Excellent addition and comments

He obviously lives in warm climate, not where pipes could freeze during the winter. Cold climate areas would have then in a cellar, or a utility room. We have a tankless system, too, But water temperature varies during use.

Matt is based out of Austin, Texas. So yes, not much of a freeze concern. I'm even further south than he is in Houston, Texas. We have freeze concerns where I am, but infrequently and only then for a day or two.

Vinegar also seems a lot less toxic if you have kids or pets.

I bought a rinnai and it stopped working after 3 months. Either my water is super lime, or I got a bum unit. It sucks because I payed to have a 220v plug added for it, and moved from a propane water heater to electric tankless, it died in 3 months, so I ended up installing an electric tank heater.

This is really interesting, because usually it is the heat specifically which causes a drop in CO2 in the water which is what causes the calcium to precipitate and thus the scale to form in the plumbing. This is why when using hard water it's common to find scale in heated pipes and heaters but not nearly as much in cold water lines. I wouldn't expect such a setup to work very well at all to reduce scaling unless you where using a chemical treatment or the water was pre-heated before entering the first tank. You might remove floating sediment that was suspended in the water and can settle at the bottom, but it would have no mechanism to actually remove calcium carbonate that has been dissolved into the water.

@@sango_wango851 ...don't get hung-up on calcium. HARD WATER is full of minerals. If you want to isolate calcium, then you need to get an analysis done on the water first to know what is best to be done. .

Yeah, I would have dropped the screws down the drain. First thing I noticed too.

Said the same thing when he did that. I always drop a paper towel in the sink if I’m working over it.

Good comment. The manufacturers you ended up buying were very likely well aware of HARD WATER conditions and designed their systems accordingly. To add to your comments, the "calcium carbonate" does NOT come from the tankless hot water heater as stated in various fashions at the beginning of this video. The "buildup" is from the hard water ....FULL STOP. This is MINERALS IN THE WATER of what is called "HARD WATER". This HARD WATER does NOT come into the house "heated". It comes in "COLD" like every other water supplied anywhere on the planet earth. TRANSLATION: The "minerals in hard water are in both COLD AND HOT WATER. This guy keeps on referencing the buildup as if this is from the water heater. NO IT IS NOT. The buildup seen in the aerator is NOT just from the water heater .....THIS BUILDUP IS ALSO FROM THE COLD WATER. Just run the cold water continuously through an aerator for a month or more and then look at the aerator. The point is very simple. The descriptor in this video states "...Matt investigates a house with low water pressure and reveals the DOWNSIDE to a tankless water heater". WRONG. It doesn't matter what kind of water heating is in place. THIS "LOW WATER PRESSURE" IS CAUSED BY HARD WATER .....NOTHING TO DO ANY HOT WATER HEATER ....FULL STOP. If the supply water is hard water, then simple maintenance flushing/cleaning is required. This issue is NOT a "DOWNSIDE" of tankless water heaters. .

@@taxicamel but hot water has more scale than cold. You can get a TDS meter and see for yourself. As for why, maybe ask a chemist? But I agree it's counter-intuitive, you would expect less hardness in the hot water than cold, because typically hotter water keeps more solids in a dissolved state, just like salt water. Anyway- here in AZ a typical TDS meter will show 400ppm in cold water and about 750ppm in hot.

@@marcostankless7526 ...99.99% incorrect Marco. It is the municipality who controls the condition of the water .....unless of course the water is artesian from your own property.....in which you're on your own to what needs to be done to the entire plumbing system. No TDS meters required ....and a complete waste of time in most cities across North America and likely many other countries. People know what kind of water they have. When water comes into the house, it doesn't matter whether it gets heated or not .....it's "chemistry", which is more a "solution", is about "solids" in the water. I have no idea where you think that the temperature of water influences the amount of solids in water ....but you go ahead and think whatever you like. .

@@taxicamel even if it is city water, I you can see that there are more dissolved solids in the hot water than in the cold. Municipalities do not control water hardness. All they do is take non-potable water and filter it, then chlorinate it, then pump it to all the buildings. Doesn't matter if it is Az water or NJ water, there will always be more hardness in the hot side than the cold side. It's just a matter of is it 50ppm in the cold and 150ppm in the hot like NJ, or is it 400ppm in the cold and 750ppm in the hot like Az. Also I am certified installer for Rinnai and Navian, which are the two most popular tankless water heaters in USA right now. They are not made for "hard water" in fact the install manuals specify that water hardness should be below 150ppm or it could void the warranty. That much being said, the new tankless heaters have stainless steel pipes & stainless steel heat exchangers, this makes them much tougher than the old ones. They come with 15-year warranties, and should last 20-25 years if well-maintained.

@@taxicamel With a tank water heater, the scale are accumulated inside the water tank and will not clog hot water pipe. With a tankless water heater, the scale has nowhere to go but into the hot water pipe causing clog issue. For this reason, when compared to tank water heaters, the tankless water heaters do have a "DOWNSIDE" as described in this video. Also, the scale build up DOES come hot water heater as the video suggested. Minerals dissolved in water does not clog water pipe. The minerals in water only causes problem when it can no longer be dissolved in water and become scale. Heating cold water containing minerals will cause the minerals in water to become scale.

There are many countries that are far more experienced in the use of tankless water heater systems than North America. These systems, point-of-use and central, have been used for four, five, six decades or more in other countries. Japan doesn't even employ the use of central how water tanks. Never has. The point is other countries are well aware of the use of tankless systems. .

They faxed the music down during the spoken parts.

Be very careful of what you see and hear. This one video is NOT correct in many ways. You might garner SOME information from "these videos" ....but do NOT assume everything is correct. Remember ....this is KZfaq. It is completely open to ANYONE who wants to make a video ....and perhaps more importantly ....wants to try to make money. For instance, the inference in the titling and descriptor is that the low pressure is due to the "tankless water heater", which is in fact incorrect. The low pressure is due to the results of HARD WATER over time. Absolutely NOTHING to do with any kind of water heater. So be careful about what you think your watching .....particularly if your knowledge base is not very high on what your watching. .

Sediment filters are very perhaps needed in that area. You need to know WHERE your water is coming from before being concerned or wondering about "MINERALS". In general terms, being in the mountains, very possibly, or more likely, your water is soft water with absolutely minimal concern with "minerals". You should find out from the municipality ....unless of course your water is artesian. Either way, find out the condition of the water before potentially wasting time and money. .

CORRECT!!!! This is one of the INCORRECT INFERENCE this guy is making ....that the low pressure is a "downside" of tankless water heaters ....which is completely INCORRECT .....along with other inferences he makes that give the completely WRONG IMPRESSION to people who are not familiar with plumbing. That's what many KZfaqRS do. .

Wouldn’t it still slowly catch in the other screens as well?

Great idea! You can add a water filter that uses a cartridge. I installed one before the water enters the tankless water heater to eliminate any sediment from entering the system.

johnscloud oh yeah! A soft water system will filter it right out!

@@Rockwell108 Well I would Not prefer a soft water system over a simple water cartridge filter system since this type of system will raise your salt levels (excess salt intake). I have had a soft water system decades ago. Has the soft water system stopped using salt?

@@zeroumashi2947 Thank You for the link! This looks like abetter idea in place of salt. I found a unit at Home Depot for $170.00, It lasts up to 2 years before the cartridge needs to be replaced. Cartridge replacement approximately $100.00. That makes rplacement costs at about $50.00 a year. Again thanks for the link!

ive designed a handfull of POE RO systems for small public water systems. its horribly expensive... im happy it worked out for you, but its just not a viable option for most folks. the pretreatment and post treatment requirements are very expensive as well... and if you are working on radioneuclide abatement( aqueous radium for example), you then have to pay quite a lot of money to test and dispose of RO membranes. btw, what are you doing for post treatment? RO water can be fairly corrosive. I usually spec an upflow calcite contactor with provisions for a CO2 sparging system later on after testing.

You are right about the expense. I was lucky enough to catch some of the US Water Systems sales at ~25% off. It is basically all axeon exquipment and membranes. Pre treat is a softener with catalytic carbon to remove chlorine/ chloramine and eliminate the need for antiscalant. We got pretty lucky with the output. With as hard and basic as the feed water was, by the time we treat, It is basically perfectly PH balanced, with 2-5ppm TDS from softened water in stead of straight to the RO system. Didn't need a calcite for pre or post. No need for degassing in my case. I have a atmospheric permeate tank, fill from bottom with booster pump driving the house. (double check valve on permeate line). Water passes through UV then 1 micron filter before making its way back into the main line. Honestly, total system cost with ~1500 GPD spec was $4500 for RO and pump/ tank + $1250 for softener. The membranes have lasted 2 years so far with less than 1ppm increase in TDS post treatment. Water is currently 25 gpg hardness + a long list of other dissolved solids, known carcinogenic compounds, and pesticides, so definitely took a big system to get it clean. POU systems have their benefits especially in terms of cost, but when you are inhaling aerosolized rocket fuel in the shower (APCP and PBAN from old test sites right in the middle of the feed river), it is kind of a moot point to even have. I am so far looking at ~15 year system life based on current wear. I think $500/ year with all costs included is worth it. Not everyone looks at long term cost though... Instant gratification is the mentality of most people these days. I love how far off our published water quality tests are. They measure the water used to feed the reservoir, but not post storage. Last year, it was off by almost double when we paid to get it tested.

John Doe I installed a small RO system years ago, but when I move to FLA, I’ll put in a whole house model,, Eg; when people come over, they can’t get over the CLEAR ICE CUBES !! No minerals..

John Doe unfortunately he was comparing DI water which IS CORROSIVE, and NOT FOR DRINKING, at a Pharmaceutical co in NJ where I worked for a few years,,the ONLY USE FOR DI water was for humidifiers in certain refrigerated cabinets, was ONLY RUN IN SS , no copper,.but they made USP water, and some other specialty uses, but you can’t beat an RO SYSTEM

TexasPrepper2 I have not used them as of yet, but there are good ones out there

It sounds like you know very little about heating water throughout your entire comment ....and less about tankless systems ....and absolutely nothing about water condition. .

I must admit I’m in a stage of fascination with plumbing right now. Have another publishing tomorrow

magnetic parts bowl is always a win

Good point. I do like a good high performance tank

For next time to save $300, you can remove the old tank yourself, it's really easy, then take it to a scrap yard and they pay you to take it.

I bought it from Sears. I understand it is manufactured by O.E.Smith. Of course this was nine years ago, I'm sure the price has gone up.

schottley Thanks for the advice. The $300 was for installation of the new one as well. But, I'm no good at this sort of thing.

i have a deep COLD water well. i have wondered how efficient a lp tankless would actually be trying to get that up to temp

Sean Norman Havine being born in a British colony,,as far back as 1950 we had a British brand “ASCOT” , point of use propane units, or sized for the entire home., came to the USA, in 1959,,then in a few years saw a similar unit ‘PALOMA ‘ where they were being used for baseboard heating, they were bought by RHEEM., but that technology was quite old.

If water gets shut off at least you have your tank full.

I waited the whole video for this.

Because he didn't fix the problem, thats why

@Tom Varrette the tankless water hearer is where the calcium deposits starts to form The calcium eventually breaks away and flows to the filter sreens throughout the house slowing down and or stopping the water flow. I just cleaned my sreens the other day. I really need to clean my tankless water heater. I love our tankless water heater but it is an issue we have to deal with....

@Tom Varrette thanks for your input. I am on well water. In the past before my tankless I would also get sand occasionally clogging my faucet strainers. I have since installed a water filter that holds back sediment and I no longer have that paticular issue. What I do have is calcium build up / breakaway since I stalled my tankless. Some of my family tend to take long HOT showers and that exsaperates the problem. I was reading another comment here about adding a strainer after the tankless. So I think I just might add a water filter (cartridge) after the tankless and see if that will help...

Hello, professional plumber here (from Jersey) What he said in this video is certainly not "BS". What you're suggesting only treats the symptom - not the problem. Clean just the screens and problem will repeat with weeks/months (plus you might be left without hotwater due to excess scaling in the heat exchanger) You're welcome

A good plumber would have let the water pressure off at the sink, before taking that valve off the shower. I'm still not sure what he is selling, his work, or the cleaning and a regular basic. I read where someone recommend flush them once a year, I guess a regular service call , a plumber once a year, Time so many costumers, is a lot of money per year. I sure would get another opinion before listening to him for advice. Notice he didn't show what was in the bucket when he finished either, just dumped it out.

Shoot! That would have made a good ending. Next time

how can u be poor and rich at the same time?

@@dangda-ww7de it's called "rich in debt"

no, its poor person. @@sinephase

@@dangda-ww7de It means they seem rich but they have so much debt that all the money they make is going to pay off their debts, which makes them "poor"

Interesting concept! I've pumped vinegar into all my plumbing lines & fixtures, but worked from the basement "up" (not all fixtures had an easily accessible connection point). Plus, working from the basement meant I didn't need to move the equipment (i.e., pail of vinegar, pump, lines) once hooked up. Otherwise, using gravity would have been helpful! Since I had to pump the vinegar up 3 floors, I needed a pump that could produce enough head. I also needed a second person to open one side of each fixture at a time while I started/stopped the pump and opened/closed the corresponding service valve (hot/cold). We communicated by phone. I coloured the vinegar with food colouring so it was obvious when each line was full (since the smell wasn't obvious enough). It took some coordination to close the fixture valve, stop the pump, and close the service valve (so the vinegar didn't drain out) once each line was full (there's that gravity thing...lol). Then I let it sit for ~6 hours and that was enough to fully clear all blockages. I used almost 4 gallons of vinegar to completely fill ALL pipes (hot & cold). I have now installed a softener w/pre-filter so hopefully I won't have to flush the lines again, though I will still flush the tankless annually. We never had any issues when we had a traditional hot water tank, so that tells me that all we really needed was someplace for the minerals/sand/etc to drop out...though the soft water is nice. (Our hardness is 17 gpg.)

Flinch I did that on outlet of my water softener, , FIRST never use those pleated paper water filters, I had one come apart plugging each faucet, never again, then the resin bed filter came apart, did same thing, changed softener, but a brass y type filter was installed , got that a plumbing supply, LOEWS, HD , don’t carry these things.

@@flybyairplane3528 I'd be afraid to use paper too: it might work, but would that mean changing it out every month without exception? I've never tried it. For most water systems, spun polyester cartridges seem to work fine, but the high temp coming off a water heater might be an issue that caused your premature delamination? Seems to me 99% of water filters out there are not designed for hot water service, which makes a [bronze or CPVC body] strainer the most reliable/least maintenance even if it lets super small particles through - a 200 mesh will probably let anything smaller then 75 microns through and a 300 gets 50 microns for example. If the building was not protected by a filter on it's supply, I sure would put a polyester type before the heater if it comes unequipped. When city water has problems, their repairs can take a long time or are just a band aid on a stab wound [like grouting the inside of cracked mains pulling in dirt with a venturi effect at certain joints].

Sounds like a great idea, but a whole house filter is useless against hard water. Water softener, or heater treater filter are the only two things that will protect your tankless. Also when flushing a tankless, there are as many as two internal screens located within the tankless water heater that must be cleared prior to, and after, cleaning.

Hilarious. Yes. Great idea. I’ll work on that for 2018.

Bruce A g

Dave Tobara no the ‘pump’ they suggest is a tiny flow as compared with the others , to prevent that from happening.

If u installed a softener wouldn't that help?

@@davetobara5591 from what i hear, yes. However being retired and on a fixed income, a water softener is a luxury. Although after watching this i have plans to i stall ports that will alow me to flush the heater on a regular basis. I can do that myself and should have al the materials on hand.

Some have automatic heaters. No pipes bursting in winter.

Klaa2 we have water pips out side of the homes in Oklahoma

Klaa2 you need to go to London UK,,homes there are few centuries old, so ALL PIPESate EXTERNAL,,including sewer pipes, they need to use a small water pump to boost the intake to the house.

When I moved to NC I saw several houses with exposed plumbing in garages. I has a water heater and softener in mine. My neighbors thought I was crazy to put an insulated box around them and put a heater set at 40F. Until that winter when we beat our record of hours, and I do mean hours, below freezing. The record before was 26 hours... we set it at 87 hours back during that big freeze in 1993. Everyone was coming to our house for showers for a week! To be fair, the new #2 record has never been set, so people just say I jinxed it!

To me that is nuts, one random cold snap even in warmer climate and your pipes will freeze

Im unfamiliar with that brand of wrench. Are they available in Arizona and what are the benefits?

Roof Repair Techs knipex makes some great tools

Dave Tobara I bought mine years ago in an HVAC/R supply, but they might sell that to you as they do not sell to the public.as routine, but a tool may fly.

Good point. I’m only thinking local to me

Matt Risinger This vid was informative . Wish there was more info on the process ,but I'm sure there are more vids on this specifically. I've only done a handful of these on demand units. I'm not a huge fan , but its only personal preference. I really liked that lvl house . always wondered if it was possible to use it for studs and not just for beams. Anyways , good job on the vids . till the next one .

J.D. Willemsen Yes they make units here in USA,,which does the same thing domestic HW, or ‘and household comfort .

R there benefits in using salt in your softener instead of potassium? Other price difference?