We recently got a tankless installed for whole house, and we love it.. except for amount of time to get hot water at kitchen sink. It's much longer than the tank was. I measured about 20-24 cups worth of cold/warm water before it's hot.


For the showers upstairs, it doesn't seem to be a problem since you usually turn on hot water, then get undressed, bathroom, brush teeth, etc so when we actually get in, it's already nice and hot. And of course a tub is going through water much faster so it doesn't take long.

What solutions do I have for the kitchen sink? I'm guessing either a small tank, or an on demand/spot heater like I have for the whole house, but obviously much smaller, and I would need to get a 110v version for either solution.

Not looking to spend too much money, maybe $200 or so for the unit only, not including install.

Just search for "point of use" tankless water heaters. There are a bunch out there that are small and use 110v for under $200.

And actually, I forgot to add the basement is still unfinished so I do have maybe an option to install a recirculation pump but basically only to the kitchen sink? I wouldn't be able to install it properly because it's two-story house and so I can't get it all the way up to the fixtures on the second floor. Do you think that would work?

But I'm just wondering if it's actually just taking that long for water to get through the tankless to become hot and it's not really an issue of how far the fixture is from the tankless

Ryan the Temp said:

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Just search for "point of use" tankless water heaters. There are a bunch out there that are small and use 110v for under $200.

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The first 3 I see all say 30amp breaker required.

I should have specified, I need 110v and a typical 20amp receptacle, which is under the sink.

And maybe a dumb question, but am I installing this on the hot water line?
That way it's only used for that first minute, then I simply have hot water from my main tankless, which I assume would just go right through this unit.

In my experience, the 110V instants aren't that great. They get warm, but not hot.

I'd check out Stiebel Eltron mini tanks. Technically not a instahot but will provide a few gallons of hot water until flow arrives and they run on 20 Amp breakers. Install is simple and a DIY if you're somewhat handy.

https://www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com/products/shc-mini-tank-electric-water-heaters

The smaller instahots that run on 20 amps can't keep up with the flow for most kitchen faucets.

Most brands of tankless offer units that have built in circ pumps. Probably worth a double check to make sure yours doesn't have one. External pumps can be had but probably closer to the $500 plus range I'd imagine.

62strat said:

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Ryan the Temp said:

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Just search for "point of use" tankless water heaters. There are a bunch out there that are small and use 110v for under $200.

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The first 3 I see all say 30amp breaker required.

I should have specified, I need 110v and a typical 20amp receptacle, which is under the sink.

And maybe a dumb question, but am I installing this on the hot water line?
That way it's only used for that first minute, then I simply have hot water from my main tankless, which I assume would just go right through this unit.

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I think what RTT is talking about is a unit like this: Link It's got a little 3 gallon tank and, yes, you can supply it with hot water from the tankless. They make some other tank sizes, too.

Gigem87818 said:

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I'd check out Stiebel Eltron mini tanks. Technically not a instahot but will provide a few gallons of hot water until flow arrives and they run on 20 Amp breakers. Install is simple and a DIY if you're somewhat handy.

https://www.stiebel-eltron-usa.com/products/shc-mini-tank-electric-water-heaters

The smaller instahots that run on 20 amps can't keep up with the flow for most kitchen faucets.

Most brands of tankless offer units that have built in circ pumps. Probably worth a double check to make sure yours doesn't have one. External pumps can be had but probably closer to the $500 plus range I'd imagine.

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I saved the $300 and got my navien without a recirc pump, because I wouldn't be able to install it (properly). I can't get to the water lines upstairs, heater is in basement.

But maybe I could have it used it just for kitchen sink, but I'm thinking it's not the distance that's my issue, it simply takes the water a while to get through the tankless and get hot.

BenTheGoodAg said:

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62strat said:

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Ryan the Temp said:

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Just search for "point of use" tankless water heaters. There are a bunch out there that are small and use 110v for under $200.

---

The first 3 I see all say 30amp breaker required.

I should have specified, I need 110v and a typical 20amp receptacle, which is under the sink.

And maybe a dumb question, but am I installing this on the hot water line?
That way it's only used for that first minute, then I simply have hot water from my main tankless, which I assume would just go right through this unit.

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I think what RTT is talking about is a unit like this: Link It's got a little 3 gallon tank and, yes, you can supply it with hot water from the tankless. They make some other tank sizes, too.

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yeh this looks good, but seeing as it only takes about 1.5 gallons to get hot water, I may look for a smaller one. I could even plug it into a smart plug and have timer on it; morning and evening weekdays mainly.

I put a 2 gal electric tank under kitchen sink for the same reason, it was super easy to install. EcoSmart is the brand, it's 7 yrs old and no problems. I would like more volume, but this was all I could fit in the space. We are on a pex system, and the run from main heater to manifold to kitchen sink is the longest in the house, whomp whomp.

JSKolache said:

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I put a 2 gal electric tank under kitchen sink for the same reason, it was super easy to install. EcoSmart is the brand, it's 7 yrs old and no problems. I would like more volume, but this was all I could fit in the space. We are on a pex system, and the run from main heater to manifold to kitchen sink is the longest in the house, whomp whomp.

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This is what we did. It was a little larger than 2 gal, but I don't remember the size. It also made the dishwasher work a ton better.

Andrew