Korean In pipe water heaters

I think these were first developed in Europe to lower costs of heating water but are also used here in South Korea a lot too.

In the U.S. we have water heaters that are basically 24 hour a day heated water tanks of water (usually 50 to 100 gallons or so). However, when electricity or gas is expensive, electric coils are put in water pipes instead like in Europe and South Korea.

All the hydro-electric dams, especially on the west coast of the U.S. keep electricity (or used to keep it) fairly cheap so water heater tanks were cost effective enough to have them sit there being heated 24 hours a day.

However, this isn't true in Europe or South Korea so often you will see a control panel somewhere like the living room (much like a thermostat you would see on the wall in the U.S). However, there is a button that you push to turn on the heating coil so you can have instant hot water. So, No hot water is ever stored in a tank and this tends to be (if you have a good system) a better way to heat water and more cost effective around the wrold.

However, hotels around airports generally don't have this feature because people from North, South and Central America might not be used to electric coil inside water pipe heating of water. So, in most hotels you just get in and take a shower and don't worry about this.

However, most places where people actually live year around they have these buttons on living room (or nearby) walls to turn on when you want to take a hot shower and to turn off when you aren't using them.

This greatly reduces the amount of your electric bill wherever you live on earth.

However, you really want to get a good foreign system because my friend has one in Mt. Shasta that I don't think works very well and usually barely keeps his water at a warm temperature. So, if you install one first realize that electricity for these is usually 220 which most places use instead of 110 like in the U.S.

In the U.S. we have single phase 3 wire 220 that comes into our houses. We mostly reduce this to 110 by taking only 1 of the three wires and the neutral. This tends to prevent electrocution more with 110. However, most countries keep everything 220 for some reason, whereas we in the U.S. only use 220 for things like Water heaters, Clothes Dryers, Electric Stoves and Hot Tubs and the like. And we use 110 for most other things mostly for safety because people are less likely to die from 110 than from 220.

As I was growing up and being trained by my father as an electrician from ages 12 to 17 summers when I was off school I was hit by 110 hundreds of times when we had to install things "Hot" with the electricity on. I didn't like it but it didn't kill me either.

But, I really didn't want to be hit with 220 or 440 because death or unconsciousness could result. So, I didn't mind working with 110 hot that much because I would just jump and it would hurt a little. But, 220 might almost knock me out unconscious. So, that is the difference between 110 and 220. Whereas once I had to work on 440 Hot and burned my screwdriver in half and was blind for about minutes and my eyes hurt for several days after that. So, you really have to be careful around 220 and
440 and above.

But, anything like 1000 volts or above will usually just kill you and throw you into electrical convulsions or burn your body up like a roasted chicken or something. So, don't mess with voltage above 220 if you can help it, especially if there is any water nearby you.

Also, if you aren't a trained electrician be sure to take off any gold rings or silver rings because often if they get against the electricity (even at 110) it will burn both your ring and the finger right off. The same is true of gold or silver necklaces. Only with a necklace you might die even with 110 because it would short out your brain.

So, be very careful if you aren't a professional. Also, always use wooden or fiberglass ladders not metal ones, even aluminum because that could cause your death too especially while working hot.