We think tankless water heaters are a fantastic choice for many homes. Not all homes, necessarily, but we strongly recommend our customers consider installing a tankless system the next time they need a water heater. The benefits of going tankless are enormous: energy savings, space savings, unlimited hot water, and longer equipment life.
We won’t pretend that tankless water heaters are perfect. They can run into problems over their service lives that will require calling professionals for water heater repair in Qualicum Beach, BC. Our team of water heater experts will see that your tankless water heater gets back to doing what it does best.
We’ll look at several tankless water heater malfunctions you might run into:
Mineral buildup
Any level of mineral buildup in the pipes of a water heater can cause trouble, but this buildup is especially bad in a tankless water heater. Even a small amount of calcium and magnesium deposits can block the small inlets and outlets of a tankless water heater. For this reason, we advise having a water filtration or water softener installed along with a tankless water heater to reduce this problem. Regular maintenance will also help keep away minerals: maintenance cleans out the intakes to address mineral buildup.
Failed burners
Most tankless water heaters use natural gas to provide heat to the water. Gas burners ignite and supply the hot combustion gas for the heat exchanger that then enters the water as it moves through the water heater. Just like a furnace or storage tank water heater, the burners can fail to ignite. This may be due to a broken ignition system, carbon buildup on the burners, blocked gas lines, or other trouble with the gas flow. Always leave gas-related repairs to professionals—DIY work is potentially dangerous!
Capacity overload
Tankless water heaters offer unlimited hot water because they don’t have a stored supply that can run out. The water heater will always heat up more. However, a water heater can have a capacity overload if too many taps request hot water at the same time. This can result in slower performance or even the water heater shutting down. You might be able to coordinate appliances and showers to help avoid this, but if it’s a common occurrence, the unit may need repairs or is too small for the household’s water demands.
Venting problems
Gas water heaters require proper airflow for the burners to ignite and proper exhaust to remove the toxic byproducts of combustion. If the venting for either becomes blocked, your water heater may shut off and give you an error message that the air supply is exhausted or blocked. Plenty of things can block these vents, and we recommend calling us to find the source and have it cleared.
There is a range of other problems you may run into, such as hot water that isn’t hot enough, the “cold water sandwich” that may occur when people take back-to-back showers, and leaking. If you have any concerns about your tankless water heater, simply get in touch with our team and we’ll see that it’s solved.
Temprite Climate Solutions works with tankless water heaters. For a job done right, call Temprite!