Cheap, low-effort tankless water heater?

November 29, 2014 6:13 AM

Heated garage, just cold water pipe run to it. What's the easiest way to add hot (or vaguely warm) water to my utility sink?

I would like a utility sink in the garage to wash paintbrushes, hands, etc rather than dirtying up the kitchen sink or bending over the outside hose spigot. I can tap into the hose line easily, but that's only cold -- for my comfort I'd like a hot tap, too. Running a hot water line is nearly impossible, but I've heard of tankless water heaters. They run in the hundreds of dollars and require 220v or 60a power, which is about as hard to run, or gas, which I don't have access to from the garage either, and tankless water heaters seem to be overkill for what I want.. Maybe a tankless heater isn't the right thing: are there inline 20a-110v electric water heaters that get just sorta-warm, or some method of heating water outside of running a new line from the existing water heater?

posted by AzraelBrown to Home & Garden (8 answers total)

Best answer: Something like this, maybe? Point-of-Use Mini Electric Water Heater
posted by Johnny Wallflower at 6:24 AM on November 29, 2014 [3 favorites]

Best answer: Yes, you want a point of use water heater. The kind that runs on a 20A circuit will get tepid water hot and will take the freeze off cold water but there's only so much you can do with 1800W.
posted by ftm at 6:30 AM on November 29, 2014

I was at Home Depot yesterday and they had a whole wall of tankless and point of use hot water heaters, some of which (as linked above) work on 110v power. (Though something to consider is that if you ever want to be able to power a larger air compressor, welder, kiln, or other power-hungry equipment, having 220v in the garage is useful.)
posted by Dip Flash at 6:31 AM on November 29, 2014

What about a simple electric kettle? You don't have to run those all the way up to boiling point. Add a meat thermometer if guesswork isn't your thing.
posted by flabdablet at 8:28 AM on November 29, 2014

You could also install a hot water circulating pump, which'll run on 110v.
posted by mudpuppie at 9:10 AM on November 29, 2014

Best answer: I recently bought a small tankless that runs on 110. It is fine for what I need - mostly rinsing out coffee cups and washing the odd dish in my office's kitchenette. I hooked it up the same way you are talking about - split the cold water line and ran one to the cold tap and one to the heater.

Having written that:
It requires its own circuit - even trying to use anything else electric on the same circuit is a no-go. The lower voltage/amp heaters require a low-flow attachment to the faucet. If you use your regular water pressure, it doesn't even come close to warming it up. I can't imagine trying to wash anything substantial in it - buckets would take forever to fill and things like paintbrushes would double the cleaning time.

Great for hand washing and a quick rinse, though.

This is the one I bought.
posted by Tchad at 9:44 AM on November 29, 2014 [1 favorite]

I installed an Eemax 1.3 gallon 120V point-of-use water heater in my boat (we live aboard at the dock, with 30A service) last weekend. It's in the high 20's this weekend and I'm getting nice warm water at the tap for handwashing.

I use an aerator and the supply line is only 3/8", but it's decent flow and a lot nicer than the freezing water I was getting from the forward hull tanks before.
posted by Kakkerlak at 8:58 PM on November 29, 2014

Response by poster: Ah, so point-of-use is the term I needed -- thanks much!
posted by AzraelBrown at 12:47 PM on December 8, 2014