Anaheim AH-1300 Quick and Hot Instant Hot Water Tank

Installed this as a replacement for the same unit with a Waterstone label on it - this one was 1/4 of the price. For the most part, very simple installation. Only thing to be aware of is that they do not give you a connector for the front peg. This drove me a bit batty because the instructions don't tell you to supply your own connector. I bought a 3/8 to 5/16 push connector (my tubing to the faucet was 5/16) - bought this on Amazon...it worked perfectly. Other caveat, adjusting the temperature just right takes some time. Max is too hot and the water boils. Min is a bit too low (around 140). Mine is about 3/4 between min and max and temp is around 175, which for some people, might be too hot. It's been a month or so - unit is super quiet and has been working well. I hope I'm not jinxing myself by writing this review.

This unit replaced one that lasted ten years and after about a month is working fine. As a mechanical engineer I always try to figure out why something stops working. When I opened up my previous unit, which seems to be identical to the new one, I expected to see a rusted out tank or some other obvious failure, but I didn't. I will examine it more closely some time and keep it for spare parts. I suspect that the leak was nothing more than a loose fitting or bad o-ring. To decide which unit, of the many on the market, to buy to replace the old one I did a lot of research and came up with some conclusions. I can't say for sure if these are 100% correct but I think they are worth sharing: As near as I can tell there are many of these under sink hot water heaters on the market that all look identical except for the label on the front. However the prices vary by almost a factor of two from about $150 to around $300. Some of the more expensive ones have a stainless steel outer shell and claim to have a stainless steel water tank. The former adds nothing of value to the unit since the outer shell would never cause a leak, and in fact has drain holes in the bottom. The latter does have value but I'm pretty sure all the units have a stainless steel water tank, regardless of price. So why the spread in costs? It appears to be due to different warranty periods. The one that I am reviewing, which is the cheapest one I found, has a one year warranty. The highest priced ones have a longer one, typically three years. Based on my research these seem to fail in one of two ways: very quickly, indicating a likely manufacturing defect, or after from four to ten years (or maybe more depending on water chemistry or amount of use). Both warranties cover the first failure mode and neither covers the second. My advice is to get the cheapest one that that has some sort of warranty (like the one I am reviewing). One more thing. A lot of people have commented on the tank leaking and destroying the wood cabinet. I put a plastic pail under the tank to catch the water. Note that even a perfect tank might leak if the thermostat is set too high and the leak is often a small shot of water to relieve the pressure. (November 2020): I have now had this unit in operation for several years and it continues to operate perfectly. I am constantly appalled by the cheap, poorly made stuff that's for sale but this unit is not one of them. It appears their business model is to sell a reasonably priced appliance that will have a reputation for quality and rely on reviews and word of mouth to sell a lot of them-what a refreshing approach! Please be assured that I have no financial interest in this product.

I bought this same unit over 12 years ago when we had the kitchen remodel done. It was still going strong when we bought this new one but our faucet had begun to leak. We decided to replace the heater since the plumber was coming to do the faucet replacement and most of these units don't usually last 12 years. We are tea drinkers and find the water heater indispensable for many uses. We use it for pour over coffee and a variety of cooking prep. We like the adjustable temp and the tank size is perfect for providing multiple cups of hot drinks. It's durable and I liked the metal design over those with plastic. I would buy it again.

It works well. It's very convenient once installed. However, it WILL eventually leak. I've had several and they've all started leaking after 2 or 3 years. After the first one made a mess in my kitchen, I learned to place a pan or bowl under the unit and place a water detector/alarm in the pan. My detector just went off, so I uninstalled the old leaky unit, ordered another one, and wrote this review.

This was a replacement for the same model which lasted 13 years--thermostst finally failed so water was not hot enough. Importantly, and unlike a different brand I had previously, this model did NOT leak. Easy to install. The tank is not pressurized reducing the risk of under sink flooding. I measured the water temperature at 185 F with the setting knob almost (but not all the way) set to maximum.

Had this unit before. Some things to consider. It may or may not last long. It varies. The last one lasted 2.5 years. Why? From my experience if you run it at the max of the temperature range it will not last as long. Perhaps the pressure of higher temperatures/pressure causes the seals to degrade faster and thus leads to leaking. Mine has a slow leak. What is high temperature? Seeing the faucet steam out randomly thereby letting the pressure out. That's not safe, so lower the temperature knob until that stops. Next is, set it to the lowest temperature you can tolerate for your tea or coffee. If you do that, then you have a greater chance of it lasting longer. I use a thermometer next time to get that right. Why would I order it again? Well, I have the high end brand in another kitchen and its going well it costs 4/5 times more. I think I can get 4 of these for the same price. Also the expensive one is expected to last 8-10 years. So, I'd rather go with cheaper unit and replace more often - if you get lucky with setting the right temperature you may get a good run at a cheaper total cost. ..... I don't buy the protection - I just don't want to deal with the hassle of it all, especially when you find out the fine print or some disclaimer applies which makes the coverage useless. I just accept the chance of it breaking early and getting one that goes a long time. The first one lasted a long time - maybe 6+ years.

This unit is replacing a 780W Quick and Hot Waterstone #5000 Hot Water Tank which was absolutely great! However the 1300W rating of this unit is very problematic. To get 185-190F water to make tea, the heat control needs to be cranked to near max which results in noise sounding like a 747 taking off. Similar noise to an older dishwasher running. I'm at 5000 ft outside of Denver, so the boiling point of water is about 203F. My guess is that when the 780W unit was redesigned to run at 1300W, the physical size/surface area of the heating element was not increased but the heater is pumping out 66% more power, causing more water to boil in the immediate vicinity of the heater. Since the unit has an on/off thermostat control, as new cold water enters the tank, the heater goes full tilt 1300W until the temperature at the thermostat catches up. The 780W unit had the same thermal lag, but because it's power output was less, the thermal cycle was less violent. The 780W unit never really made a boiling noise. The 780W Quick and Hot Waterstone #5000 burnt up after 8 years of use. It also developed a leak on the hot side water connector, destroying the undersink cabinet shelf. (Need to install a drip tray with external drain under this new unit) Closer inspection showed the internal tabs on the connector had cracked causing the hose not to seal against the O rings. The 1300W unit did not come with a hot water replacement hose connector. I ended up selecting a Parker Hannifin P6UC5 (Amazon) 3/8" Compression Tube x 5/16" Compression fitting that is rated to 212F. Advantage is that its Orings are compressed against the high temp/ silicone hose as it is tightened. (Using the old Waterstone faucet) The 1300W did come with the same style inlet/cold water press in fittings as the Waterstone, but I elected to use Parker Hannifin P4BU4 Fast & Tite Polypropylene Bulkhead Union Fitting, 1/4" Compression Tube x 1/4" Compression - again on Amazon. The other inconvenience of the 1300W unit is that it requires dedicated power circuit, where the older 780W Waterstone could share the same feed as the garbage disposal on a 20A breaker. 1300W is just a bad idea. The 780W unit would bubble/drip out water once after new cold water entered the tank and expanded. The 1300W unit continues to gurglate for 4 or 5 heating cycles before the tank temperature finally stabilizes. There are not a lot of 780W units on the market which I think is a real mistake. Somehow people are going for 1300W vs 780 because 1300W has to better because it heats faster? -not. I am very unhappy with this purchase and would easily send it back if there was a similar cost 780W equivalent unit available. There are listing for other brand 780W units, but some sellers do a bait and switch in the fine print that the actual unit you get has been "upgraded" to 1300W. But after watching a video about how most Amazon returns end up as scrap, I decided to try to live with this unit for the good of the environment (can't believe I said that). Bottom line, this 1300W unit does not work well at altitude.

Bought as a replacement for a older unit. Hooks up in minutes. Easy. All quick connects included. No need for a plumber. Great price.