ChronomiteSR-40/240 HTR 240-Volt 40-Amp SR Series Instant-Flow Standard Flow Tankless Water Heater

part of my work as a repairman is at commercial building's rented as store fronts (mostly auto repair shops , second hand stores, etc..). at one particular location there are two buildings with 8 units at each; 16 units total. every unit has a tankless water heater (TWH) under the bathroom sink. i believe the buildings began renting spaces about 5 years ago when construction was completed. to date i have replaced 4 TWH's. so, out of 16 TWH's only 4 failed over a +/- 5 year span. Hmm.. that sounds like a durable water heater to me. and when you consider that they are being used in a commercial type setting (ie: high usage) this should only increase its rating. i've read reviews from people stating they had to return their units several times also about how quickly these units have failed. i'm sure there's some truth to their reviews. i'm not a statitician, but with only 4 failures over a 60 month period; that deserves high praise. .

Before I purchased the heater for my kitchen sink I looked on their web page to do some research on their heaters. On the site they boast about microprocessor controlled temperature control and anti scolding on all of their water heaters. This unit, however, does not have the controller and the outlet temperature of kitchen sink will reach 197 degrees, really nice if I wanted to make coffee; no so much if I want to wash my hands. I am going to install a mixing valve on the outlet of the unit. I will update how that goes. My fear is that so much cold water will be needed to cool off the water that it will turn off the water heater. I may be returning this and getting a lower powered unit. O yeah I live in Indiana and our current water temperature is 53 degrees.

We purchased this on December 25, 2011 after having a similar Bosch Powerstar burn out on us. The Bosch was so annonying because it had a reset button that would constantly have to be reset while in the middle of a shower. So, we have really liked this Chromomite so far because it is smaller and no reset button issues-it just works. If you already have the electrical input and the water output input set-up, than the installation is a breeze and it is so small and compact (the size of a shoebox) that it is great for small apartments. But, yesterday after 1.5 years in service it no longer put out hot water. We have contacted chromomites 1-800 number and had to leave a message because it is only functioning Mon-Friday (don't let your hot water go out on a Friday night like it did with us). I also sent them an email. It is outside of the year warranty, but I am hoping that they can provide some sort of repair or replacement at no/low cost. So, I will update when I know how it goes. The five stars is based upon performance up to now. I will update when I know how responsive the technical support is.Update: 08/19/2013: I finally received feedback from Chronomite on Monday, first thing when they opened. They agreed to send me a replacement unit as it sounded to them as though the coil had burned out. This was great of them as it was already about 8 months out of warranty. It looks like, based on other Amazon comments, that they are pretty reasonable about this.The only CON is /Chronomite's customer service line is only open Mon-Friday (a bummer for those of us who work and can't really make personal phone calls during the day). And since I thought we might not get a replacement, or that it would take a while I had ordered a new unit from this seller. The customer service by both Chronomite and Buy and Large have been stellar so far (except for Chronomite's customer service schedule). I am so glad that I an no longer a Bosch customer as I am sure they would not have been as reasonable an responsive.

I was somewhat skeptical about tank-less electric but I knew very well tank-less gas heaters from Europe where tank-less technology is used for over 50 years by now. Also, some companies put specs according to their agenda but then in practical use those do not perform. To my surprise I am very pleased with this Chronomite product - all is right on the button and no misleading. Unit is simple, small, very HD and absolutely marvelous. I replaced huge tank heater, run water from the tank to this unit, total cost of adapters was about 30 bucks, all available from local hardware store. I live in Central Florida, but it is winter now, so I get cold water at about 55 to 65 degrees. Unit is heating it very well, on kitchen faucet I get 125 which is 15 degrees more then before, and shower is only slightly less then what it was but only in flow, approximately 95% of flow from standard tank heater yet with water remaining at original 110 max. Consider that in Florida water pipes are embedded in concrete floor (yes, the plumbers job security it is, no kidding), and there is very little if any wrap on pipes to prevent heat loss. I the nut shell: I am very happy with this unit, even if it takes 40A from "former" tank fuse. It appears also that Chronomite heaters have very good soft start contact solenoids and there is no power blinking or EMF distortions present when unit goes on. Now, if you want to be real efficient, you may consider 120V 20A unit under the sink in the kitchen to give you hot water in about 5 seconds, then 240V 20A unit next to washing machine and 40A 240V unit for shower use. Consider those heaters have water flow restriction but if you place them accordingly you will never know those are there. The match is not that complicated and all it takes is common sense and either you can install it or get plumber to do it because no house is the same like another. Please remember also and I can not stress this enough: I do have degree in electronic engineering so I know this stuff but regardless of what can or cannot be done I have to comply with safety requirement regulations and National Electrical Code standards. Please do not improvise, because it is not safe to jazz specs and hope for the best. Now on the shiny side - if you have electric tank-less heaters set right in your house, watch your electric bill drop by 50% more or less. Not to mention that besides saving your money you also save our great nations resources and now you can get that 52 inch LCD LED TV you wanted all with clear conscience and no regrets. There is also funny side to this - electric tank-less are endless, which means you can have hot water in the shower even if someone took 3 hour shower, so if you have teenage daughters, they will be most grateful and no more fights about who run the hot water tank down.update 08/25/2011:The heater took a dive unexpectedly. I emailed reseller and then called manufacturer.This is what I emailed reseller: "I called the Chronomite, they were cool about it; gathered information, took my address and said will send me replacement and I will send back my unit afterwards. This is nice, because I can run on bypass for now, then simply swap power and water connections without creating whole plumbing circus.Just FYI: this tankless heater is very good and energy efficient, apparently still in production.I noticed after 9 months of use it saves me about $1 a day in electricity (2 adult people household) and I don't even have it installed close to the outlet faucet.Our good old American water tanks are great and all, but with no timer they are a money pit when it comes to efficiency especially with long hot water pipe runs.Thank you so much for your help."update 09/02/2011:I just received replacement today as promised, FedEx delivery no problems.I will send old unit to Chronomite. It could have been simple electric fluke, it happens. I am looking forward to replace it tomorrow and remove bypass because hot water is not even near what I was getting for last 9 months. Bottom line - Chronomite appears to be honest, reliable and professional people. How many of those do we still have around? Next house I will get 3 of those matched output to locations and you better believe they will be all from Chronomite.