Among the small capacity water heaters, I found that there are two which are the cheapest and have been given very good reviews by buyers. One is the Cromptom Greaves 3L and then Kenstar 3L instant geysers. I zeroed in on the Kenstar because the discount on it was pretty good. However, I gave it two more days before ordering and that was probably a mistake I did because the price shot up by 700 Rs. Apparently these items are in demand due to the onset of winters.
Although the manufacturer recommends this as suited for kitchen, I have noticed reviews by customers who have said they have been using it in their bathrooms comfortably. The first thing that one would wonder before buying this product is whether they are making the right decision from a long-term perspective. I would say this has no specific setbacks from a geyser of higher capacity say - 15 litres. It entirely depends on the kind of lifestyle you lead. The higher capacity models take a significantly longer time to heat up water and people living metropolitan lifestyles and in nuclear families will find a lot more advantage of this heater over the ones of higher capacities.
Speed of heating water: The product lives up to its expectations. It takes barely ten minutes to heat ice-cold water and less than 5 minutes to heat up less-than lukewarm water. When the green light goes off, it implies that the water in the tank is heated to approx 94 degrees.
Power consumption: Well again, often during peak winters people don’t have the time to sit and wait for half an hour for the geyser to finish heating water. In addition, many people don’t take a full-fledged shower. They pour a bit of hot water on themselves, soap and shampoo and prefer to quickly wash it off and get into warm clothes. So, given the fact that smaller quantities of water can be heated in almost no time at all, this in a way, saves electricity. If you are looking for a 5-star rated water heater, that is not available in this capacity. Not a single water heater of this capacity from any manufacturer has BEE rating so far as I know.
Installation: The product comes without the necessary screws, power plug nor connection pipes. You would have to spend a bit on that yourself. However, the installation is so simple that I was able to do it myself. I have a drilling maching at home and I drilled three holes on the wall, attached screws and hung the unit on it. Then I had to attach an inlet and and outlet flexible tubings which are available from any hardware store. The outlet pipe has to be metal preferably, to be able to withstand hot water.
Usage: It would be best to have water taps that have a combination of water sources from two directions. Once the green light goes off on the geyser, implying the water in the unit is heated, turn-on the knob of the tap getting water from the geyser slowly and then the knob that supplies cold water till you find the mixed water’s temperature to be of tolerable levels. Then use it for your pre-scrubbing and shampooing shower. Stop and then allow the heater to do its job of heating more water while you shampoo yourself and when you are done, you have more warm water to wash away the soap. This is for the really cold seasons such as that in North India. In South India where there is barely any real winter, one round of water heating is enough because the amount of cold water(that is barely cold) you will need to mix with the hot water will eventually make it a good 15-20 litres of warm water.
Precautions: Class I water heaters of Kenstar are recommended for multi-storeyed apartments owing to the high pressure of inlet water. This is a class I water heater. Also, if you notice water dripping from the Pressure Release Valve, when the unit is not in use, then you may have to reduce the inlet pressure by adjusting your home’s water supply pipe knob. If you need a continuous supply of hot water, keep the hot water tap open slightly and let the device remain on so it continuously keeps heating water that you draw.
To cut it short, this is the kind of geyser which people who wake up late every day and rush to the bathroom to quickly brush and shower before running for work, would find extremely useful. You just switch it on and you get warm water almost in no time at all. It is helpful both for the kind of people who use an overhead shower as well as those who prefer to have a bath in the traditional bucket and mug method.
I have so far found it doing really good and would say a must-have for everyone who lives in metro cities.
I had to give a low rating on support because the only number available to call for support could not give me any technical information regarding the product.