What's Inside A Point Of Use Water Heater? (4K)

**tsbrownie** · Feb 19, 2022, 07:30 AM

Thought you might want to see what's inside a point of use hot water heater for showers.
This one is 220 volts, single phase, 4500 watts. It will heat water about 20C (68F) above ambient.

WARNING: This is NOT a DIY or training video. A mis-installed heater can shock and kill. Do not install, repair, or maintain one of these devices.

**Toolmaker51** · Feb 20, 2022, 08:55 AM

It's a trusted brand name certainly; that apply to where it was made? Down the road I'll be looking at point of use or larger that handle three full bath of shower and lavatory, without a convenient heater location.

**tsbrownie** · Feb 20, 2022, 06:42 PM

Originally Posted by Toolmaker51

It's a trusted brand name certainly; that apply to where it was made? Down the road I'll be looking at point of use or larger that handle three full bath of shower and lavatory, without a convenient heater location.

It's Panasonic out of Japan. Siemens is also reliable if you can find them. This may be more detail than you want, but the one on the wall is about 30 years old. As far as I know it's only had the water valve o-rings replaced. The one in the box was bought at a clearance sale about 7 or 8 years ago as a backup, and it had been sitting on a shelf for probably 10 years before that. Since the one in the video was released this type of heater has gone through a phase where they tried to make them , thin, tall and super-stylish, but that failed because they would not fit in the same footprint as existing ones. Now they are back to this design again. It's just my opinion, but I think the copper heater tank is better. It is more prone to mineralization, but I just can't trust a plastic heater tank. I could be absolutely wrong on that, but it just feels wrong.

**Toolmaker51** · Feb 20, 2022, 07:30 PM

No such thing as too much detail. All about learning what you need to know.
My expectations for a plastic tank would not be high; though plastic auto radiators seem reasonably satisfactory and at somewhat higher temperatures. A neighbor retro-fit a whole house instant unit, part of the maintenance is a periodic citric acid flush. The water conditions in SoCal are high mineral content.

Scheme's different for my building, has no plumbing what-so-ever. I sketch, notate [and start from scratch, need be], planning how to make one wall a service 'panel' housing all the penetrations, power and utilities effectively.

**tsbrownie** · Feb 20, 2022, 08:53 PM

If I was going to do another full re-model, I'd do things differently. For example, there's no good reason to have the POU inside the shower enclosure. I'm not sure if I would do the hot water unit and share it between the sink/shower/bath. That requires more complexity with water mixers, pressure regulators, and max temp controls. The device in the video is a "water warmer" and it would be hard to get burned with it. The heaters are a different animal and they will produce near-boiling water. I've been burned badly at a friend's overseas house. I was taking a shower and someone, somewhere in the house used water and I got a dose of hot water direct from the heater. Was like a bad sunburn that lasted for days.