Customer Reviews

Stiebel Eltron Tempra 24B 240-Volt 24 kW Electric Tankless Water Heater

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

 

 

We have a city townhome in North Carolina with five faucets, one shower, a dishwasher, and a washing machine -- all electric, no gas. Groundwater temperatures here range from 55-70°, with the extremes occurring in January/February and July/August, respectively. After researching the many available brands and models of electric tankless water heaters, we decided on the Stiebel Eltron Tempra 24 to replace our old 50-gallon tank. We've have had it for 6 months now with no problems whatsoever. It works great and more than meets our hot water needs for the entire condo. And it has actually saved us between $20-25 on each of our electric bills since it was installed, compared to what the tank heater was costing us.

According to the Stiebel Eltron website, the Tempra 20 model (not the 24) was the most appropriate for the size of our home, since we only have one full bath. But what if we had the laundry, dishwasher, and shower all going at once? This has never actually happened and likely never will; but we opted for the next-higher model, the 24, because it has more power. At 3 gallons per minute, the Tempra 24 can heat water 41° F above the ambient temperature; by contrast, at that flow rate, the Tempra 20 can heat only 33° F above ambient. Additionally, the 24 supposedly can heat two showers at once. Although we can't actually test this (again, just one full bath), we *have* had the washing machine running on hot at the same time the shower (2.5 gpm) was going at its normal setting and had absolutely no temperature problems or water flow shortages.

There's a specific flow rate required for the unit to activate: 0.58 gpm, which is easily achieved on most standard home faucets. Conveniently, the Tempra has an external dial that allows you to set the maximum temperature, which is displayed on a small digital panel. Like any tankless water heater, the faster the water flow, the less the unit is able to heat the water.

The Tempra 24 takes two dedicated 60-amp circuit breakers. We had to have a professional plumber and an electrician install the water heater and ensure that we had sufficient power supply. Our condo was built in the early 1980s, so we actually had to have the power supply upgraded from the nearest transformer to our entire building (!) and then upgrade our individual circuit box. (Apparently no one else in our building has upgraded their major utility appliances in the last 5 years, or the transformer work would have already been done, and we would have only needed to upgrade our circuit box. So, neighbors: you're welcome.) The electrical work actually ended up costing more than the water heater itself, but by that point we were already up to our knees in it (so to speak) and decided to see it out to the end. I'm glad we did, although it was a royal pain to deal with at the time.

Stiebel Eltron's website has a sizing guide as well as an electrical/technical guide for the Tempra models. I can't tell you how indispensable these guides were when we were deciding which unit to purchase. (Per Amazon's reviewing guidelines, I'm unable to link directly to them, but you can find them by going to Stiebel-Eltron-USA[dot]com > Products > Tempra & Tempra Plus > [scroll all the way down to the small "Resources" box] View Sizing Guide/View Technical Data.)

You may be wondering about the difference between the Tempra and the Tempra Plus. Based on the information on Stiebel Eltron's website, it appears that the Tempra Plus has "advanced flow control," which helps the water stay at a constant temperature with no fluctuations.

It seems that most people who reviewed this unit on Amazon have had problems with it, and, unfortunately, those who have had positive experiences likely haven't been moved enough to write a review. I don't doubt the other reviewers' testimonials at all, and it's a shame that they received defective units. However, I felt compelled to let people know that there are consumers out there who bought this unit and have never had any problems with it. We couldn't be more pleased with ours.

If you're in the market for an electric tankless water heater, I encourage you to find additional consumer reviews on other websites to get a more accurate assessment of this product. Stiebel Eltron is one of the best tankless brands out there, and based on the research we did, the Tempra 24 was the best fit for us. I would recommend Stiebel Eltron as a brand and the Tempra 24 model without hesitation. Make sure you shop around for the best price (we didn't buy ours from Amazon) and get it from a retailer who offers insured shipping with signed delivery confirmation. Good luck!

** Update, May 21, 2010: Our Tempra 24 tankless is still working great. We've had it for nearly a year now, and it quickly and consistently heats our water and has not given us one single problem. I absolutely stand behind my earlier recommendation. Five stars.

I got tired of replacing water tanks and decided to go tankless. I spent a lot of time researching this item and installed it myself. It worked great from the very first turn-on. I thought the unit was well engineered from the moment I received it.
I'm able to run 2 showers with shower heads that put out 2.5 GPM each. If you want to compare inlet water temps, I live in North Texas.
I never measured the exact temperature of the water but I know the temperature adjustment works just fine because I've adjusted it a couple of times. Specifically to increase the temp for the Kitchen sink.

Firstly let me say that this water heater is not appropriate for whole house use. It works fairly well with a faucet application but I was never able to get the water hot enough for a bath or shower at a normal gpm rate of 2-4 gallons. And I had three-yes that's right 3 of them. They all failed. I purchased this hot water heater online last August after much research and saw no negative reviews. The price was better than the comparable Bosch that my inlaws had installed and have been using with no problems. Each and every time a unit failed I dealt directly with Stiebel Eltron customer service reps at the home office in Massachusetts and they coached my installer and myself through multiple troubleshooting/pulling apart exercises to try to solve the problems over the phone. They had to send out a new unit twice during which time I had no hot water during the transit times, not to mention already having not had any hot water due to failure. If you do decide to order one of these units and use it as your whole house water heater consider getting a membership to a gym or befriending neighbors so that you will be able to take showers when it fails you, too.

After much consideration, and after exchanging 2 new units via Stiebel-Eltron customer service, I had previously concluded that there were some basic design flaws in this product. The 3rd unit sent to me from S-E customer service has been working in a consistent and reliable manner for more than 2 years now, and I have to conclude that it's hit or miss with this machine: I've read great reviews, and bad ones. The bad ones, when articulate and explicit, point to some of the same problems that I had with the first 2 units sent to me from S-E. One problem that seems exclusive to my installation was that the first two machines delivered hot water at a temperature 8 to 10 degrees F below what was set on the dial; they also could never go above 112F. The third unit has actually been giving me exactly what I dial in for more than 2 years.
BUT I still can't get the same quantity of flow out of the unit at a set temperature as what is specified in the user manual chart of output temperatures. That chart is what I, and I'm sure many other customers who do their research dilegently, rely upon to buy the correct size unit! I'll admit that my method of measuring quantity of flow may not be accurate to tenths of a gallon, but to measure incoming groundwater temperature and output hot water temperature I used 2 separate and calibrated thermometers. So my 3 star rating is based on veracity of the published specifications of the unit.
As another reviewer mentioned, it's hit or miss because you either get one that works right off the bat, or you have to deal with S-E customer service. They were friendly and prompt with me through 3 exchanges, and expeditious as well.
Another observation is that a few of the good reviews come from locations where the groundwater temperature is high, 55 degrees F at the lowest in one case. My groundwater is at the lowest allowable value shown in the user manual chart in winter. And yet I can't get the output temperature and quantities they show in the chart. Who do you believe, me or Steibel-Eltron?

I installed the heater and worked fine to provide hot water to 3 showers simultaneous. But one week later, the "thermal cut-off" started to shout down the heater. I contacted the factory and they say is an electronic problem from production line. They will send me a new one, but the inconvenience and the lost of the cost of uninstalling and re installing makes me write this alert.

My electric bill went up by $150. I live in Maine, and the ground water is colder here, obviously. We had this unit installed because we used an hot water heater that is in-line with the oil furnace, and oil prices have been out of control. I read that this unit would cost about $50 per month in additional electric costs. This is insane. Go with the propane models if you're looking for tank-less and live North of the Mason-Dixon line.

This tankless heater was installed about a week ago. It works very well providing as much hot water as we want and as hot as we want it. We are a family of four with one shower/tub. We live in Hawaii so the starting water temperature is no doubt warmer than for many locales. For our needs, this power saving appliance is just about perfect!

I had a Tempra 36 that went bad and was replaced shortly before the 3yr warranty was over. (Two of the three heating elements went bad resulting in lukewarm water). It was replaced with the 'new and improved' Tempra 29 Plus. Of course, customer is responsible for the labor to remove old unit and install new one... Well after about two weeks of solid performance, the new unit gave out as well. Called Steibel Customer Service once again and was told some of the electronic boards that were shipped out were faulty. New shipment from Germany would be here any day now. It has now been over one month waiting for the replacement. When calling back Steibel Eltron repeats the 'any day now' line, yet cannot give an exact date or reason as to why it is taking so long. Very frustrating to have your family without hot water in the middle of winter. Buyer Beware.

Due to very cold incoming wintertime water temperatures I use two of these connected in series so the first heater raises the temperature from 40+/- degrees up to 80+/- and then the second heater raises the temperature from 80+/- to 112 degrees. This is for a whole house installation with 3.5 baths and we never run out of hot water. The units are well designed, well made and available on Amazon.com at the lowest price I have found. I have only had one problem with one unit in 5 years and their tech support was very helpful in correcting that problem. If you want a tankless electric water heater I highly recommend Stiebel Eltron.

I've had the 24B for 2 years now in a 2000+ sq ft home with 2 full baths, kitchen, dishwasher and clothes washer. The unit replaced a stone-lined water heater with a failed thermostat. Overall, the unit does an excellent job with the indicated usage. Hot water is supplied as appliances need them and it is possible to fill the bathtubs with a uniform mix of hot and cold water. The Tempra will not fall behind like a tank water heater. I see about a $75 savings on a monthly basis here in New England when averaged across the year. My well water temperatures fall to near the minimum in winter. Here are the decision points as I see them:

* Hot water when within flow and incoming water temperature ranges.
* Instantaneous response to changes in thermostat setting.
* No fading with long-term usage.
* Saves on electricity when used intermittently.
* Hot water is dependent on flow sensors registering flow.
* Wattage is high, meaning no warm water during power failures even with a generator.
* Occupies 2 circuit breaker positions.
* Customer service is responsive to questions and knowledgeable.

Most of these points are common to all electric tankless water heaters. It would be nice to see the manual indicate that the installer should insert a flow restrictor (valve) and a whole-house sediment filter before the unit. The flow restrictor allows the homeowner to lower the flow so that the unit is always producing hot water. The sediment filter will reduce maintenance without lowering maximum flow.