Allied Precision The Premier Line 742G Bucket Water Heater, Electric Immersion Heating Element Heats 5 Gallons of Water in Minutes with Auto Shutoff, Submersible Design is Heavy Duty and Portable 120V

This is one of the best purchases that I have ever made. Like several have written here, my hot water pipe burst under my slab foundation. And it will take awhile for me to afford the repairs. In the mean time, I have been either using a couple of coffee pots to heat enough water to take a "sink bath" or using the stove to heat buckets and carry them upstairs to fill the tub. While researching the cost of a point of use hot water heater, I saw this item. It is perfect for my needs, I use it to heat a 5 gallon plastic bucket to take a shower; (Using one of the manual pump showers sold on this site); or I use it to heat a lager galvanized steel tub (30+ gallons) to fill the bath tub. It works great.Many have asked how long does it take to heat water. Well that depends on the starting temp of the water and the outside temp of the location where you are heating the water. I normally fill up my receptacle in the upstairs bathroom with the door close. It is mid summer and the starting temp of my H2O is normally between 70 to 78 degrees. If I am using a 5 gallon plastic bucket it takes about 12-15 minutes for the temp to rise to about 110. If I am using the larger 30+ gal galvanized steel tub, it takes about 2.5 hours to get the water to over 120 degrees. I then add a bit of cooler water to the tub before entering. The bath remains very very hot for well over an hour. More than enough time for me to get a good soak. I've also used the unit in a smaller galvanized steel dish pail (about 3 gallons) to heat water for washing dishes.(The reason I don't put the unit in a tub filled with water, is that once filled the water in my tub barely covers the safety guard leaving much of the heating element above the water line; I tried this ONCE and after 5 hours the water in the tub was still barely luke warm. I find that heating the water outside of the tub to be more efficient)What I've noticed is that in order to take full advantage of the unit, you should use a receptacle that is deep enough to cover much of it's heating element. For example, it takes less time to bring the water of the 5 gallon plastic bucket over 110 degrees then it does the water in the 3 gallon galvanized steel dish pail. That is because the plastic bucket is not as wide and more of the heating element is submerged beneath the water. Although, I love being able to heat the larger volume of water for tub bathing; the 2.5 hours is a lot of energy usage. And due to the size of the tub; much of the heating element is above water. I'm going to invest in a 6 gallon steel bucket, (which is recommended by the unit) , to see if that lowers the time required to heat enough water for a tub bath. Also, I use one of those metal candy thermometers with the side clip and attach it to the metal guard to keep check on the temperature.Some have said that they keep the unit submerged while bathing; The instructions clearly states that this units handle and cord should not be submerged. And although the guard seems to be adequate to keep this unit level; it is still a bit top heavy. I wouldn't take the risk keeping it in the bath with me. Also, because the unit is a bit top heavy; I've kept the box to use for it's storage.This is much better than using coffee pots and carrying buckets of scalding hot water throughout the house to take a bath. Enjoy!

I was looking for some way to heat my 250 gallon hard plastic molded baby pool, the kind with a little slide, it's 6' wide. I saw that people were heating hot tubs and above ground pools and thought this might work. I chlorinate my baby pool and have a small battery operated vacuum to keep it clean and prevent the need to drain multiple times a summer. However the water never got above 70 degrees last year and my kid could hardly bare to play- even in direct sunlight. This is the perfect solution! I followed other's advice and immersed it before plugging in, and un-plugging before removing. It is safe to the touch, even still I would never let my child swim while the heater was in the water. It works well. I plug it in first thing in the morning and after 4 hours of heating the pool temp rises about 6 degrees. The first time I used it the pool went from 68 to 74 degrees after 4 hours of heating. It works better when the water is still (not circulating) and heats even faster when I leave the thermal pool cover on. Once I left it in all day by accident and the pool was like bath water when we returned! It operated safely all day and thank God for that! I have been using about a month and haven't noticed any significant impact on my electric bill either, although I'm only using it on average for 8 hours per week, four-five hours every saturday and sunday morning for weekend play. Overall I would heartily recommend. The product is not marshalltown brand, but it looks exactly like the picture and works well. I think as long as you follow the recommendation to keep immersed while plugging/un-plugging I see no reason why the product would overheat and stop working. I also keep the small handle out of the water as instructed. I have touched the product while immersed, and treated the pool and there is no shock danger or burn danger. The element only heats within the protective sleeve, and the sleeve must be fully under water or the product states it will not heat. (note: i never touched the heating element directly under the sleeve, this seems like a stupid thing to do). I make sure to keep it in place with clips and check it periodically to ensure its submerged and heating. I can see the water rippling within the sleeve due to temperature change. I like this product and it works for my purpose, even though that purpose is not its intended one.