Instantaneous Water Heaters?

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seven7seven

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Hi all,

Our body corporate needs to replace the geyser in the caretaker's quarter.

Someone recommended an instantaneous water heater (Stiebel Eltron DCHE-8). There is just a basin & shower that need hot water and two adults will be living there.

Anyone got any experience/feedback on these (or other instant water heaters), especially in terms of energy efficiency vs a normal small geyser?

Thanks!
 
my cousins in the uk had one in the shower. Not sure of the brand

It works fine - except when the presure changes, then you get temperature fluctuation. If you don't have pressure problems, then its fine.

Also consider that it only draws current when the water is on. This can result in current use mainly at peak times. If you pay a higher tariff in peak times (as we do) then you end up paying more for the current used to heat the water. With a geyser you can put in a time clock to stop any current use in peak times.

I suppose you can put a time clock on that circuit and notify the employee that hot water is only available off peak...

The energy saved is probably a lot, since only what is used is heated. A geyser is losing heat all the time and this causes the elements to switch on just to maintain heat. A geyser blanket and lagging on the hot pipes helps but this just slows down the heat loss.
 
39amp, holy sh#t.

Most flats come with a 30-40amp breaker and most homes come with a 60 amp breaker. There are homes with 80 amp breakers but you pay a premium to have it.

100% guarantee there will be situations when the main switch will trip even with a 60 amp breaker. With anything less than 60 it is pointless to even try.
 
Well we went ahead and had DCHE-8 installed at the site back in April.

We had to change the existing 30amp geyser breaker for a 40amp. However, just like Gnome said, now the main breaker (60A I think) sometimes trips went there is too much load - we need to replace it with a bigger one too.

Performance wise the unit seems OK - not fantastic but usable. It heats the water just hot enough to shower (might be a little too cool for some though, I know I like my showers a lot hotter than my wife) but that is with only the hot tap open - ie. no cold mixed in. The water is also hot enough to wash dishes.

For the installation site we had very limited space (it is a small guard house without roof space) so a normal size geyser would not fit.
Previously had a 30L (?) Kwikwot mini-geyser installed but it didn't last very long and died.

I spoke to Stiebel about its performance shortly after it was installed and they said this is the best you will get out of a Single Phase Instant Heater.

Like Pietleeu said I think for instant water heaters gas seems to work the best, but this little unit is a decent plan B option.
 
Richard7 said:
Performance wise the unit seems OK - not fantastic but usable. It heats the water just hot enough to shower (might be a little too cool for some though, I know I like my showers a lot hotter than my wife) but that is with only the hot tap open - ie. no cold mixed in. The water is also hot enough to wash dishes.

I spoke to Stiebel about its performance shortly after it was installed and they said this is the best you will get out of a Single Phase Instant Heater.
Click to expand...

We just recently added a 2nd one to replace a Geyser on a fishing boat,Its a differant brand but also single phase, the water that comes out of it will burn you if your not careful,so i don't think their telling you the truth.
 
Tun@ said:
We just recently added a 2nd one to replace a Geyser on a fishing boat,Its a differant brand but also single phase, the water that comes out of it will burn you if your not careful,so i don't think their telling you the truth.
Click to expand...

Hmmm...... maybe ours is not working properly?

What brand & model did you install?
 
Billy said:
What are you supplying with this? I have been looking at the 30l unit for a shower/washbasin installation, where space is a problem for a conventional geyser.
Click to expand...

Yes on a fishing boat where space is a issue also - the 30L is doing shower & wash basin - have another 15L in the galley/kitchen for dishes.

Biena: yes but i also see "copper tank & element" in the spec's of the OP's one also
http://stiebel-eltron.co.za/dhce.html
 
reviving and old thread, any1 have one of these installed recently? How is it working etc? I am looking to install one, we are getting a stay in domestic and the build is disconnected from the main home.
 
freeek said:
reviving and old thread, any1 have one of these installed recently? How is it working etc? I am looking to install one, we are getting a stay in domestic and the build is disconnected from the main home.
Click to expand...


I have an AEG 24kw instant hot water "device" in my flat... I love it, I can take showers without worrying about running out of hot water.

However it requires 3 phase power, which is the biggest problem with these units, otherwise I would have installed them in my house too.
 
saturnz said:
AEG 24kw instant hot water "device" in my flat
Click to expand...
Which area do you live in Saturnz?

Haha, do the street lights dim when you turn on the shower.

Also where did you get it from and is it actually installed in the shower or what?
 
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Gnome said:
Which area do you live in Saturnz?

Haha, do the street lights dim when you turn on the shower.

Also where did you get it from and is it actually installed in the shower or what?
Click to expand...


It was installed in my bathroom against a corner wall when I bought the flat, it services my kitchen too.

There is an agent that sells them in Cape Town (I'm in the CBD) but you first need to get past the 3 phase constraint before considering these units.

The single phase units don't work as well.
 
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I have the Stiebel Eltron DHB-E water heater. I believe we only have instant water heaters in our complex. Mine works great, but I believe older models have issues, i.e. some apartments here have older versions of these things.

DHBE18(1).jpg
 

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StrontiumDog said:
I have the Stiebel Eltron DHB-E water heater. I believe we only have instant water heaters in our complex. Mine works great, but I believe older models have issues, i.e. some apartments here have older versions of these things.
Click to expand...


3 phase or single phase?
 
saturnz said:
It was installed in my bathroom against a corner wall when I bought the flat, it services my kitchen too.

There is an agent that sells them in Cape Town (I'm in the CBD) but you first need to get past the 3 phase constraint before considering these units.

The single phase units don't work as well.
Click to expand...

Is it really a 24kW device, because that sounds like an overkill...
 
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