Customer Reviews

Bosch AE-9.5 PowerStar 1.5 GPM Point-Of-Use Indoor Tankless Electric Water Heater

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

Less than 2 months after installation, this unit will not turn off. It has burst PEX tubing three times due to the overheat condition, and started to smoke and sizzle multiple times.

It will *not* turn off even with both in and out water valves closed, and we have to flip the breakers to render it safe.

That of course means no hot water -- kind of why we bought the unit to start with.

The company is using every excuse in the book to not honor the warranty. They want me to a) hire a technician (at my expense) to troubleshoot the item on site, b) install copper tubing (also at my expense - despite being reminded water hot enough to melt PEX is too hot for skin), c) move the setting to low (meaning lukewarm water), and send them a $100 deposit which upon return of the defective unit, at their discretion, they might refund "if the unit does in fact requires warranty service".

An honorable company would send a new unit and an RMA for the defective one, not seek to place blame (however illogical) on the purchaser. Nor should I be required to do field repairs on the pressure switch (or pay a pro) on a $200 item.

I am being given the run-around, talking to person after person, and the company is using every possible excuse to wiggle out of honoring their warranty.

The unit is unsafe at this point, and represents a fire, flooding, and/or serious scalding risk.

A new unit may or may not have these risks, but I can't be sure BECAUSE THE COMPANY WON'T SEND ME ANOTHER ONE despite the unit being only 2 months old and their "troubleshooting" requires *ME* to spend more on technicians than the original purchase price of the unit.

I tested the AE-9.5. If it worked as advertised, it would be a great little piece of equipment - but it doesn't. It is advertised to achieve an 84 degree rise at .75 gallons per minute. The best that I could do after ten tests was a 70 degree rise. Here are my test results.

Incoming water - 48 degrees
Gallons per minute - .75 GPM
Heated Water Temp - 118 degrees

I did hit 125 degrees or 77 degrees once but not for .75 gallons per minute.

For my test, I set the AE-9.5 on a table about 30 inches off the floor. I wired the unit to 240 volts. Actual voltage, 242. The heated water was directed into a two gallon pail using a two foot section of hose. The distance from the unit to the pail was minimized so as not to affect the results. I used a sealed thermometer to measure the water temp. Each test ran for two minutes.

I called the Bosch support line for help but it was after hours and they weren't able to answer my questions.

This is a powerful tankless hotwater system. We placed two of them in our building in bathrooms that were over 100 feet from the hot water system with a tank. It used to take 2-3 minutes to get hot water, now it is only a few seconds and the water is warm enough to wash your hands.

The system is installed very easily and takes up little space.

My wife reminded me that our children and grandchildren were due to visit our cottage in one week, but not hot water. I placed my order on line and it was delivered in 3 days. Hot water at the cottage in 4 days. Wow it only took me 15 minutes to install. Then hot showers for all on the weekend. Great product.Bosch PowerStar 1.5 GPM Point-Of-Use Indoor Tankless Electric Water Heater #AE9.5

This heater works as advertised! The adjustments for temperature and the 220v hookup should be done by someone comfortable with these tasks - the instructions are not as clear as they could be. The indicator light is very helpful it adjusting the flow as it indicates when the unit is on (there is a click also).

This thing is tiny yet puts out continuous very hot water, just great product. Easy hook up to existing water heater electrical lead and pipes. Gets hot fast and stays hot as long as faucet is on, brilliant.

The first unit I received out of the box leaked. Unit was replaced without any trouble. It has been working just fine until a few weeks ago. Unit is out of warranty, so I am just making a comment. After reading another review on the unit not shutting off, mine does the same thing. On low setting it burst the plastic tubing I had connected to it. I replaced it with copper tubing to find out that the unit was not shutting off, but constantly tripping the reset button. I am going to try a dfferent brand as this one is not safe.

Update April 2011
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Came across my old review and thought I'd add the last few years experience with these units to the information here. My original review was posted under the listing for the refurbished unit, and that's all I've bought since they're really, really, inexpensive. Actually, since they were so cheap I figured that, even if I had to replace them every few years, I'd still get my money's worth in both energy saved and savings over a much more expensive tank heater...not to mention swapping these guys in/out is a 5 minute job once they've been installed...but, other than pulling one out in an 'emergency' to install in a friends house whose tank had given out, never had to do that.

My oldest unit is 5 years old now (maybe 6?) and there's nothing to report. I'm using these in my home, a vacation home, installed a couple in a girlfriends home (large whirlpool bathtub), and have had no problems. I actually forgot about them and had to go check to see what brand they were when buying one recently for my ex-mother-in-law's home. The fact that I never have to deal with them -no issues whatsoever- in my personal opinion, is the best review I can give for an essential household appliance. Energy savings and unlimited hot water, well, that's just a bonus.

Just to hit the highlights from my, way to long, previous review and current experience:
1) Use very large gauge wire. Seriously, don't skimp. Read the instructions and go a couple sizes thicker - not only does this make sure your house doesn't burn down, it also saves money in electricity (small gauge = excess heat = wasted electric).
2) Install them where you use them - its really not too hard to place one right in your bathroom, the closet next to it, the wall behind it, etc. That gets you 'instant on' hot water and, once you're hooked, you won't ever go back to a tank heater 50 feet away...
3) Get more than one - I used just one for my house and it worked fine but, when I have lots of friends/family over taking multiple showers, running the dishwasher, laundry...you have to be realistic. They're cheap so dedicate one to your shower, the temp will stay rock solid, and another for everything else. I put a 110v version (it was 60 bucks refurb'd here on Amazon) in my kitchen, adding a 2nd spigot after the water filter - seriously nice to make noodles, tea, hot chocolate on the fly, instantly. Slow flow through the filter = really hot water (but make sure you get enough flow that the scald preventer doesn't kick in, my lab thermometer says 180-190 degrees).
4) I live in Phoenix, so cold water isn't really an issue here. If you live in Fairbanks Alaska, your results will probably not be the same although, I do have one in a cabin in the mountains above Flagstaff (ski country) and, it works just fine all winter. But again, the key is that the unit is in the bathroom so no heat loss in the pipes and I use low-flow everything.


One last thing - on the news a few months ago they showed a cell phone video of somebody's hot water heater exploding through the roof of a Scottsdale home (check youtube). That's something that never crossed my mind and, I bet that I have better odds at winning the lottery than loosing my roof to a stuck pressure relief valve but, if you're looking for that 'one more excuse' to make the switch to instant-on tankless heaters....

Original Review 2009
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Let me start with a few caveats: I live in Phoenix Arizona so, cold water from the ground isn't the problem here that it might be in the rest of the country. And since we're always under "drought conditions" everything in my house is very water thrifty. I'm also rehabilitating a rather beat up repo so, installing new electric and plumbing is no big deal.
If your not an electrician, and your electric isn't up to spec, you definitely need to hire one to help you out. And if you're putting these things into your bathrooms to get instant hot water, ditto on a plumber. Be sure to consult with them before buying since they'll set you back much more than this heater will cost.

That said, I've had these units installed a week and have absolutely no problems. Water is hot, and there's an unlimited supply. My shower only spits out about a gallon an hour, the laundry machine and dishwasher have their own built in water heaters (and are ulta-low water use) so I can't say that I'm pushing the units to their limits.

I had actually planned on buying the smaller heaters but, since they were both the same price I opted for the larger one. The only difference appears to be that this one has 2 heating elements where the smaller has but 1. I was a little worried about the power requirements but, there is a switch inside allowing you to turn off one of the elements, and the water output is just fine (for me) in that mode.

You should be aware that the unit needs 60 amps for both elements - your "tank style" heater is probably only on a 20 or 30 amp circuit (which works ok with just 1 element on). If you're planning on swapping this for your tank (and its super easy to do) you'll probably need to upgrade the breakers in your panel (not so easy to do). Also, if the water heater is any distance from you breaker box, it would be a good idea to use a very heavy gauge wire. For those of you in cold regions with 200 amp service, if one heater doesn't do the job, you can feed the output of one unit into a second. I've seen this done for other on-demand heaters but, if natural gas is an option, you might want to investigate a gas on-demand heater instead.

Here's why I really like this heater:
* It's a small house, only a few people, and we're not home most of the day, so keeping the typical 40 gallon tank hot seems pointless.
* When there are guests, 40 gallons from an electric heater is never enough but, with this unit I never run out...
* Our "on-peak" electric is several times more expensive than "off-peak" electric. I suppose that I could install a timer on the "tank heater" but, this one is easier: we just don't turn on hot water during peak hours (3pm to 6pm) in the summer.
* This unit is in the master bath (there's another for the other bath and the rest of the house) so hot water is instant. I love this since I don't have to wait 10 minutes for the shower to get warm any more, saving both electric and water.

If you're using this heater as a backup or supplement for a solar system, you will want to put it on a switch so you can turn it off when its not needed. The unit turns on with water flow but does not check the incoming water temperature: if your solar is putting out 140 degree water there is a manual "scald protection" breaker that will trip - probably a good idea for your safety. You have to open the unit to reset it. There are better options for solar supplemental heat but, they're a few hundred dollars more expensive and a switch is easy to install.

In summary, I love this thing. The savings in energy and water are real, instant hot water is awesome, and even if you buy one for each bathroom and another for your kitchen, its still cheaper than a decent tank style heater.

I've had this unit for over a year and like everyone else have had trouble with the unit tripping on the high setting. When I switched it to low it got warm but not really hot. I finally did a test and found out that my faucet doesn't really operate at 1.5 GPM. It's slightly less than that. What I figure is that the flow is too slow for high and the water gets too hot and the safety trips. While on low setting, there is too much flow to heat the water sufficiently. Here's the breakthrough. Set the unit on low and dial back the flow of your faucet. The water gets nice and hot. I was going to replace the unit but now it's operating to my satisfaction. Hope that helps someone else.

Made only luke warm water at my utility sink 3 foot away. I called and I was told that it was because I had 208 volts. Well, the unit is 240 or 208. Why don't they say it will not work on 208? Would it really work on 240 volt? Not sure, but I dought it would make hot water at all. I'm a electrician (20 years) so I know it was installed properly. I would never buy another one. They would not refund at all. Get a 2,4,6 or 8 gallon tank instead. My 6 gallon works great at the utility sink. Hot water right now. I put a timer on it when I need it the most. Daytime only.