Tankless Hot Water Heater Problems And Reviews

Question: Could something in my house cause my tankless hot water heater to stop working?

(Posted by: Kimber on 2009-10-20 09:26:22)

I bought a tankless hot water heater less than 3 years ago and it has stopped working. I sent it back to the company who claims that they fixed it. It worked for less than two weeks, then stopped working again. After going round and round with the company, they said it must be something in my house that is causing it to stop working. It is a gas tankless hot water heater with an electric ignition. Does anyone know what in my house could cause it to stop working? Of course she wouldn't answer that question for me. Also, what is the average lifespan of a tankless hot water heater. I have heard twice as long as a traditional tank water heater.

Posted by: chabbycat on 2009-10-23, 23:34:55

There is one more possibility why this unit isn't working properly...Are you currently living in a high altitude rated environment? Many of these tank-less water heaters have special circuit boards or other means of adjustments to accommodate high altitude installations...You'll have to contact your model's manufacturer, one more time, to request any adjustments necessary for proper operation....Good Luck !!!

Posted by: ec1177 on 2009-10-20, 09:35:18

Read your warranty carefully. Hopefully you are still covered. It sounds like the person you talked to does not have a clue. Make lots of noise. The squeaky wheel always will get the grease.

Posted by: fortyniner on 2009-10-20, 09:52:36

About the only thing in your house that could cause your tank not to work would be no supply of gas. Check your warranty and see if you are still covered under it. Sounds like the ignition switch is not working correctly. If you are still covered under warranty get it back to them before your coverage ends or you will be spending more out of pocket money you may not need to be spending. If they give you the run a round tell them maybe you need to check with the better business bureau.

Posted by: hollifieldrobert on 2009-10-20, 10:07:08

It needs three things to work gas air electric is all the duct work for it properly installed ? but your probally getting the run around

Posted by: Chris on 2009-10-20, 12:56:57

Maybe the gas line could be undersized, dirty, or the pressure is not set correctly. Maybe it wasn't piped correctly, but I doubt it. It also needs to be properly vented. If your voltage is low because you live in a rural area it's possible some components could malfunction, but I doubt that also. More than likely the water heater is crap and the company is tired of spending money to fix them. It's pretty typical for companies to not take responsibility for their cheap crap made in Mexico ot China. Chances are that it's their responsibility to fix it under the warranty, but they figure that they will make it as difficult as possible for you to get that done. I would threaten to call the Better Business Bureau, the Attorney General, the company who sold it to you, and the Consumer Protection Agency. If they don't respond with the appropriate action then make the calls. I would be in a hurry too. Chances are they will try to avoid you like the plague until the warranty expires then act like they never heard from you before.

Posted by: Peter W on 2009-10-20, 14:13:11

What brand is it? We have a Bosch unit that gave us fits initially until the electronics package was replaced. Since then it has been fine and trouble-free. But that was five years ago. Mostly, it is either the flow-switch sensor, the pilot valve or the main-valve thermocouple in no particular order. And if you have installed the unit without a drip on the gas line you may have a sticky pilot valve. If you have an induced-draft unit, it could also be a partial flue blockage - maybe a nest or something in the exhaust port. Make sure that the flue is clear. And, of course, verify that there is power to the unit as well as gas flow - the valve is On. What you can do: Start water flow and see if the pilot starts. If not, you have a faulty flow-switch. In some cases very hard water or water with a lot of silt and sediment in it can cause this. If so, you will need to install a filter and/ or softener to prevent future occurrences. But mostly it is simply a faulty valve. If the pilot light starts but the main burner does not, it is either a faulty gas valve or thermocouple. If you are careful and understand exactly what you are doing, you can use a hand-held propane torch very briefely on the thermocouple (little cylinder sticking into the pilot flame) to see if that releases the main valve. If it does, that is the problem. If not, you have a bad valve or both the valve and the thermocouple are bad. When it comes to these things, stick to the big-name brands. Bosch stepped right up to fix our problems, and even offered to replace the unit entirely if we wished. There was no nonsense about returning the old one first, either. As they agreed that I had the skills and back-up to do the electronics replacement, they simply sent me that package. Worked like a charm. They did not want the old part back.

Posted by: wolfatrest2000 on 2009-10-22, 04:51:46

The only thing in your house that could stop it working would be a power supply failure. Sounds like they're giving you the run around. Tell them you want a new unit since this one is obviously defective.