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rockies
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# Posted: 29 Sep 2019 06:21pm
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Has anyone had their tankless hot water heater fail? I was reading that hard water can cause the pipes to close off. Not only can the tank be affected by the lime scale but also from minerals in the water. Some systems may need a magnetic attachment to catch the metal ions.
https://www.waterheaterleakinginfo.com/hard-water/
https://www.dripworks.com/magnetic-water-conditioning
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 30 Sep 2019 06:23am
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Any hot water system will suffer from Hard Water issues in the form of scale buildup.... common in water tanks as the bottom fills with sediment from the hard water... every open the drain valve on a water tank and have white sludge come out ?
Calcium & Iron buildup can accumulate inside an On-Demand heaters exchanger unit. Some are better at managing that with Ceramic Coatings.
Magnetics ONLY works on Iron and magnetic particles, not calcium and others (Lime is not magnetic). Typically, common sense dictates a Sediment Filter from your well, a house filter to clear small particles, magnetics can go inline with a filter unit
Prevention & Cleaning of an On-Demand Heater is quite easy IF you have installed it properly with a correct valving kit. (Too many folks skip this $100 extra). They have provision to allow you to flush the water heater & sediments out as part of regular maintenance.
REF: https://www.prweb.com/releases/tankless_water_heater/diy_installation_kits/prweb27798 04.htm
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kennethh
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# Posted: 20 Dec 2021 10:19am
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I would definitely recommend the Camplux 5L tankless water heater to any RV owner looking for a tankless water heater. Because of its compact design, I can easily carry it around. It has a brass finish regulator with two knobs-the first one is designed to control the heat, while the other can help control the heat. flow rate control. And especially, it works with the least power requirement.
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BRADISH
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# Posted: 20 Dec 2021 11:36am
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It can certainly affect performance, but it would surprise me that it actually "fails".
I installed a tankless heater for our house in town, on the city water supply and promised myself to annually flush it, since my last water heater died by a lack of maintenance oversight on my part.
I have the flushing valve kit Steve references above, and cycle a gallon of white vinegar through the system for 10 mins per manufacture (Rinnai) recommendation.
While it wasn't a massive pile of buildup, I was surprised to see visible solids and floaties after just a year of use (on city water!). Cleaning it annually now yields about the same results.
If you water supply is less filtered/etc than city tap, I would definitely recommend a consistent maintenance schedule to maintain performance.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 21 Dec 2021 06:41am
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Tankless heaters can be a headache with hard water and need alot of maintenance.
I had my 11yr old heat pump water heater spring a leak a few weeks ago. I only drained it 2-3x in 11yrs. Major deposits in the bottom. I replaced it with another more efficient heat pump water heater. After all the rebates it cost less than a 40gal electric unit
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Steve_S
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# Posted: 21 Dec 2021 07:22am - Edited by: Steve_S
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I flush my EccoTemp once a year (on a well with hard water (not too bad though). I only have 1 Sediment Filter then a fine filter (5 micron). I do get some flakies and a bit of "creamy" from the stuff that dissolves it's never that bad.
NOTE, I change filters every 3 months so they mostly take it out. First couple of filters after the well drilling were done monthly, holy crow there was a lot of sediment (Cable Drilled Well into Granite) but after the initial flush out of the well, it's really good now.
A lot does depend on how hard the water is and what is actually in it, some hard-water is really hard to deal with due to the mineral concentrations.
There are folks out there who Never Flush their water tanks, they wonder why it costs more to keep the hot water hot and then one day the elements give up and they realize they have 10Lbs of sludge in the bottom and the elements are caked solid.
Funny, I remember we installed a new Water Heater in the early 70's and it had Clear Labels on it that said to flush annually if installed on a well system or any system with hard water. ANYONE Seen that on a Water Tank lately ?
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