FAQ: Do Tankless Water Heaters Need Maintenance?
March 18, 2019Machines require maintenance, that’s just a fact of life. Even tankless water heaters, a bleeding-edge appliance type, need some T.L.C from time-to-time. Admittedly, just to keep things in perspective, storage heating systems require more maintenance. No matter how well they’re maintained, their tanks accumulate foreign materials. Anyway, back with this maintenance FAQ, we can see that the tankless option isn’t quite as indefatigable as it first seemed.
The Hard Water Debacle
Okay, so mineral-loaded water leaves a nasty scaling effect inside water storage units. That’s a clear problem. However, even without a tank, hard water will impact the components inside tankless water heaters.
How Does Hard Water Affect Tankless Equipment?
Because of the lower operating temperatures and the high flow velocities, scaling isn’t as big an issue here. However, the heat exchanger tubing and valves will accumulate mineral precipitates over time. Special flushing kits remove the scale after a system fault code indicates a hard water issue.
Are There Filters Inside?
Again, refer back to the hard water problem, as described in the above two paragraphs of text. In-line filters work alongside flush kits to keep the system water precipitate-free. Unfortunately, due to the coarseness of some of those mineral deposits, the filters can become clogged. A maintenance program will replace the in-line filters before they clog.
Counteracting Natural Phenomena
Hot and cold water streams causes gland expansion. Winter and summer temperature spikes worsen the issue. Vibrations, perhaps those on a garage wall, loosen tightened valve parts and heat exchanger tubing. In effect, the day-to-day actions of material life influence tankless water heaters. A preventative maintenance program identifies then addresses such issues.
Stopping Installer and Operator Issues
What if the equipment has been installed by a less-than-capable service engineer? Even if it was successfully commissioned, there’s just the smallest chance something wasn’t fitted correctly. That possibility places a figurative question mark above the equipment. A maintenance check soon dismisses that flicker of doubt.
There are countless hard to predict scenarios to assess. Maybe a new family has moved into a new home. The digital thermostat was programmed in some counterintuitive manner, so the equipment is behaving inconsistently. Is this a system defect or a programming gaffe? An expert inspection soon solves the matter. In conclusion, at the end of the day, this FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) list can be a valuable tool. Use it while knowing the equipment needs less care than a storage tank, but use it all the same. Remember, hard water problems can impact all kinds of hot water equipment, even modern tankless water heaters.
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