Quote:
Originally Posted by jojoturf
How about tankless water heaters outside? Should they be covered against cold nights? Signed, Newbie….
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Cold Weather and Your Tankless Water Heater: How to Prevent Freezing
During cold weather tankless water heaters need extra care. Even water heaters installed indoors could be prone to cold weather complications. Most manufacturer warranty's do not cover damage caused by freezing.
However, many manufacturers, such as Rinnai and Rheem have built-in some type of freeze protection which allows the unit to protect itself when temperatures fall below freezing.
Rinnai tankless water heaters have two lines of defense to protect them from cold weather and prevent freezing. The primary protection for a Rinnai heater, is the addition of ceramic heaters which are placed on the heat exchanger and other internal parts, as well as water lines. These ceramic heaters fire-up when the temperature drops into the low 30's and prevent the internal parts from freezing.
If the ceramic heaters fail for any reason, or the temperature drops too fast, a secondary freeze protection method is also built-in. This system utilizes a sensor inside the unit which determines if the tankless is below freezing. If the sensor is triggered it'll automatically turn the unit on for a few seconds and continue to cycle the heater on-and-off until the threat of freezing has past.
Both of these methods provide freeze protection to the Rinnai unit as long as both electrical power and gas is available to the unit. Be sure to check your owners manual for details on your specific tankless.