DERNORD 240v 6500w Foldback Heating Element Water Heater with Low Watt Density

I like this product, works exceptionally well and has a great heat out put for the wattage. Cuts our heating time down greatly so that we're using great energy to generate heat.

I bought these to improve my water heater's response time. My water heater came with two 4500 watt elements that turn on separately. It has 8 gauge wiring and 40 amp breaker going to the water heater. So plenty of power available. In order to run these higher wattage elements I had to rewire my water heater with 10 gauge wiring. This was fairly easy, basically just disconnected the old wires and taped the new wires to them and pulled it through. These are nice stainless steel elements, and I've noticed a huge improvement in recovery. It seems fast enough actually that I haven't been running out of hot water like I used to. They are quieter in operation being low density. Basically the fold back design gives more surface area to spread the wattage out over which is supposed to make them not only quieter but reduce calcium deposits. One thing I do not like about these is the rubber seal, it's too soft and as it's tightened up it squeezes out of place and leaked. I tried several times trying to get it to seal properly and I thought I got it until the water was hot and it started leaking again. In the end I swapped the seals for the old ones and it sealed perfect the first time.

Plastic insulator could be a little better quality