Started with the idea of a 30-gallon electric tank to supply hot water for my bathroom (1 shower, 1 sink) in my woodshop. Now I think I am looking to go the route of an electric tankless heater instead of constantly heating a tank that I won’t use alot. The two I am looking at are the Rheem RTEX-11 and EcoSmart ECO 11. My question to everyone is will these be enough for my needs, and if so is one better than the other? Thanks!
Rheem RTEX-11 or EcoSmart ECO 11?
- Thread starter dmbarney
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It’ll be fine, either one
Aggie83
Well-Known Member
I've had good customer service from Eco Smart. I had one at a hunting shed and it filled up with gunk... no joy from EcoSmart, but the people were nice. Bought a new one for the shed and put on a water filter. Depending on the temperature of your tap water, Eco11 should be fine. I run an Eco8 in central Texas.
Yeah, I live in Ohio, hoping the Eco11 or Rheem 11 will do the job. Won't be taking many showers in the middle of winter, but it's nice if I do need to.
Twowaxhack, in your years of experience do you see more issues with one vs the other? Even better is there other reliable brands that offer a 11 Kw heater? Thanks
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The issue I find with electric tankless is they’re usually undersized. Incoming water temp can change which can help or hurt your situation. There are some parts that are not readily available at the hardware store.
Electric tank water heaters have been basically the same for years and haven’t changed much and the parts are available at most any hardware store. They’re easy to diagnose and repair.
Tanks are not as energy efficient because of the standby loss as the tankless.
It’s really up to you since it’s just an extra heater. If it were my main heater I would want a tank.
I agree with you as my main heater. As far as this one goes for my wood shop and from what I am reading, every brand has bad ratings for tankless plus you have to take those ratings with a grain of salt. I just have to figure out what brand to go with and be done with it.
If you got a tiny 10gal 1600w regular heater like a Reliance for around $500, you would probably be surprised how quickly the little tank warms up and gets hot in maybe 15-20min, giving a good 3-5min shower. Then you could shut it off to save energy cost but doesn't your work shed freeze any plumbing?
If I bought a tank heater the minimum would be 20 gallons.
I installed a Rheem Prestige gas tankless wh this summer. I recently installed a 10 gallon electric tank downstream to buffer out hot and cold spikes. System is great, but the $1,500.00 tankless heater turned in to over $2,000.00 after exhaust, plumbing parts and electric tank. I could have bought a heat pump 40 gallon tank that would last as long and been a lot less work.
You may not need it but that 40 tank can’t compare to what the tankless can do.
The tankless can let you take a couple showers all day long. So if you had 5 kids and a wife with a big bathtub and you liked to take 30 minute showers, the tank couldn’t begin to meet your needs, just for example.
Folks, after days of researching I decided to go with Stiebel Eltron DHX 12-2 Plus. Germany made parts built in the US. One of the better warranties I could find and great customer service. I know it's not a huge purchase, but I think it will work best for what I need in the shop.
That’ll produce 1.5 gpm with a 55 degree temp rise.
That means when your cold water is 50 degrees the unit will heat 1.5 gpm to 105 degrees.
You’ll need to use all hot water and have a very low flow head.
I wouldn’t bother having a shower like that at my house…….. maybe a prison camp
The REtex11 wouldn’t work well either, I for sure wouldn’t do it. So disregard my first post where I said it would be fine, it wouldn’t be.
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Come on man! Well what about the Stiebel Eltron DHX 15-2 Plus.... and per my posts its not a bath in the house. Small shower in wood shop.That’ll produce 1.5 gpm with a 55 degree temp rise.
That means when your cold water is 50 degrees the unit will heat 1.5 gpm to 105 degrees.
You’ll need to use all hot water and have a very low flow head.
I wouldn’t bother having a shower like that at my house…….. maybe a prison camp
A lot of people have a detached workshop at home with a bathroom. That’s what I assumed you’re doing. I have one myself. I used a 40 gal electric because it was free.
Ok back on topic. You can use whatever heater you want but personally I wouldn’t be satisfied with a 1.5-2 gpm shower.
I’d use a dual element 20 gal heater. The Rheem tank comes with 3800w elements. I’d change those to 5500w if I had 240v and one 30 amp double pole circuit. It would take about 40 minutes to bring the tank from 50 degrees to 130.
If you left it as it comes out of the box it would take about an hour to bring the tank from 50 to 130 degrees.
If I had two - 30 amp double pole circuits at 240v then I’d run two -30amp circuits with 10ga wire and run the 5500w elements simultaneously. The bottom thermostat would also need to be changed to an upper thermostat. This would heat your 20 gallons of water from 50 degrees to 130 degrees in 20 minutes.
I can get parts for and easily repair tank type heaters. Parts available EVERYWHERE.
Or go with the retex18.
There’s nothing worse than spending all day and $500 to feel like you’re being pee’d on for a shower.
The tank type heater would last a long time if you kept it hot all the time. It’s not good to have extreme temp swings with tanks. Tanks expand and contract and this causes metal fatigue. So turning the tank completely off is not a great idea but people do it. Turning the tank off can also cause stanky water…….
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You’d get about a 1.75 gpm shower with the DHX 15-2 plus at 240v. That’s at 50 degree incoming water
I suggest you take a bucket and set your shower at home to 105 degrees and 1.75 gpm and see if you can live with it. I damn sure couldn’t.
