EcoSmart ECO 27 Electric Tankless Water Heater: Instant Hot Water with Eco-Friendly Efficiency

MKB: I am writing a review in 2023 about a product bought in 2016. There was a lightening strike to a close by electric grid that took out my power. On restoration I had no hot water. When I called the company to find out cost of a circuit board as I was sure a power surge had ruined the electronic controls I found out there is an internal fuse to protect against surges. I was e-mailed a trouble shooting guide that contained instructions for changing the fuse. The small fuse did protect my main circuit board. It was just a fuse replacement to have hot water again. Not all companies are so proactive about protecting circuit boards, or as helpful on phone calls. It was 7 years before I experienced this problem that turned out to be minor because of good engineering on the product. I am giving this EcoSmart 27 5 stars.

United States on Aug 11, 2023

Hone Eruiti: The idea was to use it to heat Chanelles Granny flat water system, I had to return the eco smart 18water heater. As it was too powerful for our needs. We opted instead for the ecosmart 11, hot water unit which suited our needs more adequately. We received the unit 18 unit in good stead then returned it with the blessing of the agents for the unit. I ordered the 11 unit which has arrived at our FedEx delivery facility and awaiting our pickup. All in all great experience with the company and all personal involved in the adventure thank you all so much for your patience and understanding and support Godbless everyone till next time Arohanui E’Kare’s = much love dear friends. John Hone Edwards’s Eruiti.

Australia on Apr 14, 2023

Steve in VictoriaSteve in Victoria: I bought the Ecosmart Eco 27 a month ago to replace a Hubbell 280-3 tankless heater that LITERALLY blew up catastrophically. (You can read more about this below if you are interested).

I have to say that this unit is head and shoulders above the Hubbell products in a number of ways and if you are in the market for a tankless heater I'd strongly recommend staying away from Hubbell after my experience.

Overall, this unit does a great job in coastal British Columbia where inlet water temperatures in winter are 50 degrees F or below. Unlike the Hubbell unit, it doesn't struggle to put out 140 degree water with a faucet fully open. The Hubbell never achieved this kind of performance even in the summer months even though it was exactly the same power. Of course, if you open multiple faucets or showers you are likely to see a drop in the temp but most people do not require 140 degree water and should have little problem.

The controls on the unit are easy to use but you may need to go to the Ecosmart website to find full instructions as the Owner and Maintenance (O&M) Manual they provide doesn't describe things like trouble shooting and the various Error messages...

Canada on Mar 03, 2020

ZenC: We replaced a 60 gallon tank with the 27 Kw unit. It was overkill. In hindsight, half that would have been more than enough. I reduced the water temperature from 135F to 118F and I still have to blend cold water to take a shower. The only difference in performance that is discernible is that it takes a little longer for the water to "get hot" at the faucet. Once hot, it stays that way until shut-off, never getting cold. We're on city water, mid-September 64F, down to mid 50's F in winter, and it does the work. A wifi control would be nice to enable remote temperature change.

The unit failed on August 10, 2019. I followed the trouble shooting guide on Ecosmart's web site and was able to easily determine that the impeller in the flow meter had melted. This morning (Monday) I called the companies help line and the technician explained that this is probably due to reverse flow from the heating element. They will ship replacement parts today. He also suggested that I de-scale the unit to help prevent this in the future. Their recommendation is to do this yearly. As we have never had a water tank failure due to scale build-up, i thought that yearly was too pessimistic for our...

Canada on Sep 18, 2018

justaguy: I have now had this installed for 8 months. The unit is OK, does take a lot of time/water to heat up to temperature, even after using just 5 min apart. Takes about a gallon of running water before the water temp is hot. My sink is only 4 feet of plumbing away from the unit. When unit is up to temp it is great, I am on a well pump & the water stays the same temp even with the fluctuation of pump pressure (42-60 PSI). You could shower all day & have hot running water.

The price/value is great as most other units are noticeably more expensive. I did have to exchange this right out of the box as the 1st unit temperature was inconsistent when running. Amazon was great with the return, no issues there. However if you are paying a plumber to do the install, could get expensive for that.

I would recommend this unit for a cottage (if you have 200 amp service) or a garage/shop as it does not take up much space or waste electricity when not in use.

I give this product 3.5 stars.

Canada on Jul 22, 2018

LuckySailor: After some conversations with the Ecp Smart company, and a few emails, I order one. The unit was delivered faster than expected. It seems to work only fantastic! Electric hookups took about 90 minutes, and copper work took me about 4 hours with trip to hardware store for parts I didn't have on hand. If you're handy, and are familiar with plumbing and electrical, you can do this no problemo! I installed my first HWT at the age of 10 unsupervised, so this was an easy job. I ordered the 27 instead of the 24 because it was cheaper, and I have the available electrical supply-otherwise the 24 would have done the job. In fact, the 18 would have been fine too.

This is installed in our cottage which is used only about 5 months out of the year, and mostly on the weekends (Friday-Sunday). I say that to clarify that it is not being used in a house 7 days a week with large hot water requirements. There is one lavatory, one shower and a kitchen tap. We do not have a washing machine at the cottage. There are only 3 of us. Using all 3 taps at the same time, we have plenty of hot water. The unit is set at 120 degrees F. We live in rural Manitoba, and the well water coming out of the ground...

Canada on Aug 15, 2017

Schrimpieman: Installation is fairly straight forward. Included instructions book is very helpful. Keep it for future troubleshooting because there is detailed information within for any faults encountered. I kept the Eco within 5 feet of my main panel to keep the wire runs as short as possible.. I like the design; all connections feed through the bottom and front panel is easy to remove without disturbing wires or plumbing to access inside as needed. LED display remains dormant (off) until unit detects water flow and then pre-set temperature is displayed while water is running. LED display shuts off a few seconds after water flow stops. Using an ordinary kitchen cup, I measured the minimum water flow necessary before heating elements turn on being ABOUT 2 quarts per minute. Heating elements remain dormant unless it detects water flow higher than that approx quantity. Instructions clearly suggest keeping pre-set temperature around 115-120 (F) degrees. FOLLOW this guideline. I experimented with hotter temperatures thinking the quality/consistency of hot water would be better. Actually, having the pre-set too hot is counter-productive because the faucet water will be too hot, you'll be throttling...

United States on Feb 09, 2017

praxeum: I have had this for six months now and figured I would relay my experience with it.

I bought this at the same time as a new water softener and installed them together. I was excited to find this unit as a tankless water heater has been on my wish list for some time but prohibitively expensive. The cost on this one was within my budget and the technology seemed second to none, mix that with the lifetime warranty and I could not think of a good reason not to purchase one, especially with all the good reviews on Amazon.

I installed it on a Thursday night and had I done a little more homework I may have waited on the purchase. The necessary supplies for installation cost me almost $300. In my excitement for finding a tankless water heater rated for my usage and in my price range, I neglected to look into the cost of necessary fittings and wiring to install it. Oh well, I do not regret it and am glad I purchased it. I found installation to be very straightforward and easy and would expect most people who have a little familiarity with plumbing and electrical to find the same. The warranty does state it is only valid if a licensed contractor installs it but (as will be...

United States on Mar 14, 2013