tankless water heater and had installed it and so I had to cap my cold water supply line and take a cold a$$ bath because I couldn’t vent my unit) FUN TIMES!Anyways, my knee jerk reaction on this install. It’s actually pretty straight forward. Rip out your old tank, plumb new lines in, make sure you got the correct adapters to hook up. make sure you don’t reverse your lines, label stuff, take your time.. hook it all up and it throws a fault! So the little computer in this unit worked good. Correct that issue. And good to go!It’s quiet for the most part. 120 degrees Fahrenheit in the summer time is hot enough. I may tinker with this later. Depends. I did not install a recirculating set up, I just did a straight forward install, and so I do experience that “Sandwich effect” on the water, but I had that with my hot tank water heater, so its nothing new.Works fairly quickly.Also, this unit in particular came with the Rinnai Union/Drain Valves… I ended ordering a set of Union/Drain Valves .. so now I have extra, accidentally. Just a heads up.If anything worth anything happens down the line. I’ll give an update. Or if your reading this review five years down the line and want to know how this unit has held up, just send me a request. If I still live in the same house I’ll try and reply. But not to technical questions.Good luck if your doing a self install and not a plumber. I’m very grateful my unit function great right out of the box pretty much.P.S. I wish plumbing were easier and more straightforward. Like plug and play. I have a feeling there’s a whole industry here for future new housing if someone can make it happen.Year Update + Change:Well its paid for itself now. My gas bill has been continuously cheaper, even though I completely take advantage of the continuous hot water.I’m really glad I bit the bullet & made this buy. I didn’t know how it would work out at first, but as long as I don’t overwhelm the unit, like washer filling with hot water , because washer is pulling a lot of hot water volume, while running hot water for the bath, its pretty freaking awesome!Its honestly continues to work better than I could ever have hoped for & that’s on a 1/2″ instead of 3/3″ line.

I was excited to have this water heater installed and help my home become more energy efficient. My electrician charged nearly $1000 to run 3 4 amp breakers to the utility room, and my plumber several hundred for the physical installation. Immediately we had issues with hot water going up and down in temperature. ECOSMART tech service said t give it some time, its a new install. The plumber suggested we give it some time, it might be air in the lines or the unit stablizing.. whatever that means. After a few months of the hot water going from cold to hot and cycling as if on a timer I called back ECOSMART and they sent out a “flow sensor.” I understand these are user serviceable to an extent but being disabled I have to pay a plumber for any work. The flow sensor didn’t help and this kept on despite several calls to ECOSMART. At 7-8 months we used the back flush valve assembly the plumber installed, and a low volume low power sump pump in a 5 gallon bucket with a vinegar solution running for 3-4 hours to complete the recommended service, and because we were still experiencing fluctuating temperature as well as low hot water pressure.The flush brought back the pressure but a day later the water sensor alarm we installed sounded and we found a pinhole leak in one of the element chambers (cylindrical copper tube, one of three) spraying iwater inside the unit. We called ECOSMART and despite having previously sent us a flow sensor, suddenly they had no record of previous calls or the registration or our life time warranty.. and wouldn’t you know it they now don’t offer that warranty and because they couldn’t find our previous calls or warranty registration.. we no longer had a lifetime warranty. It took a few days of calls and asking to talk with supervisors to get them to finally add our name back on the warranty registration and send us a replacement unit. Nearly $200 for our plumber to replace it. But now the unit worked correctly!For the next several years we enjoyed a properly working unit until it broke, and then customer service promptly sent us the parts and once installed it worked properly again. Of course being disabled I still had to pay a plumber and $100-$200 every 8-9 months adds up. I’m not confident “everyone works on their own water heater, there is 120 amps being fed to this thing and even shutting off the breakers I’d want to confirm the power is off with a meter, does every home owner have an expensive meter?Finally last week, during the Christmas holiday, we couldn’t get “as hot” of water as we typically did. ECOSMART referred me to some instructions and video’s on their website to diagnose the thing, and again I had to call my plumber who by now we had become quite familiar with each other, and he discovered the middle element wasn’t working and the breaker was tripping. They sent us another heating element and I should mention their shipping is always fast and arrives in 2-3 days which is commendable. But no hot water over the holidays.. we’re starting to question the wisdom of an instant on unit despite having used them in Asia for over 20 years with only occasional issues.But guess what? A day after replacing the heating element the water sensor starting buzzing at us again and another call to the plumber was placed. Another pinhole leak. I called ECOSPART tech service and noticed they’d become a lot less friendly and less helpful, it was as if the order had been given to discourage the usual rapid service for the remaining customers with the life time warranties. They asked for pictures of the leak. I complied, again having to ask the plumber to do it. With the water and power I just can’t ask anyone. I sent he picture sin as requested but now they want all three heating elements removed and pictures taken. Why? Since it’s not the leak, they’re probably looking for a reason to cancel the lifetime warranty. Maybe the elements would shot you’re not flushing your unit at the recommended intervals.SO I asked to talk with a supervisor. That was yesterday. They promised I would get a call back that day. So I w anted by the phone. I didn’t get the call. I call back this morning and again they promise I’ll get the call back by the end of the day. Meanwhile it’s been over a week since we’ve had hot water and it’s dropping into the teens.. its winter time. Surely they know this. Its obvious what they’re doing. This unit is supported to support a large household, its their biggest unit. Yet, it’s only two of us and it’s had multiple units go out. What a mess.So is this more efficient? I’ve seen zero change in my electric bill from this water heater. I probably should hahve invested in a more efficient HVAC unit.. It just doesn’t feel like tankless water heaters for whole house use are there yet. At least not long term. I’ll update this later.We’re now on the FOURTH DAY waiting for a supervisor to call back,t his despite me calling every morning and asking to please talk with a supervisor and explaining how long I’ve been waiting. I can’t think of an excuse for this.

The hose is made of cheap plastic and mine leaked when I got it.

Worked as a replacement. Short lifespan and pricey for what it is

Heats all kitchen use, even dishwasher. This saves leaving over 50′ half” pipe full of heated water to waste its heat energy when I’m done. Also don’t have to wait for water to get hot when I turn it on. But, case is plastic and has cheap, unsubstantial closure mechanism. How’d they ever get a UL or CSA rating? Hope there’s never an electrical fault!Note: Unit turns off automatically after every power failure necessitating getting down on my aged knees to turn on manually afterwards. I need to hire some younger knees just for that!

The unit burned up as soon as I plugged it in.. I guess I just got a bad unit. I returned it and they were quick to send my money back.

I’ve had this installed for a month and so far so good. On the first day, the temperature of the water fluctuated some but then stabilized. The installation involved both an electrician with 2 circuits costing $200 that I wasn’t expecting and then a plumber but I knew I would need both. I opted for the water filter and flexible hose at an extra cost but the unit seems to produce enough hot water for showers and never rubs out. I do not hear the unit when in use so I recommend this unit. Spare parts are also readily available in the US even though the unit is made in Germany. Having the thermostat on the unit is also a good plus as everyone’s preferences differ. Highly recommend

Kitchen is far from instantaneous gas unit in garage. Greatly shortened hot water delay at kitchen sink, wet bar and powder room and boosts heat when desired due to loss in travel distance. Heats water at multiple sinks quickly. Will provide heat boost for full hall bath too but we rarely use this bath. Installed in old laundry space converted to kitchen pantry behind wet bar with available 220 volt dryer circuit. The only thing I don’t like is the power cord would be much easier install if removable like a clothes dryer or simply connection lugs like other build in appliances. I didn’t want to cut the cord but it should terminate at an external disconnect which is ugly in finished location. Unit otherwise looks great in a finished space.

We use it for tea and cocoa. Works great. Makes getting tops off of bottles easier.

These things are great. I installed the exact same model 10 years ago for my entire house and it worked great even with two showers running at the same time. I am glad I got 10 years out of it since nothing is built to last anymore but I was a little dissapointed that there were parts missing during the installation. The wire bracket which holds the wire tight in the unit was not there and part of the wire inlet grommet was missing. My original one came with a 2 foot section of wire that was pre-wired into the unit. The one I just received did not come with any wires. I am not sure if it was supposed to or not but fortunately I had my old one to take the missing parts from. If this was a brand new installation I would have been much more upset about it. Other than that, the unit itself out performs any of the other units I have seen that also run off of a single 60 amp breaker and it is very small. The temperature can be turned up to 140 however I have always keep the dial around 112 and that seems to be the perfect spot. Hopefully this helps someone.