Comments on: Electric Tankless Water Heaters

By: Sam Wellington

Sam Wellington — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:52:47 +0000

John,
We talked yesterday about upgrading the “Guts” of your American Tankless to Hubbell controls. Please call Hubbell at 203.378.2659 Ext.136. Ask for Sam Wellington. Based on my experience working on competitors products I feel we can help you. Thank you.

Sam Wellington
Technical Advisor
Hubbell Electric Heater Co.
PO Box 288
Stratford, CT 06615-0288
Tel 203-378-2659 x 136
Fax 203-378-3593
http://www.hubbellheaters.com

By: John

John — Tue, 22 Mar 2011 03:09:12 +0000

I recently purchased two American Heat AH27′s 27kw tank less water heater. One of the units seems to work fine and when the temp is set at 140 it puts out a steady 123-124 degrees when there is not too much flow. The other unit is frustrating the crap out of me as a contractor. The output on the unit when set at 140 degrees it fluctuates from 104-11 degrees. I have wasted 12 hrs. trouble shooting this unit already. American Heat has worked with me, answered my calls and sent parts but they cant fix the problem. I replaced the input and output sensors and the circuit board and it still does the same thing at every tap. The next week I replaced the flow meter and it still doesn’t give a consistent temperature. Ive adjusted valves and water flow and now they are telling me that these heaters wont work with pressure sensing mix valve that are commonly used in showers and sinks throughout the country! The pressure sensing valves reduce hot water to the mix of water at the shower head when the water gets hot enough. This causes the output flow at the heater to decrease which in turn makes the flow switch turn off the element.

How the heck can they claim these heaters wont work with these valves when over half the homes in the country use them???

I am so frustrated with this company right now.

Any help with this situation would be outstanding!

By: Hugh

Hugh — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 17:56:08 +0000

I’ve had a SETS 210-3 since 2004. Had some problems at the very beginning but the tech (David?) talked us through a wiring problem we had . Then it was hot-warm-hot-warm for a while. We lived with it until it started going from hot to cold and back to hot again. Another call to the tech (same guy) and he talked us through adjusting our well pump pressure switch settings to 60 pis and 80 psi. He also suggested we remove the flow restrictor on the shower head. Worked pretty good after that. We still have some fluctuations but nothing like before.

Fast forward a few years and I “discovered” that the well manager system that we use had an adjustable pressure regulator. When I increased the pressure from 35 psi I didn’t adjust the pressure regulator. Once I adjusted it our temp fluctuations in the shower ceased. We still have some issue with temp flucs at the kitchen sink.

I’ve had to remove the water heater a few times to flush it of hard water deposits. I’m thinking about purchasing the service valve kit but $200 seems like a lot a money for it. For now I’ll continue to pull it off the wall once in a while.

I’ve been considering upgrading my heater. From what I’ve read here it seems to have really helped. I’m really excited that the upgrade includes an inlet water temp switch since I’ve been working on a solar hot water system that will provide water hot enough to use as-is. Without the inlet temp switch I think the old SETS will turn on and then sense an overheat condition and turn off. I think it’ll continue to do this until I’m done using the hot water. With the inlet temp switch it shouldn’t turn on at all if the incoming temp is high enough.

After I do the upgrade I’ll let you know if I’m as happy as the rest of you that have gone with the Hubble. I expect I will.

Hugh

By: William Botts

William Botts — Thu, 24 Feb 2011 01:42:21 +0000

I like the compactness and energy efficiency of a Tankless Electric Water Heater. I was not happy with the performance of my old SETS unit, andwhen it failed I replaced it with a Hubbell. The Hubbell temperature controller has everything the SETS unit lacked. Using an input thermistor, it measures the temperature of incoming cold water. Rather than activation by a flow SWITCH, the Hubbedll has a flow METER, which constantly tells the processor how much water is passing through the unit. The processor then calculates the duty cycle of the heating elements necessary to heat the water to the selected temperature. If then samples the temperature of the outgoing hot water to make any necessary adjustments to keep the water at the selected temperature. Temperature selection couldn’t be easier. There is an UP button which raises the set temperature, and a DOWN button which lowers it. In case of a power interruption, the unit remembers what the set temperature was, and retains it when power is restored.
The Hubbell Tankless provides everything a home owner can want. It is easy to install and use, and as long as it has water and power, it will deliver unlimited hot water at the selected temperature. For people on wells and pressure tanks, this product is ideal. Water temperature gain is directly affected by how fast the water flows over the heating elements. Flow normally increases and decreases as the well pump cycles on and of on well-and-pressure-tank systems. On simple flow switch activated units, this results in fluctuation of the water temperfature. The Hubbell’s flow meter solves this problem by feeding constant water flow information to the processor which continually adjusts the operation of the heating elements to keep the hot water temperature constant, even as the flow might fluctuate. I really don’t think it can get any better.

By: Scott Fictum

Scott Fictum — Fri, 11 Feb 2011 00:53:10 +0000

From everything I know,read,talked to, the top ones would be, Steibol Eltron, Hubbell and maybe Bosch. Stay away from EcoSmart! It’s a SETS and American Tankless in new sheet metal! Same people, same people, same service!

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 07:46:25 +0000

Frank,

Sounds to me like yours was doing the same thing mine was before it died. I could hear the boiling water when no one was using water. My pipes did not burst, however; The steam found relief by blowing past the seals on the heating elements.

Though I’ve not determined everything that has failed thus far, I have figured out that the “Flow Switch” magnetic trigger is hanging up in various positions and that one of the two reed switches (one to operate each board in mine) is stuck in the “on” position, causing the elements to be powered up when there is no water flow. This symptom can also be caused by a triac or board failure (which I may also have).

I believe that the best failsafe plan for these or any other units is to install a pressure relief valve (just like a tank type unit has) in the water line on the output side and plumb its discharge into a drain somewhere.

By: Scott Fictum

Scott Fictum — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 22:47:46 +0000

THINK BEFORE YOU BUY
I bought a SETS unit about 6 yrs. ago. It had a lifetime waurratee. Well, they went out of business and so did the waurrantee! Then they started a new company called American Tankless. I have one of these because they sent it to me as a waurrantee for the SETS. It worked for about 4 yrs., not too bad. But, American Tankless went out of business TOO! No waurrantee! The SAME GUY who started those 2 companies, now started a new company called EcoSmart. From the pictures, it looks like the same unit as the last 2! I called EcoSmart to see if they would help troubleshoot my heater. The lady who answers the phone would not connect me with Carlos. I know that he doesn’t have any legal obligations to help me, but thats bad public relations! I’m not saying the new unit is, or, is not any good, but, with the track record of this guy I would be reluctant to purchase anything that this guy is associated with. If you want to contact me, feel free!

By: Ed

Ed — Wed, 02 Feb 2011 19:40:23 +0000

Rigo,

I know that had to take much effort. Are you willing to share part numbers and their sources? Thanks in advance. Ed

By: mike

mike — Fri, 28 Jan 2011 19:48:55 +0000

WE recently in stalled an American Hometec coilless 32kw unit in our home in NJ ad so far so good. Ill keep you posted!!!

By: Rigo

Rigo — Wed, 26 Jan 2011 21:33:28 +0000

I had a SETS for 8 years and it worked fine. It did take forever to heat up.

As for Hubbel/SETS. Keep in mind that there are two departments, sales and the other tech support. The tech for SETS isvery short. If you don’t get it right first time, you’re out of luck. The sales, Sean, have been more helpful, but don’t expect miracles.

Tony-
What you need is the troubleshooting guide. I know, because they wouldn’t give me written instructions either, called, but it is posted on their website. Also, the tech just confused me with statements like, “The order doesn’t matter.” Followed by, “that one goes first.” The troubleshooting guide will walk you through connections, since you have to test them for the guide.

Also, you can just buy the exact parts from several different electronic stores for half the price and if you know what you are doing even cheaper. It took me about week of research and comparisons, but I found my triacs for $1.90 each. SSG, not some generic. Same with the other components, with similar, if not so dramatic price drops.
In the end I purchased a cheaper tankless since it seemed less of a hassle.