110v water heating showerhead?

[simplejack]

Tuner,

Anyone still uses this setup in their shower? Wanted to know your thoughts or recommendations? Want to run this for a year before I do any major plumbing/renovating since all I have is a cold water line and trying to add hot water lines would be too much stress and $

[SR]

Dont buy one of the cheap white plastic ones they leak under pressure.

[simplejack]

That's all I see in the hardware though (white plastic heating showerhead), are there more durable showerhead options that serve the same purpose?

[X_Factor]

using the 125$ fame for the past 2 yrs and no problems it will overflow on high pressure but it only needs a certain pressure to work anyway

[newto4x4]

Buy the more expensive fame $150-$175 it's bigger and last longer

[simplejack]

I checked Ramlagans, not sure if they had that 'Fame' brand but I will look around this weekend. Thanks much.

[3stagevtec]

Using Fame myself for the past 3 years, only recently had to change the coil.. which was pretty cheap.

[ckavsinba]

FAME....

[simplejack]

any special wiring needed?

[zoom rader]

any special wiring needed?

Yeah use separate wiring with a 15 to 20 breaker or whatever is recommended to use.

[uncle sam]

Buy the more expensive fame $150-$175 it's bigger and last longer

who is fame ur talking about

[pugboy]

make sure to use the little restrictor in it
it helps reduce the volume and pressure which blows the rubber seal.

[Sheriff]

Currently using the Fame with ECC 4.0 wiring, works good but I find the wire gets warm. Can anyone say if that's normal?
Thanks.

[zoom rader]

Currently using the Fame with ECC 4.0 wiring, works good but I find the wire gets warm. Can anyone say if that's normal?
Thanks.

Warm wires means it's undersized and can be a fire hazard .
Eg too much current going into a very thin wire will cause it to overheat and catch afire . You have a ticking time bomb on your hands. Get that sorted

[Sheriff]

Thanks zr, any recommendations on wire size. Its the Fame for 125 at Ramlagans Hardware.

[matix]

4.0 ecc. This is more than sufficient for those water heaters. Something may be wrong to the unit itself if the wire is getting hot.

[Sheriff]

Its warm to the touch not hot, thanks matrix. Will have the unit checked as it still under warranty.
This only happens when its on the HOT settings not the warm.
Thanks Guys.

[infinity251]

The 4.0 is what the manufacture recommend and its 220v not 110v (I think) .

[zoom rader]

4.0 ecc. This is more than sufficient for those water heaters. Something may be wrong to the unit itself if the wire is getting hot.

It could also be a badly joined wire connection. It is not tightly joined it will heat up.

[Sheriff]

infinity251 its 110v, will check back the wiring connections at the unit.
Thanks for all the response guys.

[pugboy]

they use a kinda rivet connection for the element wire which is very iffy and the cause of many a burnt unit.

[racedriverpro]

they use a kinda rivet connection for the element wire which is very iffy and the cause of many a burnt unit.

There is one rivet that holds the most strain at the top of coil assembly. The wire usually breaks at that point. Happened to me recently and replaced it. Thought of soldering wire and rivet for added durability but was too lazy. Got abt 2yrs frm the old one and a new coil for larger fame for $42 iirc. Cant go wrong. Just make sure u have a dependable water supply or pump if u really need to use warm/hot water.

[ruffneck_12]

we went through so much of dem showerheads boy

if is for a year, it will hold up

[pugboy]

I saw another brand in a place which used screws to hold the outlet section against the base
similar to the big fame unit for a few hundred$$
But it was a small unit like the $125 fame one which eventually leaks

[matix]

The issue seems to be water flow. Meaning that there's not a fast enough flow of water to heat which will cause the element to become too hot. If this happens, it will eventually start to leak by the rubber seal. Easy way to check is just to check the element to see if it's blackened and you can also clean the tiny holes of the shower head. What size breaker are you using?

[Slartibartfast]

Used the $125 one for 2 years before it gave out. Was going to repair it but a new one is only $125 so I just bought a new one. If you want it for a year then even the cheapest one should last.

[infinity251]

infinity251 its 110v, will check back the wiring connections at the unit.
Thanks for all the response guys.

Yea it is, thanks

[dreadman]

been using one of these units over 3 yrs with no problems...cant remember the brand tho

[adnj]

These are not designed to last forever but do the job very well. Code says that you should use a separate switch controlled 220 volt single phase circuit for what you have described.

For long term consider using a small electric tankless heater for the entire bathroom. Much more energy efficient than other options in a retrofit.

[3stagevtec]

Make sure and run water through a newly installed show head BEFORE turning power on the the coil.. This is to fill the reservoir inside it. I make a mistake once and turned on the electrical supply, then opening the water. I saw the show head glow red before I rushed to switch it off! lol. Luckily, the coil didn't burn..