Do you own a tankless water heater? If so, you probably know that there are several things that can damage them. Hiring a plumber can be expensive, but becoming familiar with the potential threats to your tankless water heater can help you avoid spending money on costly repairs. This posting will help you become more familiar with 4 of the most common issues tankless water heaters can have.
1. Hard Water
Hard water is one of the most frequent issues that you may deal with when it comes to your tankless water heater. Hard water has high levels of calcium and magnesium ions. These minerals cause scaling to accumulate in your water heater. If this scaling is allowed to continue, your water heater will overheat. This activates the safety feature. When the water heater’s safety feature is activated, you will be locked out of the system. This means you will be taking cold showers until you repair the problem. Here’s how to prevent this:
- Obtain a water softener. This is a device that will decrease the levels of calcium in your water supply.
- Flush your unit regularly. This should be done every 6 months. This is something you can do yourself.
- You can also hire a professional to do it for you.
2. Corrosion
The good thing about tankless water heaters is that they are less likely to deal with corrosion. This doesn’t mean that corrosion can’t happen. Corrosion can cause severe damage to your unit. Corrosion typically occurs when condensation begins to drip onto your gas burner. When this happens, corrosion can block your gas supply. This will trigger the safety features which means the heater will shut down. This is another situation where you will be taking cold showers. This can be easily prevented. Just make sure that the heat exchanger is correctly installed. If it’s installed properly, corrosion will not occur.
3. Too Much Demand
Your water heater is only able to handle a certain amount of output. If the members of your household use too much water at the same time, it will place too much strain on your heater. This will cause your heater to shut down as a result of not having enough gas to heat all the water that is being used. What does this mean? You guessed it. Cold showers! This can be prevented. If you know there will be certain times of day when everyone will need hot water, you can upgrade your natural gas line. This may be expensive, but it could be a great solution for your household.
4. Combustion Shutdown
Tankless water heaters need a certain amount of ventilation to function properly. The exhaust that these heaters put out can be very hot. This is why you will need to provide an easy way for the exhaust to escape.
If there isn’t adequate ventilation, your heater will shut down. This happens if the venting tubes are arranged in a way that impedes the flow of the exhaust. Hopefully, by now you have gotten used to freezing hot showers.
To prevent this, inspect your venting tubes. Make sure that there are no obstructions that are making it difficult for the exhaust to escape.
If you dislike cold showers, you need to make sure you are diligent about maintaining your tankless water heater. Contact your local plumber to get more guidance on your heating unit.
