Ready Hot 41-RH-200-F570-BN Instant Hot Water Dispenser System, 2.5 Quarts, Manual Dial Single Lever Hot Water Faucet Brushed Nickel

Our kitchen was flooded after a pipe burst during an ice storm, last winter. With Covid, it took quite a while to get contractors out to do the work. I actually ended up ordering many of the fixtures, due to the delay.This unit replaced a substantially more expensive In-Sink-Erator unit that we’d had about 10 years but had to repair several times. Installation was super easy (a plumber did it, but he specifically said it was easy to install, anyone could do it), and it has been working great.Our old unit had a lever that was pressure activated. It wasn’t easy to bump, but if you did, or something fell against it, you could get near-boiling hot water unexpectedly. The new unit has a lock on the lever. You must push down to unlock and turn on the water flow. It also has a wider range for controlling how much water comes out. The old unit was pretty much on or off, and it was a bit slow. This one is much closer to keeping up with our regular faucet, when opened up.Now for the interesting question: why get one? Our plumber said he’d installed a few but never had one, so what did it do? Great question. My wife and I first used them in Germany, when we were in the Army. They had them in the barracks, with one unit in each bathroom, supplying hot water to the shower and sink. 40 soldiers need to shower? No problem. It will produce as much hot water as you need (we will eventually replace our home hot water heater with one). In the kitchen, you have near-boiling hot water on demand, which is perfect for tea, mixing small amounts with spices, making instant oatmeal or cereal, making instant ramen or noodles, starting a pot of water at near-boiling, so you can cook other things faster, making a hot water bath for baby bottle (works fine for formula, but I’d mix hot and add cold to get the temp right), and my favorite: using it as a bain marie. What’s that? It’s often used as a double boiler for cooking, but many high end restaurants use it as a way for cooks and chefs to quickly rinse and sterilize spoons that they use for tasting what they’re cooking.The other really obvious choice is to add hot water at a bar, mini kitchen, workshop, outdoor pool house or guest house, etc., that only has a cold water line.We use ours constantly. This one is a step up from the already nice one that we had.

I was fortunate to have a skilled assistant at our local Home Depot who made sure I had all of the correct plumbing supplies to instal this unit. They included a T fitting, more 1/4' water tubing, a replaceable water filter unit, and a needle valve. I also needed to add an electrical outlet so I used one of those 6 outlet panels that plugged into the existing two outlet box. The installation went smoothly and was actually kind of fun. But I have accumulated a lot of "handyman" type experience under sinks over the years. The heater is capable of bringing water up to boiling temperature so I have it dialed back slightly so it is quiet. This is covered in the manual. Basically it could not be any hotter. Of course you can hear it heating, like a refrigerator it cycles on and off, but I don't notice it much anymore. I think the faucet provided is very nice and matches our Blanco faucet and fittings well. We use it a lot more than I thought I would. I find myself looking forward to a cup of tea these days.

Install was easy, even with the core drilling of our granite counter. Took about 10 minutes to heat from a dead start, BUT ... I noticed a metallic taste to the very first few batches of water. After completely purging the tank 4 or 5 times the water now tastes like normal. Added a timer on the system to heat first thing in the morning and then again after dinner. Don't know that this will put a dent in the electric bill, but it seemed worth doing. The timer (https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09DC89YT3?psc=1&ref=ppx_yo2_dt_b_product_details) doesn't show "HONEYWELL" in the picture, but it has it on the product and the paperwork is identical to the dozens of Honeywell timers I've used before. However, this one is half the price and since both are made in China anyway ... oh, well!The heater is rated at 1,300 Watts (~10.8 amps @120v, resistive load) and it's running on the same 15 amp circuit as the disposal (listed @ 7.8 amp). Combined, they don't blow a 15 amp breaker when both are running, so that 1,300 Watt rating may be a tad bit overstated. The actual running current wasn't measured - sorry. Hey, it works ... what do I care.

After 3 years and 9 months my water heater started leaking from the bottom. After looking at my purchase I realized I was still within the 4 year warranty period. A quick phone call and I was sent a form to fill out and had another heater delivered within a week. They stand behind their product! I really enjoy this hot water dispenser and we missed it while it was out of service. No need for a plumber, I emptied the old one and installed the new one by myself. Very easy. You can not go wrong with this Ready Hot 2!