EcoSmart ECO 8 Tankless Water Heater, Electric, 8-kW - Quantity 1, 12 x 8 x 4

I (late 40's, mechanically-minded woman) just installed this unit in our home. Installation not too complicated, this replaced a 50-gallon tank water heater. Servicing two sinks and two appliances, (kitchen, 1/2 bath and laundry room) I sized this item to the available electrical supply, as I did not wish to incur the extra expense of additional wire and another circuit breaker. Existing wiring consisted of one double-pole 40-amp breaker and sufficient gauge conduit. Since this unit is supplying a dishwasher, washing machine, kitchen sink and bathroom sink, none of which would be likely opened at the same time, I figured this unit should be more than sufficient.So far, so good. Did not experience the leakage problems with the compression fittings others have noted, I think these fittings simply require a gentle hand. I did have to make adjustments from 3/4" supply lines down to the 1/2" necessary for this unit; the downsized pipe acts as a self-restrictor of sorts, slowing down the water flow to allow ample heating of the water before it exits the heater.I also installed an inline scale inhibitor filter, Aqua-Pur AP430SS, so reconfiguring the plumbing was necessary, as well as the addition of two 1/4-turn ball valves. (Highly recommend replacing the crappy spigot-handled gate valves that are typically installed with original tank water heaters, these things rarely actually completely shut off the water supply to the heater, especially in an emergency or during maintenance.)This was also my first attempt at sweating copper pipe and fittings, and after a few tries, achieved success with leak-free connections. Hubby seemed impressed that I did not burn down the house... although I don't think he really was confident in allowing me to play with the blow torch.A word of caution, as others have mentioned, the manufacturer stipulates installation by a professional plumber, (name and license number required on the warranty registration card) or apparently that 'lifetime warranty' is voided. That is disappointing, but if installation will cost more than the appliance, (as is common) sometimes you gotta do what you must. Did spend additional funds for the sediment filter, copper pipe and brass and copper fittings, and flexible SS supply lines, (highly recommend Falcon Industries' hoses, although they're made in China,) but estimate I saved a minimum $300.00 on installation, probably more.Be careful with the compression fittings, enclose your electrical connections inside a lidded junction or outlet box, and purge the line for a few minutes to ensure all air has been removed prior to turning on the heater, and you should be good to go.I do like the simple knob control, which allows precise selection of output temperature, and the fact that the unit can be turned on or off without having to mess with the breaker panel. This is handy when changing out the sediment filter, or for other non-electrical maintenance.It will be interesting to note the difference in the next electric bill or two; this is the second tankless electric water heater we've installed in the house. (Purchased previous unit on Amazon, see my earlier reviews for that unit.) After the first one about eight years ago, the following month's electric bill was about $30.00 cheaper. Eagerly anticipating the next one to see if similar utility savings will be realized. Also have plans to utilize the newly-found storage space in the corner of our garage that was formally occupied by the old water tank.

I built a 16'x20' wood floor shop and installed under floor heating in 2016. Bought this unit as a low cost proof of concept heat source because it met my power requirements and flow rate. I installed a meter to monitor usage and it has over 15,000 hours of flawless operation time on it even while pumping water/antifreeze mixture. I installed a thermal sensor to cut it off when the return temp reaches 110F to let the hot water warm the floor and save some electricity. When the temp drops it turns back on and doesn't need to need to run at full power. I keep wanting to put a current monitor to see what actual watts it draws when not at a full "burn." Our winters here lately have been in the sub 0 range and with this unit my shop will keep at a cozy 65F. I do need to do some more insulation under the floor to make it more efficient but that has nothing to do with the water heater. When this unit dies, I have no qualms about buying another one

I would like to point out that we bought an open box version of this through Amazon so I would like to point out a few things if you are looking at those as they are a good amount cheaper than the standard.1) Just because they say "Like New" doesn't mean that it comes with all of the parts. Ours was missing all the connectors and adaptors. The price was cheap enough that if we had wanted to we could have purchased what we needed from a local hardware store but it would have taken a good chunk of our savings. *2) If you do get an Amazon open box and it is missing parts your only option through Amazon is to return it, I wish you could just e-mail them and ask for the missing parts.As for the water heater itself, it is a pretty rocking little unit. We live in Phoenix AZ so the water coming into our house is about 70ish degrees, but at that temp this little thing gets our water to 140 at the showers with no problem (We do have low flow shower heads that are about 1 gallon per minute), the kitchen sink sees temps of about 135 and the bath tubs see temps at about 120. Now this will probably not work when winter hits (we are looking to upgrade then and use this one on another project) but our water heater went out and we were looking for a quick solution that we wouldn't have to run new wires for (we had a single circuit 240 with #8 wire so it could handle the breaker upgrade to 40amps). When winter comes and it isn't 160 degrees in the attic I'll run new wires and upgrade with not problem. We were worried that we would have to live with tepid water until a more permanent solution was available but honestly we love this little sucker and kind of hope that our fears that the water temp will drop too much in the winter are unfounded.The thermostat control is great too. With it being an on demand unit, I can lower the water temp to the exact temperature I enjoy for my showers and not even have to fiddle with the cool water at all.* EcoSmart was awesome. When we opened the box and found parts were missing we were able to contact them and they sent out what we needed for free. Unfortunately because it was an open box they can't warranty it (which I completely understand because it was installed by whoever returned it to Amazon in the first place) but they were still willing to work with us to get the unit installed. Great customer service.