Maintaining a Tankless Water Heater

[dxmxl313]

If I have a 5 gallon bucket full of vinegar, how many Rinnai's can I flush out in a single day or should I just use two gallons per unit and dispose of the vinegar after each use?

[MattRisinger]

@dxmxl313 Oooh good question. I regularly build homes with two units and I'll flush both then toss the vinegar. The vinegar shouldn't lose it's potency after multiple flushes, but you'd want to ensure you're not pumping particles or debris into another machine. Seems like you could use that same 5 gallons multiple times in the same day, but I probably wouldn't save it for future use. Matt

[kieranmullen2]

Is it needed if you have a water softener or filter to remove the hard sediments?

[MattRisinger]

@kieranmullen2 The answer is YES, but likely not as often. With those conditions you could do this process every 24-30 months and likely be OK. I wouldn't go much longer however as their is still the need to clean out your in-line filters and still some scale possibility. You should have 20-25+ year water heater life under these conditions. Matt Risinger

[wkl747]

very educational and information sharing.

[laniegonewild]

We are going to do this and also wonder if there is a way we can clean burners, jet pilots etc. is there a video on that, can we get a link, I searched and couldn't see one. Our water heather is an Aquastar tankless and is 4 years old. Never flushed before, just started having problems with water only luke warm even when set to highest heat with knob. Think this will help but wonder if we should do other maintenance after the flush, can you advise?  THank you for this video!

[treefireguy]

Awesome.. Doing the cleaning now. Thanks!!!!

[wildbillinotown]

Matt, thanks for this video, but my Rinnai was installed without the clean-out plumbing. Do you have a video that shows how to add those?

[MattRisinger]

@wildbillinotown Unfortunately, that's beyond my do-it-yourself ability. You'll want to hire a plumber to add these valves needed to flush your unit. I've found that units installed 3+ years ago didn't regularly get flush kits installed. Not sure if that was a manufacturer assuming non-hard water, or if plumbers were not being educated that they were needed. Best, Matt Risinger

[awhite900]

Thanks for the vid. Couple of questions:

1. I borrowed a pump (same one as in the video) that had dirt in it from previous use. If I clean out the screen and impeller area and then run water through it for awhile, will it be OK to use for flushing a water heater?

2. I couldn't find short hose with 2 female couplings at Home Depot. Where did you find yours? Thanks.

[MattRisinger]

@awhite900 As long as the pump isn't dirty you'll be ok. You wouldn't want particles from a dirty pump lodging inside your boiler. As a safety measure you could hook up your pump so that the tankless wh's filter was in-lin with the pump.  Meaning that you would hook the pump to the cold water side so the filter would catch any particles coming off the pump. Those hoses you see in the video are a set of clothes washer hoses to connect a washer to a hot/cold hookup. Best, Matt

[aashishshah25]

@awhite900 you can get it any kind of washer Hose which will have 2 sided female adaptor. for 3 to 5 $ range.

[torontothegood]

thanks Matt. you saved me $150 for a service call. i had my rinnai for a year and didn't know what to do. i followed you simple instructions and got it done.

had to buy a pump and couple hoses for $100 total but now i can do it every 6 months and keep 'er in clean condition ... and yeah, thanks for the followup video too. i cleaned that little filter and there was quite a build up in it! THANKS!

[MattRisinger]

@torontothegood That's fantastic! It feels great to do it yourself, doesn't it? If you stick to an annual flush that should be plenty unless you find alot of sediment in your water supply. 6 months is good too but probably not necessary to do it that often. Matt

[77re777troy77]

would CLR water mix work better for flushing instead of white vinegar ?

[MattRisinger]

@77re777troy77 Good question. I'm not sure to be honest. I've only known to use white vinegar so I'd be cautious about being too acidic or too caustic.  you don't want to damage or pit the copper heat exchanger inside the tankless water heater. The white vinegar is just acidic enough to remove the hard water deposits slowly. Best, Matt Risinger

[Jbear9]

Hey Matt! Time for another flush. Thanks so much for sharing knowledge and helping us take care of these wonderful water heaters.

I'm still your biggest fan!

Jeanie

[MattRisinger]

@Jbear9 Jeanie, You're awesome! Good job doing the annual flush yourself. Appreciate your kind comments. Matt

[dieselplow]

Huh.... I installed a tankless a few years ago and never knew there was maintenance required. Thanks for the video.

[MattRisinger]

@dieselplow Yes indeed they need a routine maintenance. If you have soft water you might not need to do this as often but if you water is hard like it is here in Austin, TX you should plan on a yearly de-scaling flush. Also, don't forget to check that inline filter every 12-18 months even if you're not de-scaling. They regularly get junked up here in Austin. 

[torontothegood]

@dieselplow

i know .. Matt rulz!

[idahodad1]

Definitely a must do if you have hard water. great Video.

[olebaj]

Thanks Matt. I live in cold Canada and am confused with various reviews, all mixed. For starters

1 Do you suggest Electric driven or Gas driven. I for one would prefer Electric provided it is not expensive.

2 What rating for a small townhome, family of 2 adults and 2 kids

3. Life span of these units

4 Maintenance costs

[MattRisinger]

#1. For tankless units the gas ones are the way to go in my book. If you don't have gas available then it's a tougher call since you're in a cold climate.

#2 For that small of a house a 199k btu model would be more than adequate for your needs. If you're in a cold climate you'd probably want to mount it inside the house rather than the exterior ones you'll see here in Texas. #3 Life span is 20 years if maintained. #4 Mainteance is $10/year if you do it yourself. $100+otherwise.

[kjviolin2]

There's a coupon for $50 off any EcoSmart heater on

acehotline(dot)com

It's their "end of the month sale"

The coupon code is: 15952

Just though I would pass the word around :)

[Jbear9]

I did it !!! It worked! I can't believe what came out of there! Sheesh!

And that tiny little filter thing was FULL of stuff, too!

Thanks again, Matt - you're still my hero, darlin'!

[deviousMonk]

Is that heating all the water in that house?

[MattRisinger]

I've seen a few eHow articles that reference my video's. At least one of those articles was NOT right so please watch this video and consult your manufacturer on how to clean your unit. If you are unsure about how to do this I'd recommend paying a plumber to do this regularly.

[Jbear9]

Hey Matt in Austin! Thanks so much for making this video for us do-it-yourselfers!

You're my hero!

[MattRisinger]

WooHoo! I've never been called a "hero" before! Awesome, Thanks. Matt

[geozarish]

Thanks for uploading this troubleshoot. As this information does not come by the manufacturing company. I've one installed at home from last 6 years, now it's pipes are almost blocked and I was searching how to clean it. Thank again for this helpful video.

[tube75023]

Hello. I have a Rheem RTG-74PVN-2. I looked the manual and I couldn't find advice to flush the system for maintenance: only advice to clean the water filter and the air vent annually. Is there a difference between brands?

thanks

[MattRisinger]

I spoke to a Rheem rep at a conference this year and he tells me your water heater is made in a Japanese factory along with another brand. The should all flush the same way. Do you see two hose connections under your unit? If not, you'll need a plumber to hook up a flush kit. If you do have those connections the flush instructions are exactly the same. If you have trouble lookup the number for Rheem and call them for instructions. Hope that helps. -Matt Risinger