For most of us, hot water heat comes from a big tank located in the basement or utility room of our home. When a water heater fails, there is often a mess, standing water and a lot of expense. It makes you wonder if large commercial office buildings, airports and malls can have the same problem.
The answer, at least these days, is that those commercial buildings have tankless hot water systems. Occasionally you will see them under the sinks in restrooms or in the kitchen area that many companies have for their employees. It’s easy for businesses to have these because their demand for hot water is low and there is 120V and 240V power available throughout the building.
Generating hot water in a manufacturing environment is more complicated. When hot water is needed in a plant, they need a lot and they need it hot. Residential models can’t do the job. What’s needed is a high-capacity tankless heater that operates on industrial voltages. What’s needed is an Eemax water heater.
The Eemax Difference
The purpose of this review is to evaluate the entire product line of Eemax. They manufacture several lines of (mostly) tankless water heaters. Their models range from residential, to commercial, to industrial. There are units with power ratings of 1.4 KW to 150 KW and voltages of 120V, 208V, 240V, 277V, 480V and 600V. If there is a place in a plant that has access to water and power, Eemax can find a way to heat it.
Eemax has a line of water heaters to fit every situation and every environment. When you consider the various voltages and configurations available, there are more than 1300 Eemax products that can be ordered. With more than 1,000,000 units installed, it’s easy to see why Eemax is the leading manufacturer of tankless water heaters.
One of the best features of the Eemax website is their selection tool. With it, you can enter the information you have and see which models may work for you. Here are the selection criteria:
Another excellent feature of the Eemax water heater is that it should last at least 10 years, with a reasonable expectation that it will last 20 years.
In 2013, Eemax was acquired by Rheem which has long held a prominent position in the water heating marketplace. By adding Eemax to its business portfolio, Rheem established a dominant position in the tankless water heater marketplace. As a member of the Rheem family of products, you can expect the Eemax division of Rheem to continue to develop new and better products. For example, there is currently a 216 KW tankless heater in development. When available, this will probably become the most powerful member of the SPECADVANTAGE and SAFEADVANTAGE families of products.
There is one final point to make about this review. User comments were analyzed to see if there was any useful feedback about Eemax tankless heaters. Most people who had good things to say seemed to like the hot water. Most of the negative comments had to do with the water pressure. It is difficult to say if this is a problem with the heater or a problem with the heater that was selected. More likely, the person purchased an undersized unit that generated too little heat. It all comes down to the way that a tankless heater works. If your unit doesn’t generate enough heat, the unit must slow the water flow to give it more time to heat up before it reaches the outlet.
Heavy Duty Industrial And Commercial Models
The SPECADVANTAGE and SAFEADVANTAGE tankless hot water heaters do all the heavy lifting in the Eemax product line. The top-rated units consume up to 150KW of electricity and operate at all industrial voltages.
SPECADVANTAGE
Specifications
SAFEADVANTAGE
You may have noticed that the specifications for the SAFEADVANTAGE models above are the same as the for the SPECADVANTAGE models below. That’s because the tankless water heaters in both categories are the same. The difference between them is that the SAFEADVANTAGE models can be ordered in configurations that include a variety of protective cabinets and other accessories.
The SAFEADVANTAGE tankless heaters play an important role in safety. They are placed in potentially hazardous work environments and heat water for drench showers and emergency eyewash stations. The optional cabinets that can be ordered with the tankless heaters keep them from being damaged in that kind of environment.
Specifications
Point-Of-Use / Single-Use Models
All the units listed here are available in residential voltages and would be suitable for use in the home as point-of-use heaters.
LAVADVANTAGE
This is the perfect unit to feed water to a stand-alone emergency eyewash station. It is also suitable to install as a point-of-use heater.
Specifications
ACCUMIX II
Of all the models reviewed, this may very well be the best choice if you are looking for a point-of-use tankless heater. The 11.5 KW model is probably more than you would ever need in a bathroom or the kitchen.
A commercial kitchen is also an excellent place for this model. This could be the key component in a code-compliant hand-washing sink. This is because of the ASSE 1070 certified mixing valve. Combine this with foot controls and you would have the perfect hand-washing station.
Specifications
SERIES ONE – SINGLE POINT
Specifications
SERIES ONE – FLOW CONTROLLED
Specifications
Residential Models
HOMEADVANTAGE II
Specifications
MINITANK
The MINITANK models are the only items reviewed here that are not tankless. They use a 1400W heater to heat a reservoir of water. Its value as a point-of-use unit would depend on the size of the tank and the amount of usage that the location experiences. The tank sizes range from 1.5 to 6 gallons. Having a standard electric plug offers the possibility of it being part of an outdoor or campground kitchen.
Specifications
Specialty Models
At first glance, these two products don’t seem to fit the mold of the other Eemax products. However, as a division of Rheem and with their support, you can expect to see Eemax pushing the limits of what constitutes their normal business. The technology behind their tankless water heaters has a wider application in other products and other industries. You can expect them to start popping up anywhere that there is a need to deal with temperature-controlled liquids.
HOTMAX
If you want instant boiling water for your cup of tea, cocoa or ramen noodle soup, your local hardware or plumbing supply store can help. They have units that can be installed in your home sink and dispense near-boiling water. Those units are fine for personal use but what do restaurants do? They could install the Hotmax. It is rated to deliver 480 cups of near-boiling water per hour on a continuous basis. That’s enough hot water to keep all those tea-drinkers very happy.
Specifications
AUTOBOOSTER
Depending on where you live in the contiguous United States, the water temperature at the inlet to your hot water heater tank could be between 35 and 77 degrees. Heating the water from even 55 degrees to the desired temperature is going to take a long time.
The Autobooster is a tankless unit designed to preheat the water before it enters the hot water tank. It is small enough to be physically attached to the tank, and if your hot water heater is electric, it can tie into the heater’s electrical connections.
Although it is intended to augment conventional tank water heaters, it can be used in any situation where cold water needs to be preheated. This includes preheating water going into a tankless hot water heater. If you are not satisfied with the water pressure being delivered by your tankless water heater, this booster might just solve that problem.
Specifications
Conclusion: 5 Stars
As the leading manufacturer of electric tankless water heating solutions, Eemax has more than 25 years of experience, more than 1300 different configurations and more tha one million units installed. It can provide tankless water heating solutions for every situation, from the smallest residences to the largest manufacturing plants. If you are a fan of one-stop shopping, Eemax may be the place to go for tankless hot water heaters.
Overall rating: 5 out of 5 stars
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