Customer Reviews for Cash Acme Water Heater Tank Booster

I had to retighten and retighten and retighten the valve to stop it from a very small drip. The black washer is just a tad to thin. But in the end it worked, lets hope it works for a long time.

I like the anti-scalding feature as well as helping the heater keep up with the demand.

Concur with the other great reviews overall. COMMENT ON REVIEW FROM "livingaboard": There are in fact 2 strainers in the packaging, but they are sandwiched together, so (at first) they look like it's just one - you simply need to pull them apart. When I first opened up the package, I thought "Rats -- I just got one too!", but then I happened to drop it on the floor, and it popped apart into the two pieces. For once, clumsiness works in my favor! :) Anyhoo, the device was easy enough to install, but depending on the complexity of your current piping setup, it may involve just a little attachment work, or it could get more involved... Before jumping into the installation, map out the necessary connections to ensure you won't be getting in over your head. Once installed, the device works well - on mine, the factory-set output temp was kicking out ~115F, so I tweaked the adjustement nut to get closer to 120F. That adjustment is simply trail-and-error tweaks, but easy enough to do. I just used a kitchen meat thermometer to check various faucet temps. Very happy with this purchase so far!

Relatively inexpensive way to get more hot water out of an existing tank. Easy installation and no maintenance.

With 6 people in the house, hot water can be a problem on Sunday morning! The Tank Booster solved this problem for our house. I wish I had known about this product long ago! Set your water heater at a higher temp, and the Tank Booster is pre-set to allow 120F water through, thereby keeping users safe from scalding. It introduces a small amount of cold water into the hot water supply line to achieve the desired supply temp. LOVE IT!

Great product, does exactly what it says. Phase seemingly doubled the output of my 40 gallon water heater. Installed in 30 minutes, do yourself a favor and just buy one!

I installed this unit during a new water heater installation, instructions were very good and made it simple to install. The result is amazing hot water delivery is constant and the temperature is consistant even when the damand is high. I am very happy with the result of this purchase.

We never seemed to have enough hot water in our house. This little gadget was easy to install (look for the product video) and effectively gives us enough to accommodate the whole family. Saved us a ton of money over purchasing a larger tank or tankless system. Very pleased.

We had a 50 gallon water tank that only delivered 20 gallons or so before dropping below 120. Our Bathroom on the other side of the house dropped the hot water temp 10deg and my wife likes hot showers. We could only get 12 min berfore the water was lukewarm at 120. I could extend this to 20min by setting the tank at 130 but with a higher gas bill. With tank set at 140 and the tank booster I get closer to the full 50 gallons hot enough for showers. Extra energy at 140F vs 120F is less than you think. The hot water heater is well insulated so minimal losses. The big losses come from the hot water that cools in the lines when you turn on a hot tap for a min or so. With the tank booster, the water in the lines is only 120. Ill have to check my bill, but I'm pretty sure that I will pay less with 140F tank temp and tank booster than i did with 130F on the hot water heater without the tank booster. Installation is well thought out. The attachments are designed so that it is easy to orient the valve to fit the crossover. Took about an hour to install.

I just installed this valve a few days ago on my 40 gallon gas water heater. I hope it solves my problem. My problem is that on many occasions I only get lukewarm water early in the morning or sometimes there is not enough hot water for a shower or two. Other times I have lots of hot water. I suspect that the thermostat is faulty, or rather it is faulty in the range I have selected which is about 120 degrees. I installed this valve in 21 minutes. I already had flexible threaded pipes going to my water heater. If you have solid pipes then you will have to cut the pipes and get the braided hoses they sell at home depot that screw on the valves on one end and use sharkbite fittings on the other to go over solid pipe. I am not a plumber so you will have to figure this out on your own. I knock a star off because the instructions clearly show two rubber gasketed screens that are supposed to be used but my kit only came with one. They just help keep debris out of the valve so it doesn't malfunction. I will probably get one later on and put it where it is supposed to go. After installing the kit, I turned my heater up to a little hotter than B. I suspect that when I had the thermostat adjusted lower, that this spot in the thermostat is just not responsive for some reason thus giving me inconsistent water temps. I drained some of the water today and it measured right about 131 degrees in the tank. I keep checking my faucets and I keep getting consistent temps of about 119 degrees. The valve comes preset at 120 degree output approximately. They give you a little stick on temperature strip that indicates outflow temp of the water and it seems pretty accurate. You still have to verify water temperature at the faucets so that it is set to what you want. It is only logical that turning up the water heater will use some more gas but I suspect it won't be much more. It is also logical that the more heat energy I have in the tank the more hot water I can get out of it. ie, more hot showers, more gallons of hot water. I will see how this new setting on the water heater works as far as being responsive and keeping up my minimum temps and requirements. I didn't want to spend over a hundred bucks replacing my thermostat on my almost ten year old water heater when it will probably be replaced soon. I felt this valve is something I needed on this water heater or a new one. This valve is required by code in many areas of the world and many areas of the USA. The reason for this is that this type of valve will deliver much more consistent temperatures than the thermostat on the water heater itself. The water heater can go up and down in temp all day and as long as it doesn't fall below the minimum set temp on the this valve, I will always have the same temperature water at my faucets. Because of legionaires disease.....water heaters are being set at around 140 degrees to kill this virus or bacteria or whatever it is. However, if you get hit with 140 degree water you will be scalded in seconds. I have kids and I don't want them getting burned. So now, all my faucets will prevent scalding, I have more hot water available and with the higher water temperatures in the tank the bacteria/viruses are going to be killed off. I was also going to go with a 50 gallon tank to replace this one if I couldn't get the temperature issue under control. I am thinking I can just replace this one with another 40 gallon model which is cheaper than a 50 gallon and it will cost less to heat water in this 40 gallon than the 50 gallon I was going to get. Its a win- win as far as I am concerned if everything continues to work out. Regardless, if this valve malfunctions I will replace it with the same or get another brand. My point being is that I had been researching the positives of these types of valves and would not have a water heater without one. I had been researching the Honeywell valve but this valve was right in the home depot store ready for pickup and had all the parts I needed, minus one screen, to get the job done.

When I received the Hot Water Tank Booster I knew beforehand that I would need some additional Shark Bite fittings. The plumbing off of my water heater is all PVC. The included instructions made it pretty easy to determine which fittings I would need going from the metal tank booster to PVC, so a quick trip to the store and I had everything I needed. Cutting the lines and installing the Shark Bite fittings were very easy to do. Once installed, water back on, tank water temp increased to 140, and lines burped, I didn't have any leaks. One thing right off that I noticed is when I turn on the hot water it comes out hot much faster than previously, where I would have to wait about 30 seconds or so before any hot water starts coming out of the faucet. Having had it installed for only a couple of days, I really can't attest to never running out of hot water however, so far, we've run a load in the dishwasher, and at the same time drew a bath, followed by a shower, all within an hour with no noticeable decrease in available hot water. Very nice device. Don't let the idea of having to cut your hot water tank lines and install fittings steer you away from this device. You don't have to be a plumbing genie to install this. Really, all you need is something to cut your lines, an adjustable wrench, some Teflon tape, and a screwdriver, then follow the directions...That's it. The inclosed instructions are very well laid out. Cost wise, I think I spent about $30 for the fittings needed for my setup.

The tank booster was pretty easy to install. Hardest part was calibrating the water temp at the end. I wouldn't say it increases your hot water out put by 50% but it does help take your hot water further than with out it. It is also nice to know that with the blend of hot and cold that my children will not get scolded if they turn the hot all the way up.

Increases your available hot water without having to install a larger hot water heater, and you can set your hot water heater to a temperature that kills bacteria without extra risk to your family from scalding water. It was very easy to install, and feels to be a quality-built product.

Easy to install if you know basic plumbing. Do not attempt if you don't. This is a great idea that not only helps increase the output of the water heater, but also lets you raise the tank temperature to kill bacteria. We are pleased with the results so far.

I could not be happier with my purchase. The tank booster was an absolute breeze to install(I used a sharkbite water heater hose and ball valve for an even simpler installation). It took me approximately 15 minutes from start to finish. I have a 40 gallon water heater that the wife and kids were running empty every morning. Since installing the tank booster they can all shower back to back and I still have a long hot shower waiting for me when they are done. Much cheaper, faster, and easier than buying a larger water heater.