Bosch GL2.5 Ariston 2-1/2-Gallon Point-of-Use Indoor Electric Mini-Tank Water Heater

5 Comments

1. JC says:

   February 1, 2010 at 1:39 pm

   Just an FYI – you may want to consider installing a recirculation pump(<$200). My farthest HW tap is 100 feet from my HW tank and I have virtually instant HW. The pump is installed above your HW tank and is easy to install. It constantly circulates the HW through the system so it is always available. I live in FL, so I don’t know if that makes a difference, but it may be worth looking into.
   Rating: 3 / 5
2. P. Dunn III says:

   February 1, 2010 at 1:59 pm

   heater is easy to install and works well. I cant understand why the manufacturer/designer made it so difficult to access the thermostat, it is shielded behind 3 plastic plates guards held in by 3 screws. this does not make for easy access to the temp control. really if you are running out the door for the weekend or the day are you going to get the screwdriver out to get past the stupid security system in order to turn the temp down? I guess they just want you to turn it off when you r not using it, but still it would be nice. the bonus is is that it will be easy to drill through the plastic & add a knob to the outside.
   Rating: 3 / 5
3. K. Mantey says:

   February 1, 2010 at 2:50 pm

   I bought two GL2.5 water heaters in 3/2006 & installed one for a master bedroom and the other for the kitchen sink w/a T to dishwasher. Very nice to have hot water fast. Otherwise have to wait for it to come from attic quite some distance. BUT the directions suggest CLEANING it out every year. This pretty much means uninstall it if in a tight location! Turn upside down to drain, descale element and REPLACE ANODE! Every YEAR! Have you ever done that with a water heater… and they last 10 yrs. no problem! Well here, I did not do that & the first started to fail in late 2007. The thermostat breaker would kick off & I would reset it. Then that stopped working and I ordered a replacement thermostat in 4/2008 from Grainger. That worked & then we had our main circuit breaker kicking off easy. I think it was shorting through the mineral deposits! Unknown to me at the time… Then the tank fails mid-2009. Soon in Fall 2009 the 2nd unit had a tank failure (fyi, it never had the breaker or thermostat trip first). Both units were a mess to clean up. Lucky we were home. These are not safe w/o access and the recommended pan. The pan should be deep and have a drain & water alarm. The yearly service MUST be done. Just not worth it so I put everything back the way it was originally. Why not use a better tank and design? How they are now is asking for trouble unless you are very good w/scheduled preventive maintenance.
   Rating: 1 / 5
4. bru16 says:

   February 1, 2010 at 5:05 pm

   I had the same problem that many have with a kitchen sink on the other side of the house from the main water heater, (about 35-feet). In winter, it would take up to 30-seconds for truly hot water to be delivered to the sink.

   First the bad news. When I received my Ariston GL2.5 it was dead as disco. No power, no indicator light, no hot water. I followed the instructions and completely installed the unit before turning the water back on to fill the tank and switch the power on (installation took about 30-minutes). Nothing happened.

   I checked connections, the outlet, circuit braker, and tightened the connections on the unit itself. Still nothing. I then unplugged and pulled the unit out, drained it, put it on my bench and retightened the connections on the unit once again. I plugged it in on my bench and presto, the indicator light illuminated.

   Took 10-minutes to reinstall and the unit has worked like a champ ever since, (1-week at time of writing).

   It was the solution I was looking for. The water coming from the faucet is hot almost immediately. I made only one adjustment to the thermostat because the water was too hot at first.

   It’s true, it its slightly annoying to take off the three covers to adjust the thermostat or switch the unit off. Once it’s set, it shouldn’t be an issue any longer. I installed a regular wall outlet under my sink with an on/off switch. The GL2.5 shares the circuit with my dishwasher, so no problems with overloads.

   One thing to keep in mind: This unit and the GL4 and GL6 are designed to service one, (or in the case of a bathroom), two sinks. NOT for use with a shower. My unit services the kitchen sink and the dishwasher.

   It’s advisable to spend the extra few dollars and purchase new, reinforced flexible hoses for the installation. It will make the installation easier.

   Also, Bosch Customer Service says the heating element of the unit has a 2 to 3 year life under a normal workload. So some maintenance is in your future if you purchase these water heaters.

   So far, I’m VERY happy with the performance of this unit.
   
   Rating: 5 / 5
5. Dwight Feryance says:

   February 1, 2010 at 7:38 pm

   Got this due to long distance from water heater. Works great, easy to install. Note this is a small tank, not instant heater.
   Rating: 5 / 5