Well I got ahead of myself a bit. Found a deal on a tankless water heater that was just too good to pass up.
Here is the unit I bought Fastar 8L per minute LPG tankless water heater. If the link goes dead just search ebay on some variation of that description.
For my American readers, let me first explain a bit about how tankless water heating systems work. There is no "holding tank" like we are used to. Water is heated as it flows through the unit. Whereas a tank type water heater keeps the water at a constant temperature, a tankless works on "temperature rise". In other words instead of hot water being held in the tank at 170 deg/F, a tankless raises the temperature of the incoming water by "X" degrees. An example of this is that when I tested my unit, Incoming water was about 55 deg/F. At full flow my "hot water" was about 100 deg/F after going through the heater.
The temperature of the water being output can be raised by slowing the flow of the water through the unit. This allows the water in the system more time to absorb heat. Bottom line, less flow, hotter water. There are safety features built in to all tankless heaters to prevent the water from boiling. Some units include a temperature sensor that shuts down the burner if the water gets too hot (due to low flow). On this unit, the "safety" is a flow switch where the burner and the control power are shut off if there is no flow.
The control shutoff feature on this unit was a welcome surprise. Because the burner control runs on 2 D-cell batteries I had some concern about battery lifespan if I forgot to shut it off at the provided switch. This unit conserves the batteries by shutting it completely off when the water stops flowing. The other safety feature is that, on the unit itself, the water valve can only be turned down so low. As long as there is water coming in, you cannot shut off the water at the unit with the provided valve. To completely shut off the water you need a valve on the input side of the unit. Shut that valve off and the unit will shut down completely.
The Fastar unit
There are a total of four controls on the unit itself. These are
What I found was Conversion Coupling Adaptor To Convert USA 1/2" NPT Male To 1/2" BSP Female on Ebay. These fitting came "overnight" from England via FedEx. Once these were in place I was able to use Home Depot for the rest of my fittings. Be aware to will need a 1/2" female NPT to flared fitting adaptor for the LPG connection. I only had one LPG appliance which was a space heater so I decided to "standardize" on that (3/8 FL connection). I recommend that all LPG connections in your household be the same so that if you have a regulator go bad, you are not "stuck" until you can buy a new one.
So now that I had all my fittings it was time to test the unit. Here is a photo of it all set up for testing with a garden hose attached
Here you can see the Gas, incoming water, and outgoing water (shower) connection. The shower was not all that impressive. It is better than a cold shower however :-) Do not plan on using a conventional shower head with it as they are designed to flow at 2 1/2 gal/min.
The round thing on the right is the "indicator panel". When the control is on (water flowing and power switched on) it shows that water is flowing, burner is firing, and the temperature of the outgoing water. The only "inconvenience" is that it gives temperature in deg/C. I classify it as an inconvenience because who really monitors the precise temperature of their shower or bath?
With everything hooked up I fired it up for the first time. Everything worked perfectly and operated just like any other tankless heater. Water started at 11 deg/C and went up to 36 at full flow and burner. Backing off the flow where you could still "shower" with it, the temperature went to ~40 deg/C.
One thing I am also looking at this unit for is Hydronic heating. If you put a 2 gpm pump inline with it and then PEX tubing under your floor, it could be used to heat your space. Simply tie the pump to a thermostat for heat. I would also recommend a temperature switch in the return line. Pump comes on, heater fires and warms the water circulating in your floor where the heat rises into your space. At this point that looks like a relatively easy way to heat even a home. Please keep in mind however as at this point this is simply me thinking out loud :-)
Here is the unit I bought Fastar 8L per minute LPG tankless water heater. If the link goes dead just search ebay on some variation of that description.
For my American readers, let me first explain a bit about how tankless water heating systems work. There is no "holding tank" like we are used to. Water is heated as it flows through the unit. Whereas a tank type water heater keeps the water at a constant temperature, a tankless works on "temperature rise". In other words instead of hot water being held in the tank at 170 deg/F, a tankless raises the temperature of the incoming water by "X" degrees. An example of this is that when I tested my unit, Incoming water was about 55 deg/F. At full flow my "hot water" was about 100 deg/F after going through the heater.
The temperature of the water being output can be raised by slowing the flow of the water through the unit. This allows the water in the system more time to absorb heat. Bottom line, less flow, hotter water. There are safety features built in to all tankless heaters to prevent the water from boiling. Some units include a temperature sensor that shuts down the burner if the water gets too hot (due to low flow). On this unit, the "safety" is a flow switch where the burner and the control power are shut off if there is no flow.
The control shutoff feature on this unit was a welcome surprise. Because the burner control runs on 2 D-cell batteries I had some concern about battery lifespan if I forgot to shut it off at the provided switch. This unit conserves the batteries by shutting it completely off when the water stops flowing. The other safety feature is that, on the unit itself, the water valve can only be turned down so low. As long as there is water coming in, you cannot shut off the water at the unit with the provided valve. To completely shut off the water you need a valve on the input side of the unit. Shut that valve off and the unit will shut down completely.
The Fastar unit
There are a total of four controls on the unit itself. These are
- Summer / Winter setting
- This seems to be a "high low switch" for the burner.
- Burner gas control
- Can be used to adjust the amount of gas being consumed by the burner. This will also have an effect on the temperature rise.
- Water flow control
- Amount of water flowing through the unit. If you are at max burner level and the water is still not hot enough, you can lower the flow with this thus increasing the temperature of the delivered water. Simply be aware that you cannot shut off the water with this valve (as a safety precaution that I outlined above)
- Electrical on/off rocker switch
- Bypasses the flow switch to keep the burner from coming on even if water is flowing through the unit.
Test and evaluation of the unit
I set up the unit outside to test its operation and find its possibilities. First off you need to be aware that it is a design for the European market where tankless heaters are VERY common. The one thing that you will need to do if you purchase this unit or any others like it is to buy adaptors for the fittings. Be aware that for pipe this size, most European systems us "BSP" or "G" threads. this is a straight thread used for gas and water. These fittings you will not find at "Home Depot" so plan on ordering them when you order your unit (or any other unit that has "BSP" or "G" threads).What I found was Conversion Coupling Adaptor To Convert USA 1/2" NPT Male To 1/2" BSP Female on Ebay. These fitting came "overnight" from England via FedEx. Once these were in place I was able to use Home Depot for the rest of my fittings. Be aware to will need a 1/2" female NPT to flared fitting adaptor for the LPG connection. I only had one LPG appliance which was a space heater so I decided to "standardize" on that (3/8 FL connection). I recommend that all LPG connections in your household be the same so that if you have a regulator go bad, you are not "stuck" until you can buy a new one.
So now that I had all my fittings it was time to test the unit. Here is a photo of it all set up for testing with a garden hose attached
Here you can see the Gas, incoming water, and outgoing water (shower) connection. The shower was not all that impressive. It is better than a cold shower however :-) Do not plan on using a conventional shower head with it as they are designed to flow at 2 1/2 gal/min.
The round thing on the right is the "indicator panel". When the control is on (water flowing and power switched on) it shows that water is flowing, burner is firing, and the temperature of the outgoing water. The only "inconvenience" is that it gives temperature in deg/C. I classify it as an inconvenience because who really monitors the precise temperature of their shower or bath?
With everything hooked up I fired it up for the first time. Everything worked perfectly and operated just like any other tankless heater. Water started at 11 deg/C and went up to 36 at full flow and burner. Backing off the flow where you could still "shower" with it, the temperature went to ~40 deg/C.
Overall impressions
I cannot at this point speak about long term reliability. That will be a wait and see matter. One nice thing is that it is self contained and can be used anywhere. This makes it great also for a camper. with a bit of plumbing, you have hot water at your sink and a warm shower. From what I have seen so far, I would not recommend a unit of this size for household use except over a sink (and a shower in a pinch). For that I would recommend at least a 4 L/min unit so you can also use the shower more effectively.One thing I am also looking at this unit for is Hydronic heating. If you put a 2 gpm pump inline with it and then PEX tubing under your floor, it could be used to heat your space. Simply tie the pump to a thermostat for heat. I would also recommend a temperature switch in the return line. Pump comes on, heater fires and warms the water circulating in your floor where the heat rises into your space. At this point that looks like a relatively easy way to heat even a home. Please keep in mind however as at this point this is simply me thinking out loud :-)
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