Tankless water heater problems in 2022 – Complete Guide

You are here to know if it is worthwhile to buy a tankless. Well, just like the ease that a tankless water heater brings, it also comes with its fair share of problems. Most of these problems happen because the house owners don’t have sufficient knowledge about these things. So, today we will tell you what these tankless water heater problems in 2022 are and how you can solve these problems before they become an inconvenience for you. Among the most common issues that a tankless water heater owner can face are given below. One by one we’ll go over them.

Let’s discuss some Tankless water heater problems

1.     Coldwater Sandwich in tankless Water heater

The alternating outflow of cold-hot-cold water in plumbing terms is known as a cold water sandwich. This is a frequent type of issue encountered by owners of tankless water heaters. This tankless water heater problem happens when multiple taps are open, which will draw water more than the tankless water heater can provide. For example, you have a tankless water heater that provides hot water on-demand up to 4 gallons per minute. But the open taps are drawing 7 gallons per minute of water so that the tankless water heater will provide the 4 Gpm. Still, the excess of 3 Gpm will come from the cold water line, which will decrease the hot water temperature, and you will be getting alternating hot and cold water.

To resolve this problem, you can either control the number of taps or install a bigger tankless water unit or install a similar smaller unit parallel to the previous one.

2.     Annual maintenance

Another issue faced by the tankless water heater is maintenance. Certain individuals assert that tankless water heaters are maintenance-free, which is untrue. Most manufacturers recommend cleaning your unit once a year. While some even go as far as adding the condition of annual maintenance in your warranty, unfulfillment can make your warranty void.

Thankfully, the process of flushing is easy and is doable by the house owner. If you do it yourself, the first-time material cost is around $150, but if one takes good care of the reusable tools. The upcoming ones are only going to cost you $10 and 2 hours of your time.

3.     Tankless water heater flow sensor

Every tankless water heater comes with a flow sensory. The flow sensor is usually located near the inlet through cold water enter the tankless unit. When the tap is open, this flow sensor turns the tankless water heater on/off when a certain amount of water flows in front of it. This makes it so that tankless water heater only works when you open a tap. that is why it is also called an on-demand water heater, but sadly, it also means that when the tap is open slightly such that water passing in front of the flow sensor is less than the triggering amount, your tankless water heater will also likely not turn on.

4.     Possibly voided warranty

Some of the tankless water heater warranties include the two clauses which people don’t know and could cause their tankless water heater warranty to be void. These two clauses are that a licensed plumber must install the tankless water heater and in case the tankless water heater is damaged during installation by the owner himself or by a cheaper but unlicensed plumber. The warranty will not cover the damage. The 2^nd clause is if the tankless water heater stops working due to the owner not doing the annual flushing for a couple of years. The warranty will be null and void. You can avoid this now that you are aware of it.

5.     High installation cost

Tankless water heater installation costs can be quite high, even more so if you’re switching from a tank to a tankless water heater. If you believe that the previously used pipelines for the tank water heater can be reused for the tankless one, that may not necessarily be. New channels for the tankless water heater have to be set up as tankless water heaters require a higher supply of gas and water, which the old pipelines of the tank water heater cannot support. If the gas or water supply is low, then a tankless water heater won’t work. Similarly, new vents for the tankless water heater need to be installed to vent out the harmful gases released as a product of gas-burning like carbon monoxide.  These new installations make it that a tankless water heater can go up 2-3 more expensive than the tank water heater.

6.  Tankless Water Heater in Power outrage

A tankless water heater can have two main parts; one of them is the computer part that is visible to you in the form of a display panel from which you can control all the settings of the tankless water heater from turning it on/off to temperature setting.  While the other part can be termed the heat exchanger, which will heat up your water based on the input fitted in the computer part. Now, just like any other computer, it also needs power at all times to work. So, if there is a power outage, you can’t get the hot water as there is no electricity powering the computer part, which in turn can’t instruct the heat exchanger to heat the water.

But there is a solution to this problem; you can add a secondary power source like a battery to power it. If it is a gas tankless water heater, then all the energy the tankless water heater is going to need is equal to the power required by a light bulb. So, even a tiny power source can power it for a long time.

Conclusion

Tankless water heaters are not some magical box or wizard spell which perfect in all sense. Just like any other appliances, they also come with cons/problems. But other than the higher installation costs, most of the tankless water heater problems in 2022 can be resolved and avoided if you have sufficient knowledge about them. In a nutshell, don’t be a dreamer believing that tankless water heaters are perfect. They are continuously being improved, with each subsequent version being more advanced than the previous.