powerstar [RE-wrenches]

[Bill Loesch, Saint Louis Solar]

RE-wrenches said:

>Hi all, does anybody know if Powerstar has gone down for the count or
>just moved, or...? Thanks, Smitty.


If you mean the whole house (80 A, 240 V and 120 A, 240 V; two and three 40
A two pole circuit breakers respectively) electric tankless heaters ( the
size of the St. Louis, MO telephone book) they are alive and well.

As you may know, the Controlled Energy Corp. (CEC) in Vermont owns that
name as well as the Aquastar name. What you will buy today as a PowerStar
is a unit manufactured by Applied Energy an English manufacturer. What you
bought "yesterday" as a PowerStar was a similar sized unit made by EEMax, a
Connecticut based manufacturer which has many units ranging from 1/2 GPM to
24 GPM.

According to the Autumn 2003 CEC newsletter, the "new and improved"
Powerstar offers copper heat exchangers, manual reset high limit control,
external adjust temp control and 3/4 inch male NPT fittings.

Provided the customer has the available electric service, the old PowerStar
models performed as advertized. I have no experience with the new
manufacturer. A lot of "real" plumbers evidently can't  read directions as
a favorite inept install technique is to eliminate the _outlet_ valve which
is used to maximize heater output (by limiting flow) for whirlpool tubs,
multi head showers, etc.

Reportedly CEC will at years end introduce a "Pro Tankless" brand of gas
tankless heaters manufactured by Bosch. Reportedly the large (2
simultaneous use Aquastar 240 units, actually a Takagi TK-1) will no longer
be available in the big box stores. For more info look at protankless.com,
for participation in the installer or service program call Diane Ford with
CEC at 866 668 2657.

Bill Loesch, PE
bill_loesch at compuserve.com
Solar 1 - Saint Louis Solar
9905 Vasel Drive
St. Louis, MO 63123
tel/fax 314 631 1094

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