If you own your own home, you know how much money you can spend yearly taking care of costly repairs. Anything that you can do to avoid these situations from popping up can only stand to help you and your wallet out in the long run. One part of your home you may need to spend money on repairs for is your water system and specifically a tankless water heater. The good news is that Rusco has tools and resources to assist you in preventing situations like this from ever occurring.
One of the main threats to your home water system and its longevity is sediment. As we’ve talked about many times before, sediment is simply loose sand, silt, clay and other particles that end up settling at the bottom of the water. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, sediment can come from soil erosion. It can also come from the decomposition of plants and animals. Ultimately, it’s wind, water and ice that help carry these particles to rivers, streams and lakes, which all can end up leading into your home’s water supply.
Certainly, if sediment is present in your home’s water supply, there are several reasons why you’ll want to try and eliminate it. The health of you and your family is certainly at the top of the list of reasons. Also, towards the top should be wanting to protect the different aspects of your system. Over time, if sediment continuously runs through your water system, it’s likely to do some damage. The buildup of sediment can wreak havoc on your home’s water system by clogging up valves and fixtures, and it can also wear on pipes after a while.
Another part of your water system that can suffer damage as a result of sediment is your tankless water heater. There is no tank with one of these units, unlike a traditional hot water heater, so you may think sediment damage isn't a big concern since there is no storage area for sediment to accumulate. The opposite of this is true as it’s easier for a tank-style water heater to handle sediment. With a tank, sediment settles to the bottom and because the tank can be flushed, it can be mostly cleared of that sediment. Since tankless water heaters have no place for sediment to settle and ultimately flush, blockage within the system can quickly occur.
When it comes to a tankless water heater, the opening that water passes through to enter the unit is fairly narrow and is designed exclusively for the flow of water. Because of the narrow design, any particulate, including sediment, that tries passing through will end up leading to the unit clogging up. This buildup will lead to the water heater malfunctioning and eventually, it will just stop working as it’s intended. The best-case scenario, if this happens, is you’ll need to purchase replacement parts. The worst case is that you’ll end up needing to replace your tankless water heater altogether. Thisoldhouse.com states that the average cost for a tankless hot water heater is around $1,000. If you want or need a high-output heater, you could end up paying more than $2,000 for a new one.
If you paid $1,000 or more for a tankless water heater in the first place, you likely didn’t have plans to purchase a replacement one for that much again. Therefore, if you know that there’s sediment in your home’s water and you have one of these units, it would be a good idea to consider putting in a filter to help clean everything up. There are lots of options on the market for sediment filters, but picking a filter from Rusco will offer you convenience and even more savings over the long haul.
By investing in a Rusco Spin-Down filter, you’ll allow your tankless water heater to run for years without having to worry about sediment buildup, which would just end up doing damage to your wallet in the end. These Spin-Down filters are designed with centrifugal technology that allows for sediment to be removed from your water before ever even trying to enter your tankless heater. Once one of these filters is installed along your water line, all you need to do is open the supplied ball valve on the bottom occasionally to flush it out. Inside of these filters is an element that makes this removal of sediment possible. Rusco offers a large selection of filter element sizes since there is a wide variety of sediment that you could potentially deal with. Unlike other brands' filters, these Spin-Down filters from Rusco are self-cleaning, so you won't have to change out cartridges on a regular basis.
If you want to help extend the life of your tankless water heater, look into the options that Rusco has to offer. Call us at 1-800-345-1033 to speak to a member of our knowledgeable customer service team.
Source Notes: All information in this article relating to sediment came from the Environmental Protection Agency. Information regarding the costs of tankless water heaters came from thisoldhouse.com.
