Required Maintenance for Tankless Water Heaters

Proper maintenance for tankless water heaters is crucial to enjoying the benefits of tankless heating as well as getting the maximum return on investment. Tankless units deliver superior on-demand heating as long as they’re properly sized to the needs of your home, correctly installed and professionally maintained. The maintenance schedule as recommended by the manufacturer may include some procedures every six months and others up to a three-year interval. The principal items of maintenance for a tankless water heater are flushing the system with a descaling solution and cleaning the intake filter.

The high temperatures generated in an on-demand heater cause dissolved minerals present in all municipal water supplies to form deposits on the heat exchanger and other internal components. Accumulated mineral deposits quickly degrade the performance and efficiency of a tankless heater and may lead to premature repairs and decreased service life.

After the electricity and gas are turned off to the heater, a typical professional flushing procedure includes circulating an acidic solution to dissolve deposits such as calcium carbonate inside the heater. This solution is normally circulated by an external pump through the water channels of the heater for a prescribed period of time. Afterward, the heater is thoroughly flushed with clean water.

Following the flushing procedure, the technician will remove the intake filter and clean out grit, sand or other obstructions that may have entered the house water system from the municipal water supply.

Additional maintenance procedures normally performed after flushing the heater include:

• Verifying the calibration and operation of the thermostat

• Checking for stored error codes

• Checking the operation of the water and gas valves and safety relief valves

• Making sure the water and gas pressure are within specifications

• Inspecting the cabinet and all components

For more information about maintenance for tankless water heaters, contact the pros at Sobieski Services.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Delaware, Pennsylvania, Maryland and New Jersey about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC & plumbing systems).

Image credit: JD Hancock