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As soon as you know please share it. Then you will probably get answers. To me a submersion heater is something my Grandmother used to heat water for a cup of tea.
Who was I annoyed at? The poster I said Men! too? I wasn't annoyed because he didn't know the answer, I was annoyed that he just wanted to send me to the plumbing store, probably just because I'm a woman!
The rest of the guys, we were having a playful interchange.
This thread serves as a reminder that someone looking for recommendations would be wise to not limit their request to a "specific device", but rather to a "desired outcome" - there are many ways to skin a cat, and the OP may not have thought of them all, thereby limiting potential solutions.
For instance, something like, "I like to take very long baths, and the water gets cold. How can I keep the water temperature up to the desired 110°F in a tub not equipped with the requisite plumbing required for an inline heater? Would an immersion heater work for this?" may be preferable to "Where can I purchase a quality immersion heater?"
No criticism intended here, just a reminder for future queries. I do remember a hydrotherapy device from my youth that would fit over the side of the tub, that would not only keep the water hot, but intake and discharge water via directed jets, not sure how it would rate for today's safety standards - I wouldn't use something like that without an EFI (If that was even the OP's original outcome, which I don't believe was shared). I remember Harry from my time spent inside a Kirkbride institution, LOL.
OK, that is NOT a boiler. Clarity is important. You had people scratching their heads.
Five gallons is not a lot of water. An average tub holds about 40 gallons, so if you are planning on use for that, 1500 watts is seriously undersized. If you are planning on filling a bucket and then dumping that water into a tub, it is still going to be slower than allowing your water heater to recover and then running more hot water. An average electric water heater has an element that is 3800 or 4500 watts, more than twice the wattage of that heater by any stretch.
Now for what you don't want to hear. There is NO WAY I would allow such a device in my bathroom. EVER.
There is no GFI device on the cord, you are entirely dependent upon the correct wiring in the bathroom with a fully functional ground fault interrupter. If the wiring has been compromised, or the socket GFI doesn't work, you are using it in one of the most dangerous environments possible. With a stock tank heater, you are commonly wearing boots, are upright and often gloved. In a bathroom, you are nekkid with all sorts of exposed skin surface and chances for current to flow.
What happens when the insulation wears or overheats? If your breakers are working properly, there will be a short that trips the breaker. Again, I see nothing on the devices for overcurrent protection.
When an element like that runs dry, the best scenario is that the element heats up enough to go open circuit by melting. If there is no thermal switch at the element, it can overheat and char whatever is around. A fire would depend upon time left for charring or overheating, and the surrounding materials. Melting of the wire insulation is possible, with all that entails.
The safer way, by far, for more hot water is to turn the thermostat on your water heater up, giving it more effective capacity. Mine is turned as far up as it can go, and my Jacuzzi style tub gets full just as that 50 gal tank is starting to go cool. In 15 minutes, I have another ten or fifteen gallons of hot water to use if it chills.
I have used and continue to use immersion heaters, but the idea of using one like that in a bathroom is way beyond my comfort zone.
Beware of online reviews, as they are often paid shills.
Not to mention that you've got a very serious burn hazard there. You've got a 1500 watt heater fully exposed, and it's about the size of a good sized light bulb. Try to hold your hand on a 1500 watt light bulb. Third degree burns, here I come!
The solution is a UL listed water heater in a convenient size, of which there are many examples sold, properly wired into the house circuitry and properly plumbed into the house piping.
I need an electric immersion element boiler for my bathroom that will heat water in minutes. I'm thinking 15 minutes for about 5 gallons. I looked at some on Amazon, but don't know which to buy. Some have bad reviews and I don't want to burn down the house or create an electrical issue. I also need the product to NOT burn itself. If anybody knows of a RELIABLE product, please post. Thanks!
To be clear, are you wanting to boost the heat in your bathwater? It sounds like you want an immersion heater to warm up a bucket of water, to add to the bath? I'm not clear if your bath starts out too tepid for your taste, or if you want a supplement the heat mid-bathing.
There isn't a safe immersion product that goes directly into the tub. That's already been covered.. There are units that heat up larger buckets, but unless you are dealing with a 100 gallon garden tub and a dead HWH, 5 gallons of supplemental hot water is overkill. A cordless 2L hot water kettle full of boiling water will rise your bath water to a nice hot temperature. Remember, you don't need as much boiling water because the temperature is extremely hot. Kettle water is perfect for boosting bath water at any point in the bathing ritual, it runs on common bathroom outlets, it's safe to heat and transport to the tub, and it does double-duty in the kitchen.
If you want more than 2L, there are 4L and 5L stovetop kettles too. Kettles are much safer to walk around with and safer to pour. You can try this out with a pot of water, just transport it with the lid on and wear mitts.
Reason why I know this is because I've had to do this at a rental. The tank was underperforming and I wanted a warmer bath. Kettles work!
To be clear, are you wanting to boost the heat in your bathwater? It sounds like you want an immersion heater to warm up a bucket of water, to add to the bath? I'm not clear if your bath starts out too tepid for your taste, or if you want a supplement the heat mid-bathing.
There isn't a safe immersion product that goes directly into the tub. That's already been covered.. There are units that heat up larger buckets, but unless you are dealing with a 100 gallon garden tub and a dead HWH, 5 gallons of supplemental hot water is overkill. A cordless 2L hot water kettle full of boiling water will rise your bath water to a nice hot temperature. Remember, you don't need as much boiling water because the temperature is extremely hot. Kettle water is perfect for boosting bath water at any point in the bathing ritual, it runs on common bathroom outlets, it's safe to heat and transport to the tub, and it does double-duty in the kitchen.
If you want more than 2L, there are 4L and 5L stovetop kettles too. Kettles are much safer to walk around with and safer to pour. You can try this out with a pot of water, just transport it with the lid on and wear mitts.
Reason why I know this is because I've had to do this at a rental. The tank was underperforming and I wanted a warmer bath. Kettles work!
One thing I did when I had a much smaller, end-of-life water heater, was to run several inches of "max. hot" water into the tub a half-hour before I intended to take a bath. During the subsequent half-hour, the water heater would recover, the water in the tub would come down to a tolerable temperature, and so then I just topped off and rub-a-dub-dub we went. It was extra-nice in the winter, as it would also humidify the house. Obviously, if you have young kids in the house, you have to be careful with very hot water.
Again, more than one way to skin a cat. I love long, hot, soaking baths, they help greatly with joint pain.
The work pretty quick...think about a coffee maker, it works quickly. They heat similiarly.
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