Matt, I'm in South Carolina where it almost never freezes. Your video on thawing out the Rinnai water heater using a hair dryer worked great today (on Christmas Eve!). You saved our Christmas Eve family dinner and Christmas Day festivities. Many thanks. - Steve D.
I’m in Charleston and had a gas tankless installed on the exterior last year this time after my old water heater in the attic ruptured and flooded the 2nd floor guest bedroom down to the foyer. Today like you, I woke up with no hot water. Matt to the rescue! Merry Christmas Everyone 🎄❤️🙏🏻
Steve! Yess!!! Matt saved a whole lot of people today!!! i watched the first part of the video and did not want to go to lowe's.... THEN the hairdryer hack... i went right outside so excited..didnt even put a coat on... and IT WORKED!! I just laughed and was so grateful.. forget talking about the presents... im raving over this hairdryer thaw to everyone!!!!!!! i wanted to go door to door to let people know....LOLOLOL!!! have a good one !!!!!!!
I'm in Texas & new to tankless water heaters. My heater lines froze. Unfortunately I didn't see your video until after mother nature thawed them. I had already opened all my hot water lines with success in mid afternoon. Your video reinforced my common sense & added good prevention. Thank you!
Yes, will be installing heat tape but unfortunately it got down to -2 degrees here in Texas and power was out >24 hours so I don’t think it would have prevented my unit from freezing and bursting.
@@dasansgunner Same here in Dallas. All my neighbors are replacing external water heaters. Some with minor leaks (a few spots dripping, while others are just gushing). Horrible.
Thank you for your advice on how to defrost my tankless water heater, I followed your instructions and within 3 minutes my hot water began to flow, you have a new follower indeed 😊
I'm in Michigan and a lot of homes, at least in the south central portion, have the water meters inside with a remote reading system on the outside of the house. Tankless water heaters mounted outside of the home? No way in Hell!
Same in the UK, everything is inside. It dropped to -20 degrees science (-4f), no issues this year. Watching with horror as in-laws in Houston have no water, electric or cell for days!
Oof there's some issues here and one of the biggest is that the heat cable should never touch itself (i.e. you can't just coil up extra or run loops where the cable intersects) IT CAN AND WILL MELT. The directions and warnings are clearly indicated on the packaging. Another issue is that no mention was made of the sensor/thermostat control that is built into the cable. It turns the cable on once temperatures drop to a set degree. This sensor therefore should NOT be placed in a heated space, it needs to be exposed to wherever the cold temperatures originate from for the cable to come on and function properly. Obviously as Matt said, this method only works if your power is on, sorry Texas.
This video was a huge help this week as this was my first house with a tankless water heater. We woke on Monday to no hot water, but at least we had cold. I have a couple of added "tricks." I had a 1500 (very hot) air gun and a laser-pointing thermometer to check the temperature at various points. I took off the lower door to expose the cleaning valves and inlet and outlet pipes and then used some aluminum foil and duct tape to recover them with a hole for the hot air gun. I then used the hot air gun to warm the whole area using the thermometer to make sure nothing was getting too hot and to know when I was done. I also made sure the hot air gun was not aimed directly at any plastic and it was a few inches from the hole just to be safe. It got everything in the area up to about 50 degrees F but still no joy so I figured it was either not "it" or it was fixed. I also check the temperature inside the hot water heater itself and it was fairly warm (I think above 60F), so I knew the unit was protecting itself. It turns out, the water lines to and from the heater ran in a wall chase on an outer wall of the garage next to the water heater. I drilled a 1" hole in the garage wall and filled that chase for about 10 minutes with hot air and with the crackling of ice sound, the hot water heater fired up and the hot water was fixed. The key point here is that it is not just the pipes you see under the water heater, but the ones to and from it that are likely running in an outer wall that you have to make sure are not frozen. Looking back, I was most worried about the lines in the attic. But with the furnace in the attic and sun out and helped along by a 1500W room space heater, the pipes in the attic were getting above 40 degrees even with 10 degrees outside by the afternoon (first thing in the morning they were in the 20s). It was the pipes just below the water heater and the pipes in the wall chase that were my big culprits. I'm going to put a removable cover over the hole in the chase with the pipes so I can pump hot air in if they ever freeze again. Hopefully, it will not happen again as we will run some trickles of water any time it gets much before freezing.
@James Doolittle Wow 1765 that is old. in my area buildings are only about 120 years old max. Yes maybe no hot baths but they surely used hot water for cleaning. it is always neat to see the first bathroom addition on old houses.
@James Doolittle that is really interesting. I would like to visit there sometime. When people build with wood frames I joke and remind them that it is temporary construction. How long do wood frame houses last?
My rescue man Mr. Matt. Thanks a lot from a non--handyman...a scientist from Texas... My wife found your video and i took your advise as our holly book... Geeta... It took me just 20 min at 16 deg outside temp (and not having hot water for 2 days and limited time having electricity),, it worked...Wolla..Thanks and Nameste from all our family... Thanks again,
An alternative to duct tape is self-fusing silicone rubber tape. It is almost like electrical tape that only seals to itself. It is very heat and cold resistant and it doesn't break down like duct tape. It also doesn't leave a sticky residue when you remove it.
Same as Steve, this was perfect quick fix on Christmas Eve in SC that saved me from the wrath of no hot water! Thanks! Perfect solution with hair dryer and worked in about 10 minutes.
"As long as the power is on at your house..." It might be time for southern states to make a change, in practice and code, to stop cutting corners and actually build for the weather they MIGHT get, not the weather they typically have. e.g., anything water related on/in an exterior wall.
Does it make financial sense to build homes for winter conditions that have not happened in 100 years? I guess it depends on how much more home buyers would have to pay for protection against once in a hundred years type Weather.
@@Nflguy4949 The "has not happened in 100 years" is BS, we get freezes every couple years in Texas, though obviously the current one is much worse. Mounting the heater outside to save a square foot or two when it could easily be mounted inside seems like the height of penny wise and pound foolish.
Thank you. we are in VA., same as S.C. our hot side frooze, the cold worked. I didn't think anything of it. We went for Christmas dinner, our cold froze, our water filter in our tankless froze. Then I just turned on your video, a day late. I know for next time!
Matt, thank you from Chapel Hill, NC. Had tankless for years and this is the first time I've had that problem. Worked great. I greatly appreciate your videos. Happy Holidays!!
The trickle of hot water has got to be the key. But I'm not sure there would have been much we could do besides drain the thing since we lost power for the three coldest nights in the last 30 years. Ours sprung a leak in one of the pipes around the heat exchanger. the pipes at the bottom are just fine. not to mention we lost power for the three coldest nights in the last 30 years. It was just way too cold in Central Texas for the way they build.
Thank you sir. We’re in Ft. Worth and ours froze overnight. Was able to thaw it w/ a hair dryer; took about 1hr. Appreciate the advice. Hope you and the fam are staying warm.
Thanks for the heads up, even tho I'm in Delaware and we're getting snow almost weekly right now it's always good to keep learning and checking out how other subcontractors do things.
I'd consider heat tape on the pipes and insulate the box. If you read the directions, the black "knob" on the heat tape is supposed to be placed against the pipe to sense temp of the pipes.
All of these comments suggesting that you leave your water running slowly to avoid the freeze don't work too well if you are on a well and you are trying to conserve water pressure (and water) for the period that the power is cut off. That water pressure drops pretty quick in that case if you have been dripping it all along. The only thing that could help is if you have a backup generator to run the heat tape or shut down the heater and drain it until you are confident that your power is good to go.
I came back to post some more comments regarding builders, plumbers and remodelers. 20 years ago I hired one of the supposedly high end, good contractors to put in addition on a home we bought and I wanted it done before we moved in. Additionally he was to replace the entire roof on the existing home starting with sheathing. A nice man, seemed well educated building/construction and had all the right answers. And everything did turn out correctly in the end because I made them come back and fix the things that were wrong one day after the mistakes. This man was for all intents and purposes a good contractor but he hired subcontractors that were less than reliable. As you can imagine we had issues, and a number of years later I had a leak above my family room ceiling where one roof intersected with another roof and they had shingle down into a very small valley which should have never been done. That insurance cost was $3000 plus my deductible. He even installed the wrong windows in the addition. Naturally he had to replace them and they were Pella windows and the distributor told him these are not what the customer wants, he wants to match the windows that are in the existing portion of the home. I could go on for an hour. If you don’t know what right hire someone who does the watch the construction and look it over every day at the end of the day. As one final note when the plaster board hanger showed up, some of the insulation done the day before was not right and he had to get the insulating contractor back to fix it you can imagine how thrilled he was.
Meanwhile here in Phoenix, AZ, We are hitting 78 and flirting with the 80's. You people and your cold weather. I love that the coldest winter for us is maybe 2 nights of freezing and day time temps in the 70's and 80's.
Thank you this video really helped me out today, when I woke up and found my RL94ef frozen, I also used a heating pad for 3 hours around the bottom pipes, when tempt drop to 16 degrees in SC. Thank you stay safe!
Even in southern Florida, putting this outside is a stupid idea. It's not going to last as long exposed to the elements. These are so small that you're not gaining much space inside the house.
I was thinking the same thing. Why would you put it outside even in a tropical climate? I'm guessing humidity would just destroy it over time and really shorten its life.
@@explorenaked my house has a detached garage. We had the water heater in the attic. That is dumb. So, when it came time, we replaced with a tankless. Short of taking an entire closet over and tearing out ceilings to run the venting, we had zero choice. Now, if you insulate the lines through the wall, not just run it up to the wall, freezing is not a huge issue in North Carolina.
There are many tankless water heaters (gas) within my own city block. Central Florida, the tankless heaters have been installed, some for over 10 years, on the exterior, with no issues.
I'm guessing people in the US aren't willing to have them installed on a kitchen or utility room wall, the way it's done in most of the world. Personally I like mechanical bits and piece of a home obvious and visible because 1) I like the way it looks--it's a reminder that a modern home is a machine as well as a refuge and 2) it's easier to notice if something is wrong, but my tastes are in the minority.
Typing from Florida. One point of note: most gas tankless installations are piped directly through the exterior wall. The only exposed piping is within the unit itself. If one is in a sub-zero climate, yes, installation would best be left to the interior with all of the venting and flue requirements therein. However, in Florida, the tankless system is the go-to solution for water heating. Power outage? The tankless units have a back-up battery for the pilot light. Still want to heat a 60 gallon tank of water and have it sit there and keep reheating it? Have at it, if that's your choice. Tankless (gas) options give instant heated water as it's requested without storing it in a big tank. I would never recommend a tankless for a client unless they have a gas supply.
Love the videos Matt! Are you sure you can leave the orange knob-like part with the round black button on it just hanging like you did? In the cable I use, this part contains the temp sensor, which doesn't get cold enough for the cable to kick on, unless you have the black sensor button fastened tightly to the copper pipe that you wish to heat. Just a thought. Your product might be different from what we use in Germany. Keep the videos coming! Much love!
Thanks! The hairdryer works perfectly to thaw out frozen pipes to our outside tankless water heater. Nice to have hot water again in this cray cold weather in Texas.
I have this exact same water heater, also mounted on the exterior wall. I am about 35 miles outside of Austin and we got down to zero during the recent cold weather. Built a tent over the water heater with a small electric heater underneath. It was ugly but it saved my water heater.
I have exposed pipes that go to a water softener in my garage and had to use a hair dryer on them once. I make sure the foam wrapping is in good condition every fall, but since then I also put an old blanket over them every time the temps get more than a few degrees below freezing.
Haven’t watched through the video yet but happy I found this!! My hot water is not coming out hopefully this will help me! Thank you so much I’m in Georgetown so we are really getting hit tonight with the snow
Came home from working all last night in ER to no water, apparently instantaneous water heater frozen. Have to go back to work tonight, so can't fix it today either. Will be working in it Christmas Day. Merry Christmas.
The heat tape was not installed properly with the temp sensor (black disc) against the pipe being heated. The old tape likely overheated and melted, the new will do the same if installed incorrectly again. Sometimes it pays to read instructions.
Heh. Up here in the land of -40 (well, -37 last week) I’ve got through thousands of feet of that heat tape. These days I’ve taken to installing potable-water-safe inside-the-pipe heat tape, from either Easy-Heat or Serge-Baril… saves my butt from having to get out in the lower double digits with my portable thawing rig… A garden sprayer, a kettle, and 100’ of 1/8” DOT plastic brake line… :)
Appreciate this timely video! We woke up to no hot water this morning and have an incandescent light on our heater outside, still no hot water and waiting for those forced power outages. We are only 3 weeks into owning a house for the first time! Any advice on further steps to take given we can't drive to get heat tape?
To all the haters of outside mounting of a tankless water heater, it saves potentially thousands in venting costs. My question is why not dispense with the rinnai under heater closet and just use a well insulated cooler as your pipe cover, just like you'd do with an outside spigot? Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier?
I fully agree. After having several attic installed tankless heaters I will never do it again, they are far too problematic. I currently have three heaters linked together. There's no way I was going to install three roof penetrations for all the venting so outside they went and I couldn't be happier.
Well, I'm going to shoot down my own idea having started the project. Not the idea of insulation on the outside pipes, that's key. But at least on my rinnai you have to have 12 inches of clearance below for flammable material. 2 inches for inflammable. So mineral wool seems like the best insulation, and you need metal to cover the 12 inches below, including the 2 inches where you can't even put insulation. Don't have a metal fabrication shop in my garage so might as well go with the rinnai pipe cover bc it's made to fit perfectly. Now I just wish I'd specced that on the install because I've got a gas line and a overflow coming out what will be the sides of my pipe covers. So plan for your outside tankless to have a pipe cover and insulate that sucker with mineral wool. No way those costs will add up to as much as indoor ventilation. That should keep you from having to drain it in anything but an extended power or water outage during a severe (you know, for the south) winter storm.
nah, do it the Texas way: one round each side of the house, one is of course on the north side, and the disconnect is a shitty indoor switch (all mounted on the outdoors GFCI garden circuit).
We have an externally mounted 7nit very similar to this one. It was 10 below F yesterday morning and zero problems. When it was installed we installed a short heat trace run and insulated the pipes.
When you mount them inside the house they require special double walled stainless chimney pipe for fresh and exhaust air. If you mount them outside, the air just rushes right in and the exhaust doesn't build up inside your house. I have one mounted inside my garage where the old tank was and it needed this more cumbersome chimney. when hell froze over in Texas on 2/15/2021 I was so glad mine was inside the house. have a friend who has one outside the house and it did freeze up. luckily they got it to thaw before the pipes burst.
@@TheRetrodog did u lose power? We are in cypress area and have a regular water heater in the garage. I was interested in a tankless one but wanted to know from someone who has one how they held up. Would u recommend it?
@@irmamartinez188 I do recommend a tankless water heater. I have never looked back on this decision. that being said, quality counts too. there are junk brands out there that may make you regret your decision. the one i got was a Noritz and it is about 14 years old now. it has been wonderful and I would never go back now. I also lost power repeatedly over the past few days. the tankless although it is natural gas fueled, it still has electronics that wont work when the power is out. I thought i could use a backup battery to power the electronics, but the exhaust fans were too much for my tiny backup battery. It would need something much more substantial to run that system. The never ending hot water is wonderful and I dont have to worry about a broken/leaking water tank ever again. If you are on natural gas you may need to have your gas meter swapped out to accommodate the higher gas flow rate of a tankless. the good news on my end was that the gas company swapped it out without charging me.
Strategically placing a small INCANDESCENT light bulb inside the unit would likely work as well. Many hot water heaters in SoCal are placed inside closets with a door to the exterior.
as a professional plumber.... I say open the hot water tap running small stream...not too much...just have flow of water moving...one for hot and on another sink..run the cold...
This was an exact replacement for the old one that lasted about 10 years. czcams.com/users/postUgkx7yWIKcrbA9KMHkGSfcgxW2lsjHT6B8Sh The top of my mitigation tube by my roofline was just a 90 elbow which allowed too much debris to fall down into the fan, eventually ruining it. Without this issue, I bet it would have kept running another 10 years. When I replaced this fan, I added an extra elbow joint so the top tube now it does a 180, which should solve that problem. The radon guys around here wanted to charge me a $300 diagnostic fee, then parts/labor (probably close to $600 total). I installed this all by myself in about an hour for the cost of the fan; it would probably be even easier/faster with two people. FYI the manufacturer's warranty greatly differs depending on whether you install it yourself (1 yr warranty) or have a licensed installer do it (10 yrs).
Tankless in my garage is leaking after cold snap this last few days. I had been heating tank area at base with space heater. I stopped last night. Outside Temps were 20-25 F, with garage temps at 52 F. I suspect damage to water heater. Water heater works supplying hot water to appliances and sinks, shower tec😮. But leak is internal to WH and I fear the worst, damaged pipes or parts. Had to buy a new water heater Feb. 2021. I will open up and investigate but I plan to repair if possible.
We have a rinnai outdoor tank but the internal heat protection didn't matter because we lost power for 48 hours. Now we have a broken cold line to the tank. Thought it was a simple fix with a shark bit elbow but upon further inspection, I have a seeping leak from the hot water return and now getting a code on the keypad that translates to needing a plumber to service. Hope this thing doesn't need to be replaced. Only 4 years old and always go back to your video for the annual flush because my old brain won't retain anything anymore. Going to look for the heat tape for the future. Also considering have an electrical transfer box installed so I can run a generator to certain circuits in the house including the hot water heater. What a headache. Finding a plumber is the real trick right now. 😞
I have a Noritz system. The primary and secondary heat exchangers froze so I had no water from the hot side taps, and with that no hater water. I paid $342 to watch 2 techs point heat guns at the heat exchanger for 1.5 hours. Obviously, I now know how to deal with this issue I will not a tech to come out if it happens again. I find it to be a complete and utter failure of design that the heat exchangers froze. Steer clear of the Noritz!
I've installed about 40 tankless water heaters, mostly Rheem; but more than a few other brands. I live in Colorado and have never installed one outside. The only reason I ever have considered putting one outside was so I didn't have to deal with the extensive gas line changes. In the end I always put them inside. I can see how putting them outside would be more than ok in certain regions. Thanks for the the advice, good video.
Thanks! Yes it’s really once every 5-10 years that we get a cold snap that could affect these outside units but that weather is on the way! Appreciate your support! Matt
cover that whole thing up with a 2" xps foam board painted white. obviously leave gaps for the venting, or perhaps use rockwool if the heat is an issue. not sure what code would allow. Rockwool would also be better than that black foam insulation
Tell me how that region 1 furnace handles single digit temps you’re going to see this weekend. Hope you guys have a backup generator, might suffer some power outages from the increased power draw.
Outside is more safe than inside because of carbon monoxide. You don’t have to worry about dying in your sleep if there is damage or leak. One less vent going through the roof.
@@john-smith. dead is dead! Some people sleep thru anything! Just like all the people that never change to batteries in those detectors! Outside is good! Sleep in peace or RIP.
the Texas electrical grid is designed for Texas summers where half the state is a literal dessert and the other half is a humid hell scape, the power generation won't be a problem. maybe people running into poles, etc might be a problem but not the generation of electricity
Nice. I plan on installing one outside also. I did not know you can buy the bottom box. It makes for a neater job. Does this come from Rinnai? I may use one from Navien. They make one with in internal tank which makes recirculation systems a little bit easier I believe.
I know this is 6 months old at this point. My attic-mounted tankless issue was similar, but it was my condensate drain that froze. Hair dryer worked like a charm, but had to do it each day of the storm. Heat tape purchased in case it happens again. But this was a "century storm," so hopefully not again in my lifetime.
Rinnai’s water heater failed because electricity stopped. The internal frost protection stopped. Frost protection run heat often enough to keep it going. No electricity, No igniter, no heat= heat Exchanger burst. Outside pipes fine. This is at my parents are in Austin. Rundberg area. I ordered a replacement. But electricity out for four days there is no protection. Your advice is good but we needed to drain the lines and shut it all down.
I just had unit freeze in Galveston. Pipes burst both hot water to the house and supply in the house. Lots of damage. Power off for two days. Electric tape won't work then!
Texas does not get very cold , and when it does, it only happens late night or early morning for 1 or 2 days. Outside prevent you from dying in your sleep from carbon monoxide if it becomes faulty. Don’t have to worry about venting or another hole in your roof.
@@rollandelliott the zip ties go around the insulation and the pipes are not hot enough to melt them. They would not be exposed the any part involved in heating. Because the space was so tight I used zip ties to secure the insulation last February during the freezing polar outbreak.
Hey Matt, if exterior pipes are already insulated but don't have heat tape, and the system has a recirculation mode that's running every 30 minutes, is it worth tearing off the insulation to put heat tape on when the cold snap is only going to be for a few days?
I will remind folks, Building Codes are the minimum legal standard to build a home... just because "the code" does not say you can not do something does not mean you should. I would not want my water heater on the exterior because of weather damage and rust, insects, rodents, something for kids to play with...
I tried to thaw my tankless with a hair dryer & one of the copper pipes inside the unit, ruptured! Be careful to not expose it to direct heat too quickly!
live in Texas... March (after snowmageddan) Blow drying my tankless water heater outside just doesn't seem practical, in hindsight. We were thinking of installing tankless, will stick with my LP tank, for now.
Great video! And, timely! 😉 I’m really surprised they have them mounted outside the house here north of Dallas. They are actually in a cabinet built into the exterior wall. It just does not make sense to me.
Hi Matt. Had a question for you. I've done all the things you've mentioned in your video including the one you did in 2021 and I'm still having freezing issues with my Navien tankless. Do you know if there is a way to insulate the heater unit itself? Maybe building an enclosure around it and insulating the inside of it? Heat tape is installed so my copper pipes are good but the underside pipes and the unit itself are susceptible to freezing like we experienced last month down here in Austin. Any advice?
@Matt Risinger. I'm guessing that a small stream from a hot water faucet inside the house will still work? Even if the tankless water heater doesn't kick on, the water will still be flowing through and will work on the same principle as opening a cold water faucet to keep those pipes from freezing?
Matt, I'm in South Carolina where it almost never freezes. Your video on thawing out the Rinnai water heater using a hair dryer worked great today (on Christmas Eve!). You saved our Christmas Eve family dinner and Christmas Day festivities. Many thanks. - Steve D.
I’m in Charleston and had a gas tankless installed on the exterior last year this time after my old water heater in the attic ruptured and flooded the 2nd floor guest bedroom down to the foyer. Today like you, I woke up with no hot water. Matt to the rescue! Merry Christmas Everyone 🎄❤️🙏🏻
Steve! Yess!!! Matt saved a whole lot of people today!!! i watched the first part of the video and did not want to go to lowe's.... THEN the hairdryer hack... i went right outside so excited..didnt even put a coat on... and IT WORKED!! I just laughed and was so grateful.. forget talking about the presents... im raving over this hairdryer thaw to everyone!!!!!!! i wanted to go door to door to let people know....LOLOLOL!!! have a good one !!!!!!!
I'm in Texas & new to tankless water heaters. My heater lines froze. Unfortunately I didn't see your video until after mother nature thawed them. I had already opened all my hot water lines with success in mid afternoon. Your video reinforced my common sense & added good prevention. Thank you!
Any Texan watching this after blackouts and heater leaks after the cold snap this week?😭
Yes, will be installing heat tape but unfortunately it got down to -2 degrees here in Texas and power was out >24 hours so I don’t think it would have prevented my unit from freezing and bursting.
Yes, ironically. Wish we saw it last week.
I'm in Houston and I have to replace my heater. Along with just about anyone with an external water heater in my subdivision. And there are lots.
@@dasansgunner Same here in Dallas. All my neighbors are replacing external water heaters. Some with minor leaks (a few spots dripping, while others are just gushing). Horrible.
Yup, mine busted on one of the heater coils
A rare 14F in lower Alabama, with no thaw for three days. This video helped save my family Christmas. Thank you
also in al can confirm no hot water lol
IMO, the best tip came at the end. A trickle of hot is definitely your friend!
Thank you for your advice on how to defrost my tankless water heater, I followed your instructions and within 3 minutes my hot water began to flow, you have a new follower indeed 😊
Living in Canada this blows my mind, never heard of a hot water heater outside. Same with water meter outside
I only ever saw one on a dock house in downtown Victoria BC. Still thought it was a stupid idea even there 😝
I'm in Michigan and a lot of homes, at least in the south central portion, have the water meters inside with a remote reading system on the outside of the house. Tankless water heaters mounted outside of the home? No way in Hell!
@@michiganengineer8621 in texas all of ours are posted outside. We paying for that dearly. The builder of coarse is hands off
@@u-know-this I'll bet that changes soon! At least for builders with a half-grain of common sense that is LOL
Same in the UK, everything is inside. It dropped to -20 degrees science (-4f), no issues this year. Watching with horror as in-laws in Houston have no water, electric or cell for days!
6:43 Glitch in the matrix
Freakin savage, he should tell us 10 times in a row from now on.
The black circle a foot from the connection plug needs to be flush against the pipe unfortunately this isn't done properly
Oof there's some issues here and one of the biggest is that the heat cable should never touch itself (i.e. you can't just coil up extra or run loops where the cable intersects) IT CAN AND WILL MELT. The directions and warnings are clearly indicated on the packaging. Another issue is that no mention was made of the sensor/thermostat control that is built into the cable. It turns the cable on once temperatures drop to a set degree. This sensor therefore should NOT be placed in a heated space, it needs to be exposed to wherever the cold temperatures originate from for the cable to come on and function properly.
Obviously as Matt said, this method only works if your power is on, sorry Texas.
This video was a huge help this week as this was my first house with a tankless water heater. We woke on Monday to no hot water, but at least we had cold. I have a couple of added "tricks." I had a 1500 (very hot) air gun and a laser-pointing thermometer to check the temperature at various points. I took off the lower door to expose the cleaning valves and inlet and outlet pipes and then used some aluminum foil and duct tape to recover them with a hole for the hot air gun. I then used the hot air gun to warm the whole area using the thermometer to make sure nothing was getting too hot and to know when I was done. I also made sure the hot air gun was not aimed directly at any plastic and it was a few inches from the hole just to be safe. It got everything in the area up to about 50 degrees F but still no joy so I figured it was either not "it" or it was fixed. I also check the temperature inside the hot water heater itself and it was fairly warm (I think above 60F), so I knew the unit was protecting itself.
It turns out, the water lines to and from the heater ran in a wall chase on an outer wall of the garage next to the water heater. I drilled a 1" hole in the garage wall and filled that chase for about 10 minutes with hot air and with the crackling of ice sound, the hot water heater fired up and the hot water was fixed. The key point here is that it is not just the pipes you see under the water heater, but the ones to and from it that are likely running in an outer wall that you have to make sure are not frozen.
Looking back, I was most worried about the lines in the attic. But with the furnace in the attic and sun out and helped along by a 1500W room space heater, the pipes in the attic were getting above 40 degrees even with 10 degrees outside by the afternoon (first thing in the morning they were in the 20s). It was the pipes just below the water heater and the pipes in the wall chase that were my big culprits. I'm going to put a removable cover over the hole in the chase with the pipes so I can pump hot air in if they ever freeze again. Hopefully, it will not happen again as we will run some trickles of water any time it gets much before freezing.
Awesome, we should put our bathtub and shower outside as well. My buddy did. Saves alot of interior space.
@James Doolittle Yes, indoor plumbing did not start until about 1840. We are so spoiled now with all the amenities and instant hot water.
@James Doolittle Wow 1765 that is old. in my area buildings are only about 120 years old max. Yes maybe no hot baths but they surely used hot water for cleaning. it is always neat to see the first bathroom addition on old houses.
@James Doolittle that is really interesting. I would like to visit there sometime. When people build with wood frames I joke and remind them that it is temporary construction. How long do wood frame houses last?
@James Doolittle 3 course of brick would be neat to see. that was the structure? wonder about the brick in earthquakes.
How did you come out with the blackouts, any busted pipes?
Upload: 1 day ago. Wakes up this morning to no hot water. Thank you!!!
My rescue man Mr. Matt. Thanks a lot from a non--handyman...a scientist from Texas... My wife found your video and i took your advise as our holly book... Geeta... It took me just 20 min at 16 deg outside temp (and not having hot water for 2 days and limited time having electricity),, it worked...Wolla..Thanks and Nameste from all our family... Thanks again,
An alternative to duct tape is self-fusing silicone rubber tape. It is almost like electrical tape that only seals to itself. It is very heat and cold resistant and it doesn't break down like duct tape. It also doesn't leave a sticky residue when you remove it.
Same as Steve, this was perfect quick fix on Christmas Eve in SC that saved me from the wrath of no hot water! Thanks! Perfect solution with hair dryer and worked in about 10 minutes.
This is bringing back my PTSD from that freeze 2 years ago.
"As long as the power is on at your house..." It might be time for southern states to make a change, in practice and code, to stop cutting corners and actually build for the weather they MIGHT get, not the weather they typically have. e.g., anything water related on/in an exterior wall.
Does it make financial sense to build homes for winter conditions that have not happened in 100 years? I guess it depends on how much more home buyers would have to pay for protection against once in a hundred years type Weather.
Do you prepare for Hurricanes and earthquakes? Volcanic eruptions?
@@Nflguy4949 The "has not happened in 100 years" is BS, we get freezes every couple years in Texas, though obviously the current one is much worse. Mounting the heater outside to save a square foot or two when it could easily be mounted inside seems like the height of penny wise and pound foolish.
In Iowa we don’t get 110 degree days but the houses here have the AC and insulation for them.
@@Nflguy4949 in Iowa we don’t see -50F every winter but I will say most of us are prepared for those temps.
Thank you. we are in VA., same as S.C. our hot side frooze, the cold worked. I didn't think anything of it. We went for Christmas dinner, our cold froze, our water filter in our tankless froze. Then I just turned on your video, a day late. I know for next time!
Most Tankless units require a 120 volt connection to ignite the gas fuel, it would be easy to splice in a circuit for the heat tape.
especially if it is a model that plugs in.
Matt, thank you from Chapel Hill, NC. Had tankless for years and this is the first time I've had that problem. Worked great. I greatly appreciate your videos. Happy Holidays!!
The trickle of hot water has got to be the key. But I'm not sure there would have been much we could do besides drain the thing since we lost power for the three coldest nights in the last 30 years. Ours sprung a leak in one of the pipes around the heat exchanger. the pipes at the bottom are just fine. not to mention we lost power for the three coldest nights in the last 30 years. It was just way too cold in Central Texas for the way they build.
Thank you sir. We’re in Ft. Worth and ours froze overnight. Was able to thaw it w/ a hair dryer; took about 1hr. Appreciate the advice. Hope you and the fam are staying warm.
Thanks for the heads up, even tho I'm in Delaware and we're getting snow almost weekly right now it's always good to keep learning and checking out how other subcontractors do things.
I'd consider heat tape on the pipes and insulate the box. If you read the directions, the black "knob" on the heat tape is supposed to be placed against the pipe to sense temp of the pipes.
All of these comments suggesting that you leave your water running slowly to avoid the freeze don't work too well if you are on a well and you are trying to conserve water pressure (and water) for the period that the power is cut off. That water pressure drops pretty quick in that case if you have been dripping it all along. The only thing that could help is if you have a backup generator to run the heat tape or shut down the heater and drain it until you are confident that your power is good to go.
I like the redo of the outro. If it isn't quite right, do it again! 😉
I came back to post some more comments regarding builders, plumbers and remodelers. 20 years ago I hired one of the supposedly high end, good contractors to put in addition on a home we bought and I wanted it done before we moved in. Additionally he was to replace the entire roof on the existing home starting with sheathing.
A nice man, seemed well educated building/construction and had all the right answers. And everything did turn out correctly in the end because I made them come back and fix the things that were wrong one day after the mistakes. This man was for all intents and purposes a good contractor but he hired subcontractors that were less than reliable.
As you can imagine we had issues, and a number of years later I had a leak above my family room ceiling where one roof intersected with another roof and they had shingle down into a very small valley which should have never been done. That insurance cost was $3000 plus my deductible. He even installed the wrong windows in the addition. Naturally he had to replace them and they were Pella windows and the distributor told him these are not what the customer wants, he wants to match the windows that are in the existing portion of the home. I could go on for an hour. If you don’t know what right hire someone who does the watch the construction and look it over every day at the end of the day. As one final note when the plaster board hanger showed up, some of the insulation done the day before was not right and he had to get the insulating contractor back to fix it you can imagine how thrilled he was.
Meanwhile here in Phoenix, AZ, We are hitting 78 and flirting with the 80's. You people and your cold weather. I love that the coldest winter for us is maybe 2 nights of freezing and day time temps in the 70's and 80's.
Thank you this video really helped me out today, when I woke up and found my RL94ef frozen, I also used a heating pad for 3 hours around the bottom pipes, when tempt drop to 16 degrees in SC. Thank you stay safe!
Even in southern Florida, putting this outside is a stupid idea. It's not going to last as long exposed to the elements. These are so small that you're not gaining much space inside the house.
I was thinking the same thing. Why would you put it outside even in a tropical climate? I'm guessing humidity would just destroy it over time and really shorten its life.
@@explorenaked my house has a detached garage. We had the water heater in the attic. That is dumb. So, when it came time, we replaced with a tankless. Short of taking an entire closet over and tearing out ceilings to run the venting, we had zero choice. Now, if you insulate the lines through the wall, not just run it up to the wall, freezing is not a huge issue in North Carolina.
There are many tankless water heaters (gas) within my own city block.
Central Florida, the tankless heaters have been installed, some for over 10 years, on the exterior, with no issues.
I'm guessing people in the US aren't willing to have them installed on a kitchen or utility room wall, the way it's done in most of the world. Personally I like mechanical bits and piece of a home obvious and visible because 1) I like the way it looks--it's a reminder that a modern home is a machine as well as a refuge and 2) it's easier to notice if something is wrong, but my tastes are in the minority.
It simplifies gas venting
Typing from Florida.
One point of note: most gas tankless installations are piped directly through the exterior wall.
The only exposed piping is within the unit itself.
If one is in a sub-zero climate, yes, installation would best be left to the interior with all of the venting and flue requirements therein.
However, in Florida, the tankless system is the go-to solution for water heating.
Power outage? The tankless units have a back-up battery for the pilot light.
Still want to heat a 60 gallon tank of water and have it sit there and keep reheating it?
Have at it, if that's your choice.
Tankless (gas) options give instant heated water as it's requested without storing it in a big tank.
I would never recommend a tankless for a client unless they have a gas supply.
Thank you, Matt. I also live in South Carolina and am thankful for your video.
Love the videos Matt! Are you sure you can leave the orange knob-like part with the round black button on it just hanging like you did? In the cable I use, this part contains the temp sensor, which doesn't get cold enough for the cable to kick on, unless you have the black sensor button fastened tightly to the copper pipe that you wish to heat. Just a thought. Your product might be different from what we use in Germany. Keep the videos coming! Much love!
Thanks! The hairdryer works perfectly to thaw out frozen pipes to our outside tankless water heater. Nice to have hot water again in this cray cold weather in Texas.
I have this exact same water heater, also mounted on the exterior wall. I am about 35 miles outside of Austin and we got down to zero during the recent cold weather. Built a tent over the water heater with a small electric heater underneath. It was ugly but it saved my water heater.
I have exposed pipes that go to a water softener in my garage and had to use a hair dryer on them once. I make sure the foam wrapping is in good condition every fall, but since then I also put an old blanket over them every time the temps get more than a few degrees below freezing.
Haven’t watched through the video yet but happy I found this!! My hot water is not coming out hopefully this will help me! Thank you so much I’m in Georgetown so we are really getting hit tonight with the snow
Thank you! The hairdryer worked for me!
This bro saved my life. Thanks bro!
I wrapped my pipes and valves with 6 layers of that foil bubble wrap.. works down to -13 so far.. no need for heat tape or anything else.
Thanks so much for the very useful instructions! You saved our Christmas dinner preparation! Well done :)
Came home from working all last night in ER to no water, apparently instantaneous water heater frozen. Have to go back to work tonight, so can't fix it today either. Will be working in it Christmas Day. Merry Christmas.
The heat tape was not installed properly with the temp sensor (black disc) against the pipe being heated. The old tape likely overheated and melted, the new will do the same if installed incorrectly again. Sometimes it pays to read instructions.
Very helpful, thank you for making this video.
Heh. Up here in the land of -40 (well, -37 last week) I’ve got through thousands of feet of that heat tape. These days I’ve taken to installing potable-water-safe inside-the-pipe heat tape, from either Easy-Heat or Serge-Baril… saves my butt from having to get out in the lower double digits with my portable thawing rig… A garden sprayer, a kettle, and 100’ of 1/8” DOT plastic brake line… :)
The double sign off. A rare sighting.
Ha ha ha! You made me go back and watch the end again!
Appreciate this timely video! We woke up to no hot water this morning and have an incandescent light on our heater outside, still no hot water and waiting for those forced power outages. We are only 3 weeks into owning a house for the first time! Any advice on further steps to take given we can't drive to get heat tape?
To all the haters of outside mounting of a tankless water heater, it saves potentially thousands in venting costs.
My question is why not dispense with the rinnai under heater closet and just use a well insulated cooler as your pipe cover, just like you'd do with an outside spigot? Wouldn't it be cheaper and easier?
I fully agree. After having several attic installed tankless heaters I will never do it again, they are far too problematic. I currently have three heaters linked together. There's no way I was going to install three roof penetrations for all the venting so outside they went and I couldn't be happier.
yes insulated box over the outdoor sections would make a lot of sense!
Well, I'm going to shoot down my own idea having started the project. Not the idea of insulation on the outside pipes, that's key. But at least on my rinnai you have to have 12 inches of clearance below for flammable material. 2 inches for inflammable. So mineral wool seems like the best insulation, and you need metal to cover the 12 inches below, including the 2 inches where you can't even put insulation. Don't have a metal fabrication shop in my garage so might as well go with the rinnai pipe cover bc it's made to fit perfectly. Now I just wish I'd specced that on the install because I've got a gas line and a overflow coming out what will be the sides of my pipe covers.
So plan for your outside tankless to have a pipe cover and insulate that sucker with mineral wool. No way those costs will add up to as much as indoor ventilation. That should keep you from having to drain it in anything but an extended power or water outage during a severe (you know, for the south) winter storm.
Much better easier approach is to install it in the garage. No need to make a silly outdoor install.
nah, do it the Texas way: one round each side of the house, one is of course on the north side, and the disconnect is a shitty indoor switch (all mounted on the outdoors GFCI garden circuit).
and obviously only one gate for 1 side of the house...for max inconvenience.
Or you could build a small closet to cover the unit and insulate it with a foamboard inside it if you're really worried about freezing.
Or you could simply install the heater inside the house.
@@morlamweb Exactly.
Yea that would be my long-term solution
Thanks so much for the advice! Saved us from taking a really cold shower tonight. :)
I can’t understand why people put these outside! Why! You don’t install a standard water heater outside! Makes no sense to me?
We have an externally mounted 7nit very similar to this one. It was 10 below F yesterday morning and zero problems. When it was installed we installed a short heat trace run and insulated the pipes.
When you mount them inside the house they require special double walled stainless chimney pipe for fresh and exhaust air. If you mount them outside, the air just rushes right in and the exhaust doesn't build up inside your house. I have one mounted inside my garage where the old tank was and it needed this more cumbersome chimney. when hell froze over in Texas on 2/15/2021 I was so glad mine was inside the house. have a friend who has one outside the house and it did freeze up. luckily they got it to thaw before the pipes burst.
@@TheRetrodog did u lose power? We are in cypress area and have a regular water heater in the garage. I was interested in a tankless one but wanted to know from someone who has one how they held up. Would u recommend it?
Safety and water damage prevention!
@@irmamartinez188 I do recommend a tankless water heater. I have never looked back on this decision. that being said, quality counts too. there are junk brands out there that may make you regret your decision. the one i got was a Noritz and it is about 14 years old now. it has been wonderful and I would never go back now. I also lost power repeatedly over the past few days. the tankless although it is natural gas fueled, it still has electronics that wont work when the power is out. I thought i could use a backup battery to power the electronics, but the exhaust fans were too much for my tiny backup battery. It would need something much more substantial to run that system. The never ending hot water is wonderful and I dont have to worry about a broken/leaking water tank ever again. If you are on natural gas you may need to have your gas meter swapped out to accommodate the higher gas flow rate of a tankless. the good news on my end was that the gas company swapped it out without charging me.
What a February that was. Austin was a mess. Broken pipes, sliding cars in Lakeway. No power
Thanks much! Mines frozen now. Going to follow your advice.
Where did you get the auxiliary box that hangs below the exterior mounted water heater?
I have this system in NC and we added a circulation tank to the opposite end of the house which also make hot water instant in bathrooms
Strategically placing a small INCANDESCENT light bulb inside the unit would likely work as well.
Many hot water heaters in SoCal are placed inside closets with a door to the exterior.
or halogen bulbs; more vibration resistant & reliable
That’s fine with power, but when the power goes off , still needs to have a faucet dripping inside on hot and cold side
Thanks for the video! Hair dryer got it flowing in 5 minutes
as a professional plumber.... I say open the hot water tap running small stream...not too much...just have flow of water moving...one for hot and on another sink..run the cold...
This was an exact replacement for the old one that lasted about 10 years. czcams.com/users/postUgkx7yWIKcrbA9KMHkGSfcgxW2lsjHT6B8Sh The top of my mitigation tube by my roofline was just a 90 elbow which allowed too much debris to fall down into the fan, eventually ruining it. Without this issue, I bet it would have kept running another 10 years. When I replaced this fan, I added an extra elbow joint so the top tube now it does a 180, which should solve that problem. The radon guys around here wanted to charge me a $300 diagnostic fee, then parts/labor (probably close to $600 total). I installed this all by myself in about an hour for the cost of the fan; it would probably be even easier/faster with two people. FYI the manufacturer's warranty greatly differs depending on whether you install it yourself (1 yr warranty) or have a licensed installer do it (10 yrs).
Tankless in my garage is leaking after cold snap this last few days. I had been heating tank area at base with space heater. I stopped last night. Outside Temps were 20-25 F, with garage temps at 52 F. I suspect damage to water heater. Water heater works supplying hot water to appliances and sinks, shower tec😮. But leak is internal to WH and I fear the worst, damaged pipes or parts. Had to buy a new water heater Feb. 2021. I will open up and investigate but I plan to repair if possible.
We have a rinnai outdoor tank but the internal heat protection didn't matter because we lost power for 48 hours. Now we have a broken cold line to the tank. Thought it was a simple fix with a shark bit elbow but upon further inspection, I have a seeping leak from the hot water return and now getting a code on the keypad that translates to needing a plumber to service. Hope this thing doesn't need to be replaced. Only 4 years old and always go back to your video for the annual flush because my old brain won't retain anything anymore. Going to look for the heat tape for the future. Also considering have an electrical transfer box installed so I can run a generator to certain circuits in the house including the hot water heater. What a headache. Finding a plumber is the real trick right now. 😞
The heat tape we are seeing, with a conventional plug, is not rated for continuous outdoor use.
I have never heard of these 🤦🏻♂️
This might solve my washer and dryer problem
I have a Noritz system. The primary and secondary heat exchangers froze so I had no water from the hot side taps, and with that no hater water. I paid $342 to watch 2 techs point heat guns at the heat exchanger for 1.5 hours. Obviously, I now know how to deal with this issue I will not a tech to come out if it happens again. I find it to be a complete and utter failure of design that the heat exchangers froze. Steer clear of the Noritz!
Thanks! We live in College Station and its gonna be COLD for the next few days!
I've installed about 40 tankless water heaters, mostly Rheem; but more than a few other brands. I live in Colorado and have never installed one outside. The only reason I ever have considered putting one outside was so I didn't have to deal with the extensive gas line changes. In the end I always put them inside. I can see how putting them outside would be more than ok in certain regions. Thanks for the the advice, good video.
Thanks! Yes it’s really once every 5-10 years that we get a cold snap that could affect these outside units but that weather is on the way! Appreciate your support! Matt
Many new builds ($600K+) homes in north Florida have tankless water heaters mounted outside. Many businesses have them outside too.
I was actually just thinking about this like 3 days ago 😳
cover that whole thing up with a 2" xps foam board painted white. obviously leave gaps for the venting, or perhaps use rockwool if the heat is an issue. not sure what code would allow. Rockwool would also be better than that black foam insulation
Meanwhile in Minnesota it's been -31 below the last few mornings
Tell me how that region 1 furnace handles single digit temps you’re going to see this weekend. Hope you guys have a backup generator, might suffer some power outages from the increased power draw.
Gonna be some cold people in Texas who ain't used to being cold for sure.
Outside is more safe than inside because of carbon monoxide. You don’t have to worry about dying in your sleep if there is damage or leak. One less vent going through the roof.
@@mbbigm4784 Yeah...only dumb people don't know what a carbon dioxide detector is.
@@john-smith. dead is dead!
Some people sleep thru anything! Just like all the people that never change to batteries in those detectors!
Outside is good! Sleep in peace or RIP.
the Texas electrical grid is designed for Texas summers where half the state is a literal dessert and the other half is a humid hell scape, the power generation won't be a problem. maybe people running into poles, etc might be a problem but not the generation of electricity
Great video. Thanks for the help!
Holy cow! Whole apartment blocks are being ordered to leave ALL faucets on a drip! Yes, includes indoor faucets. Oh, Texas...
Nice. I plan on installing one outside also. I did not know you can buy the bottom box. It makes for a neater job. Does this come from Rinnai? I may use one from Navien. They make one with in internal tank which makes recirculation systems a little bit easier I believe.
Very helpful video! Thank you!
I know this is 6 months old at this point. My attic-mounted tankless issue was similar, but it was my condensate drain that froze. Hair dryer worked like a charm, but had to do it each day of the storm. Heat tape purchased in case it happens again. But this was a "century storm," so hopefully not again in my lifetime.
lol century storms now happen every 7 years
It is still stupid to have it outside period.
You could add a temp plug so it only comes on during freezing weather and not waste electricity. In the south it’s freezing one day and 60 the next.
This has a built in temp monitor and only heats below 50 degrees (can’t recall the exact temp but that’s close)
Rinnai’s water heater failed because electricity stopped. The internal frost protection stopped. Frost protection run heat often enough to keep it going. No electricity, No igniter, no heat= heat Exchanger burst. Outside pipes fine. This is at my parents are in Austin. Rundberg area. I ordered a replacement. But electricity out for four days there is no protection. Your advice is good but we needed to drain the lines and shut it all down.
Yep. We made the same mistake
Thanks for the video, very helpful. Trying to figure out why in the hell anyone would install outside though. Bizarre.
I just had unit freeze in Galveston. Pipes burst both hot water to the house and supply in the house. Lots of damage. Power off for two days. Electric tape won't work then!
Texas does not get very cold , and when it does, it only happens late night or early morning for 1 or 2 days. Outside prevent you from dying in your sleep from carbon monoxide if it becomes faulty. Don’t have to worry about venting or another hole in your roof.
you know they have carbon monoxide detectors. every house should have one.
Zip ties would make attaching the heat element and insulation easier.
use metal ones, plastic might melt
@@rollandelliott the zip ties go around the insulation and the pipes are not hot enough to melt them. They would not be exposed the any part involved in heating. Because the space was so tight I used zip ties to secure the insulation last February during the freezing polar outbreak.
Hey Matt, if exterior pipes are already insulated but don't have heat tape, and the system has a recirculation mode that's running every 30 minutes, is it worth tearing off the insulation to put heat tape on when the cold snap is only going to be for a few days?
Mount it in your laundry room, furnace room, it sure doesn’t take up much space. Why would you ever mount a water heater outdoors?
If you install it outdoors you can make a video
Right, Who in their right mind would ever mount their water heater outside and I don't care where you live.
@@augustreil Texas builders. on brand new $250k houses. inspected too. *city* inspectors.
@@wim0104, Well...I guess if it's code compliant, then go for it right ?
I will remind folks, Building Codes are the minimum legal standard to build a home... just because "the code" does not say you can not do something does not mean you should. I would not want my water heater on the exterior because of weather damage and rust, insects, rodents, something for kids to play with...
I tried to thaw my tankless with a hair dryer & one of the copper pipes inside the unit, ruptured!
Be careful to not expose it to direct heat too quickly!
Hair dryer worked great 👍🏽 Didn't even remove cover. Also, too dumb and hands too cold to remove cover anyways!!!! Thanks!
live in Texas... March (after snowmageddan) Blow drying my tankless water heater outside just doesn't seem practical, in hindsight. We were thinking of installing tankless, will stick with my LP tank, for now.
Wish I saw this when u posted it..
lol NEVER put any water source on outside of your home wherever you are.
Yeah that is pretty crazy.
Thanks so much for your videos
You can add a thermostatic plug which turns on when temperature hits 32 degrees.
That type of heat cable has it built it. That's what the little orange and black plastic piece is where it transitions from black to orange.
Great video! And, timely! 😉 I’m really surprised they have them mounted outside the house here north of Dallas. They are actually in a cabinet built into the exterior wall. It just does not make sense to me.
hand hold a hacksaw blade for easy insulation cutting. 45 degree cuts for corners...
Who is dumb enough to put a water heater on the outside of the house? This should never be done for so many reasons.
Odd, Matt never mentions that installing outdoors is not only stupid but lazy.
Stupid is as stupid does.
@@robertmontgomery7158 he has mentioned it in other videos, I'm surprised to see that he has installed them outside for clients.
Here's Matt's reasoning.
czcams.com/video/P9SsMIBGn2M/video.html
In Florida, all gas tankless water heaters are installed on the exterior of the house.
In the hundreds I've seen installed, no issues.
Great video! Should I be taking any freeze precautions when installing the tankless in the attic in Austin?
Thanks man!!!
Hi Matt. Had a question for you. I've done all the things you've mentioned in your video including the one you did in 2021 and I'm still having freezing issues with my Navien tankless. Do you know if there is a way to insulate the heater unit itself? Maybe building an enclosure around it and insulating the inside of it? Heat tape is installed so my copper pipes are good but the underside pipes and the unit itself are susceptible to freezing like we experienced last month down here in Austin. Any advice?
let the water drip slower than a coffemaker,no tools no problem.
It actually depends on how cold it gets
@Matt Risinger. I'm guessing that a small stream from a hot water faucet inside the house will still work? Even if the tankless water heater doesn't kick on, the water will still be flowing through and will work on the same principle as opening a cold water faucet to keep those pipes from freezing?
@@ccadama 2d