Chronomite SR-20L/240 HTR 240-Volt 20-Amp SR Series Instant-Flow Low Flow Tankless Water Heater

Installed in a shop to provide hot water for the wash tub. Easy to install. Works as expected, the flow is more than enough to wash hands and parts when needed. It has been in use only a few weeks so the long term reliability is still a matter of conjecture. None of these small POU water heaters seem to get universally good reviews. It is so easy to install that replacing it with like-and-kind will be a snap should that be necessary.The internal mechanism is quite simple, always a good thing where long-term use is desired. At this point I would have no qualms recommending the unit.

I installed this in a sink far from the water heater that I use to wash my hands/face in the morning. The pipes run on an exterior wall, so while cold water is bracing, this warm water is quite a treat. I do suggest the 240V-20A version as it can get a decent flow of water pretty warm. With half the power, a decent flow would be tepid (better than cold, but not nice and warm like this). This is a quality product -- when you take it apart to connect power, you will see it is very well designed and made, not like a lot of the consumer plumbing stuff. It really is as easy as anything to hook up, of course once you have 240V-20A and a 2nd tap for cold water input.

As part of my detached garage renovation I added a laundry basin. For the water supply, I tapped into the 1" irrigation main located right behind the garage. This was great for bringing cold water into the garage. With that, I plumbed the water supply to two shut off valves behind the sink. One valve to supply the cold water to the tap while the other would be used to feed a small or point of use water heater.In addition to this planned installation of a point of use water heater, I ran a dedicated 20 Amp 240 volt outlet to the same location. I did not have a specific make or model of water heater selected at the time of running the electrical or plumbing, but from what I had run, I thought I would have the most options.The renovation moved forward and the time came to finish up the wash basin. That meant I needed to select a water heater. After some research I found the Chronomite Instant Low Flow Electric water heaters. I was intrigued. I originally imagined installing a small 2½ gallon traditional water heater, but when I found these small instant heaters I was willing to shift my focus on to one. The main reason I felt this would be ideal had to do with the infrequent use of this sink and wanting to avoid wasted electricity consumption. I had even considered putting a switched outlet on a 2½ gallon unit. That would have required some planning on knowing when I needed hot water (to have time to power up the unit and let it warm).With this Chronomite unit, I mostly appreciated the on demand electrical usage / heating. When not in use - no power is being used. As soon as the water is flowing, the unit powers on and you have hot water in seconds.Now, I must say Chronomite Tankless Water Heaters are U.L. listed. The U.L. listing requires that the heater be "hardwired" to a dedicated breaker. Their FAQ states: to gain optimum performance and keep the product under warranty it must be installed in this manner. However, in Texas it is common practice to install water heaters with the appropriate NEMA spec plug / receptacle based on the capacity of the circuit. And, as I mentioned, the circuit I ran is indeed dedicated. The only connection to this run is the 20 Amp 240 volt outlet.Specifically, I installed a NEMA 6-20P (250v 20 amp) outlet supplied by 12/2 romex (white colored as hot (red) within the panel and within the gang box) and a double pole 20 amp breaker. Therefore, instead of the hard-wiring, I utilized 12/2 SJOOW 12 AWG service cable on a NEMA 6-20P plug.Water connection: Finding a 3/8 compression to 3/8 compression supply line locally in a brick and mortar ended up being a bit of a challenge. Lowes and Homedepot had them IN 72 INCHES (dish washer supply lines). Luckily, Ace Hardware (always being the store to carry the little odd things that are just what you need) carried these in 12, 20, 24, and 30 inches! Wow! So I picked up a 12" length to supply cold to the heater. From the heater to the sink, I used a standard 3/8 compression to ½" supply line, 20 inches in length.The unit works amazing! That's all I can say. Without using the replacement flow restriction (it does not fit my faucet) the water temperature is absolutely ideal for nice and hot hand washing and cleaning. This was tested yesterday with an intake temperature of about 65 degrees.Dialing back the faucet to about 3/4 of the way on, the water temp gets so hot, you will not want to touch it!!! Amazing!My only concern with the install is my own issue and that is water hardness. In the house, I have a softener to remove hardness. Having the supply line tapped from the irrigation, this water is not softened and I will need to consider I method of decalcification when the time is right (depending on usage).

Works ok. Should have just installed a small water tank. Just can’t keep up unless you use the hit only and let it trickle.Amperage rating is wrong. Calls for 30 amp breaker. On full load it pulls 29.8 amps. This is too much for a 30 amp breaker plus the spike. Had to up the line size and breaker to 40 amp.

I liked that the water wasn't scalding hot if someone were to just turn on the hot water on the faucet like others I have seen. There is adequate water flow for washing your hands. Relatively easy to install. Potential buyers need to know they will need a disconnect switch if hard wired or put a 240 volt plug end on a piece of 12 gauge cord and install a 240 volt receptacle which is what I did which makes it easier to replace in the future.

So far so good, its nice to have hot water in a matter of seconds.

I had the exact same model and after a few years it stopped working, maybe because of buildup from our hard water. I am trying it again as it was a good price and works well when it is working, plus I did not want to change any of the setup. I have it in a bathroom where there is only a sink; I don't think it would be enough hot water for a shower.

It was fairly easy to install and creates warm water pretty quickly. Glad that I purchased and would buy it again.