Conference 7.286::home_work

    I used to have one in a house I rented (actually we had lots of toys
    since my former roommate's father owned a plumbing supply business).
    The unit was called something like "Constant Hot".  One thing we had
    installed was an on/off switch - no point keeping it running 24 hours
    when it only takes a few minutes to heat up and you're only going to 
    use it infrequently.  
    
    This was "way back" in the mid-70's...before microwaves and modern
    Mr. Coffee-type machines.  I cannot imagine it being economical to
    operate compared to just nuking the water for a minute or two or
    making a pot of coffee...it's got to be a pretty powerful heating
    element to heat the water that quickly....they you're using energy
    to keep it hot all day too (mini electric water heater).  The supplier
    should be able to provide you with specifications or other manufacturer
    literature citing comparisons.
    
    Regarding whether the taste is ok for instant coffee...(if you can drink 
    instant you've either already destroyed your taste buds or aren't too
    fussy anyway:^)
    
    In my opinion your money would be much better spent on other things...
    especially if you already have a microwave or Mr. Coffee.
    
    Regards.

    
    We have one, it came with the house. I like it a lot, and would have
    one in a fuure home. It doesn't run very often at all, maybe for 10
    seconds every half hour. I think the electricity issue is moot. The
    water always tastes good to me.
    
    CdH
    

We have several instant-hot water notes, but none on the small units that are
just for a single faucet.  Have at it.

Paul

    Our instant hot water dispenser is one of the handiest things we have
    in the house.  We almost never drink instant coffee, though.  So, what
    do we use it for?
    
    	- instant oatmeal, hot chocolate, etc.  Around age 8 or so, kids
    	  can learn to safely handle the hot water tap on their own.
    
    	- source of water whenever we have to boil something on the stove. 
    	  Gives it a good head start.
    
    	- cleaning dried food from dishes, stove and countertops.  190
    	  degree water is GREAT for that.
    
    	- and, the absoute best use of all... heating the ice cream scoop.
    	  Helps a lot when you hear "Daddy I want some ice cream"  "me too" 
    	  "meee toooooo"
    
    I will defintely install one of these things in any house I ever own.

	I'm thinking of installing an "instant-hot" unit to raise water
	temp.  That is, we run the house's electric water heater "cool",
	perhaps 105 - 110 deg. F.  It would be nice to have the kitchen 
	sink's hot water a little hotter, maybe 120.  Has anyone ever seen 
	a small heater that would add a few degrees to already-warm water?

	I asked at Masi, in Nashua, N.H.  They had never heard of such
	a thing.

	Alternatively, a conventional "instant-hot" unit that supplies
	extra hot water would be interesting.

	Who sells these gadgets?

	Regards, Robert.

    
    I just would like to ask why you are doing this? Certainly not to save
    big money on your hot water bill I hope. The only practical reason
    (that I can think of) for doing what you propose is if your hot water
    has to travel great distances to get to it's destination. If your
    idea is to save money, then the best idea is to insulate the tank 
    and pipes.  ????

    Sears has them.

    
    You must be a tea drinker!  Home Depot advertised one of these in their
    last flyer.  However, it seems to need a mounting hole in the sink.
    I guess you could put it where the sprayer goes.
    
    Regards,
    
    Colin
    

You can get at many places, including Masi I am sure, hot water dispensers
which are intended for making tea, etc.  They take cold water in and heat
it up to about 190 degrees.  From what I read, that's not what is being
asked for.

There are also point-of-use water heaters, which can be either electric or
gas.  They're popular in Europe, and can be used to boost the temperature
of incoming hot water, though they're typically used with cold water in.
If Masi doesn't have these, most any good sized plumbing/heating supply
store should as well as larger stores such as Somerville, Home Depot, etc.

However, I do think that these would be a waste of money for trying to raise
the water temperature 10 degrees or so.  You might try insulating the hot
water pipes first - I found that made a big difference for me; so much that
I've had to turn down my water heater's temperature twice!

			Steve

	Indeedy it's not obvious how the economics balance out.

	I can't stand the thought of letting all that hot water cool in the
	tank and pipes, however slowly.  Not to mention the cost of pumping
	the cooled water I have to run, to get hot water to reach the sink.

	Neglecting the global arguments about efficient water heating,
	fundamentally I want the water in the kitchen to be hotter than
	elsewhere, so why should I heat every faucet's water to the kitchen's
	temperature?  You guys make telling arguments.  One must balance the
	cost of heating a few gallons another 10 degrees, versus the cost
	of a whole 'nother tiny water heater, which probably costs big bucks.

	I'll check out the stores you suggest.

	Regards, Robert (Who invests dollars to save pennies.)

    Just as an aside...
    
    	it is not a good idea to use hot water for cooking or drinking.
    Water that has been heated in most domestic water heaters has a greater
    chance of containing higher levels of lead. This is primarily because
    it sits in the plumbing longer than the cold water does. 
    
    	I could see wanting water at the kitchen sink that was hotter than
    the house water, but only for use in the dishwasher... maybe.
    	I would not use an instant hot water dispenser for making tea,
    especially if it was fed from the house hot water supply. 
    
    	My tap water comes out at between 110 and 120. This works well for
    all of our needs. It may even be too hot as a few times I've nearly
    scalded myself with it. Why would you want extra hot water in the
    kitchen anyway?
    
    		Mark

    Re: Lead
    
    I really don't think so......New plumbing uses the lead free solder,
    and after 5 years,the minute amount of solder in the old type plumbing
    has a coating on it that makes the lead "effect" inert.
    
    Marc H.

	Re .11:  ... needing hot water only for the dishwasher, and extra
	hot water in the kitchen.

	Actually, I don't need extra hot water.  I occasionally want water 
	to wash dishes in the sink, which means some temperature between my
	currently low temperature and the approx. 145 the dishwasher heats 
	itself to.  I need dish-hot, not tea-hot.  Most people have enough
	common sense to understand that running the house's tank at dish-hot
	is perfectly ok, but I'm different.

	So the general idea is that I want a (crude) thermostat on the faucet 
	so I can choose its temperature without affecting the whole house.

	Regards, Robert.

So why don't you look into one of those "baby" water heaters.  I've seen
electric units that hold about 5 or 10 gallons.  There's not a lot of
surface area to lose heat, and if you have the faucet on very fast for very
long they can only give you about 10 or 20 degrees temperature rise anyway.

I've seen these units installed in bathrooms in small businesses - they
allow you enough hot water to wash your hands.  I've seen them for sale at
Home Club here in Colorado Springs - wouldn't surprise me if Home Depot or
Sommerville lumber had them.

	re .14, baby heaters

	As a matter of fact, I'd like a 2 - 3 gallon heater for my sink!
	Just the ticket.

	I once installed a 10-gal for a dishwasher that didn't have its
	own heater.  A 30-amp wall switch let us keep it off until a
	half-hour before dishwashing time.

    
    
    
    The sell "on demand" water heaters.  Its heats the water 
    only when the flow starts.  Small enought to fit under your
    sink.  Most of these are electric.
    
    JD

    Also, spring water dispensers (eg. Poland Springs) have on demand hot
    water heaters.  You might be able to modify the innards to work with a
    kitchen faucet.
    
    Bob