Tankless Water Heater Freezing

Mitch M

I have a client who has a tankless water heater mounted on the exterior. He has had the pipes frozen over the last couple of nights because of the cold. The unit is mounted on the exterior wall and the pipes go in right at the unit into the interior. What can we do to keep them from freezing?

Thanks for your help.

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"I will neither confirm nor deny"

Leo G

Put it on the inside of the house where it belongs.

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http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

KillerToiletSpider

Build a heated shed around the water heater.

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A flush is better than a full house.

Cole82

Tell them to shower more than once a week. The in/ex is letting cold air inside the water heater.

Guys I think it is inside the house but on an exterior wall.

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Cole's Custom Creations
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

What is this "work" you speak of?

genecarp

Mind as well make it a 8' x 10' so at least they can store the lawn tools, maybe even put a sink in it, (with hot water), GMOD

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Mitch M

Oh come on guys. It is one of those small tankless water heaters that is mounted on the outside wall. The pipes go into a heated space but the pipes directly on the outside freeze. They are wrapped with the foam insulation wraps but apparently it is not doing any good.

__________________
"I will neither confirm nor deny"

Leo G

What makes you think I am kidding? A water heater in a freezing climate will have problems with the pipes freezing. What is the reason that it is mounted outside?

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Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

Mitch M

I did not mount it. It is for one of my regular customers. It is like a lot of the ones that I have seen around. It is gas so it is vented. It is designed to be mounted outside. I think they just forgot to how to stop the frozen pipes.

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"I will neither confirm nor deny"

Cole82

I was wrong it is mounted outside...

Why would any body do such a thing in NY?


"T-K3-OS is ideal for warmer climates"

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Cole's Custom Creations
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

What is this "work" you speak of?

Leo G

North Carolina.

__________________
Sawdust Follows Me Everywhere

http://lrgwood.com
Custom Cabinets in Hartford County Connecticut

painterman

wrap the pipes with heat tape

Tinstaafl

Yeah, it does freeze sometimes in NC. I've been there when there was freezing rain, and it ain't a pretty sight.

Probably the simplest quick fix would be heat tapes. Until you can get that set up, just have him let the water trickle (or even just a fast drip) at a HW faucet whenever the temps are low. As long as the water's moving even a little bit, it takes some pretty low temps to freeze it solid.

KillerToiletSpider

That won't work with a tankless water heater.

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A flush is better than a full house.

Tinstaafl

I was waiting for that!

I admit I have no hands-on experience with them, so correct me if I'm wrong (like you wouldn't ). The idea is not to get it to fire up--I know you need significant flow for that. It's just to keep the water moving ever so slightly.

Shirley you aren't saying that a tankless won't allow you to run a trickle, as long as you don't care whether it's heated?

KillerToiletSpider

You'll foul up the flow sensor and send poor signals to the control panel, depending on the brand of tankless as to what gets screwed up from there, if it's a Bosch just write it off and start over again.

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A flush is better than a full house.

Tinstaafl

All righty then. So actually, it would work; you'd just kill the heater.

That's totally astounding. I'm not doubting your word, but it sounds about on a par with "government intelligence" that any mfg would produce a unit so easily fouled up.

You just murdered any slight tickle of an urge I might have had to try one out.

Cole82

Why do the Bosch ones slow the flow down so much?
I have installed 3 TL water heaters and 2 of the customers made me take them out. They were all bosch.

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Cole's Custom Creations
Cedar Rapids, Iowa

What is this "work" you speak of?

KillerToiletSpider

Because they are cheap, poorly engineered pieces of crap.

You get what you pay for.

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.

ARealplumber

All you would need to do is have one faucet running to keep water moving through the water heater. This would be no different than a few dripping faucets added up. I've never heard that letting afaucet drip or run alittle with a tankless would foul the flow sensor. What manufacturer's users guide says this?

KillerToiletSpider

None of them.

I used to work for a shop that was an authorized Bosch repair company though.

__________________
A flush is better than a full house.