Filters- Tankless?

[karoc]

Look what greeted me at gate when came home from working on retirement home.
To my never ending questions, I was wondering if I needed to add some kind of water filtration to supply side of tankless? Only on tankless, nothing else, Water to place is city water, but it’s small town. So really don’t know quality of drinking water, neighbors not complaining.

 

[Leaflessshadetree]

What are you trying to filter out?

 

[PCustoms]

I'm lost, what's in the box?

Is this a continuation of some other thread I'm supposed to know about?

 

[Wiz02]

Before spending money, I would have asked for a water quality report. Our water utility sends rate payers a newsletter with water quality data.

 

[manwithtools]

I'm lost, what's in the box?

Is this a continuation of some other thread I'm supposed to know about?

Tankless water heater...

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/tankless-selections.530716/

 

[PCustoms]

Tankless water heater...

https://www.garagejournal.com/forum/threads/tankless-selections.530716/

Thanks.

I love simultaneous threads.

 

[karoc]

Sorry for being confusing, I thought title was enough. Keep in mind that where moving is small town with population of little over 1000. Which is why asking about filters, for tankless while it is drinkable. What I’m wondering is when they shut water off for any reason that maybe will get dirt in lines or whatever. Hope this clears up the confusion that I created

 

[PCustoms]

Sediment in your lines (for whatever reason) is bad in general and will kill fixtures over time. Whole house filters are cheap.

Tankless are affected by hard water/mineral deposits.

Did you do a water test on the other thread?

 

[karoc]

Thanks for replying, I did not test we had ask but water district or GM is what called didn’t seem to have that info or wanted to share. Talk with neighbors down road who has tankless and they haven’t had any problems. But I want to play it on safe side do what I can to help protect this investment.

 

[Firebrick43]

Thanks for replying, I did not test we had ask but water district or GM is what called didn’t seem to have that info or wanted to share. Talk with neighbors down road who has tankless and they haven’t had any problems. But I want to play it on safe side do what I can to help protect this investment.

Water test are $20 or so fo a basic one. $80 for a full panel which you don’t need being on town water. Most county health departments will test water

A filter such as Big Blue will do just fine for sediment but you need to find if you have dissolved minerals in the water. That is what will really hobble a tankless heater.

 

[PCustoms]

For sediment

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00910U0PA?tag=atomicindus08-20

For scale

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NKETXQ?tag=atomicindus08-20

For a general idea what you're dealing with for hardness

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DIJ0W30?tag=atomicindus08-20

 

[karoc]

Thanks PCustoms and Firebrick43 going check into will check into county health. I had no idea they do that. I was under the impression had get town water district. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t volunteer that information

 

[Firebrick43]

Thanks PCustoms and Firebrick43 going check into will check into county health. I had no idea they do that. I was under the impression had get town water district. I didn’t understand why they wouldn’t volunteer that information

Because they probably don’t know. Water can pick things up on the way to your house and even the piping in your house. Testing the water that comes out of your houses tap is the only way to say for sure on the quality of your water.

 

[PCustoms]

I would assume that a public supply is required to report something on an annual basis.

At least for health. Might not include mineral content

 

[housewolf]

Unless your water is “off the charts whacky” flushing the unit with vinegar annually should take care of any buildup.

If you feel like you have issues with your water, Texas A&M will do a test (mail them a sample) for ~$25. That’s likely the most comprehensive and economical test you’ll find. Don’t let a salesman test your water. Get the results of the test to a reputable water treatment equipment supplier and they can guide you through the process of filteration, softeners, RO, etc…

I’m waiting on my test results now. I’ve got every symptom of hard water but my water doesn’t test hard. I’ll likely be installing a filteration system of some sort in the future. Throwing a generic filter in your system may or may not take care of a specific problem.

Notice I said REPUTABLE. The water treatment equipment industry is as bad as vinyl siding, replacement windows, and used cars put together.

FWIW; I sent a sample from a customer to my treatment guy once and his recommendation was, move. He said it in jest but it did cost the guy several thousand dollars to cure his issues (I don’t recall the specifics). I hope that won't be his recommendation for me!

 

[Jackfre]

You should be aware of the water chemistry to get good life out of the unit. Read your manual for limits. The cold inlet will have a filter on it. You will have the water off for the install. Once you fire the unit up run it for a while then shut it off, pull the in-line filter and clean it of any debris that is dislodged by the inrush of water. It is common on start-up to move pipe dope, teflon tape and general dirt into the filter And it can restrict output. Check the filter on occasion to get a sense of how clean the city water is.
I had some areas in my territory where I tried to prevent sales of tankless. Waitsfield, VT could plug a unit in months of normal operation. I think they drank liquified granite there.

 

[yatg]

At the very least, a whole house filter keeps incoming grit out of your house water.

Consider using the larger 4.5x10 filters. Example:

Amazon.com

 

[manwithtools]

At the very least, a whole house filter keeps incoming grit out of your house water.

Consider using the larger 4.5x10 filters. Example:

Amazon.com

For a whole house, I'd use the 20" filters and clear housings. That way you can see the state of the filters when you walk by on your way to the car or the back yard. It will make you more likely to maintain the filter change interval.

4.5 x 20" Filter Housing

I had two of these in series in the last house. One had 5 micron, the other carbon block. They lasted about a year and we had some very mineral laden water.

 

[PCustoms]

For a whole house, I'd use the 20" filters and clear housings. That way you can see the state of the filters when you walk by on your way to the car or the back yard. It will make you more likely to maintain the filter change interval.

4.5 x 20" Filter Housing

I had two of these in series in the last house. One had 5 micron, the other carbon block. They lasted about a year and we had some very mineral laden water.

I use the 3m filters I linked about, wish I had gone larger diameter but I think I got the housings super cheap.

1st filter for sediment, 2nd filter is carbon, which probably isn't needed as I'm on a clean well.

I try to change in spring/fall, but if I forget the decrease in water pressure is eventually noticable and a good reminder.

 

[Sumboodie]

For sediment

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00910U0PA?tag=atomicindus08-20

For scale

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B000NKETXQ?tag=atomicindus08-20

For a general idea what you're dealing with for hardness

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B00DIJ0W30?tag=atomicindus08-20

Get a proper water hardness test kit. Those strips have always been inaccurate when I've tried them.

 

[reader2580]

If you think you need a filter I would install a filter for the whole house.

 

[Stuart in MN]

Regardless of the size of the town, they should have a water quality report that is available to residents.

 

[reader2580]

The local larger water conditioning dealers already knew the hardness and iron content for the local municipal water systems. They might tell you if you asked, although just as easy to contact the local water utility.

 

[manwithtools]

The local larger water conditioning dealers already knew the hardness and iron content for the local municipal water systems. They might tell you if you asked, although just as easy to contact the local water utility.

They also know how to separate you and your money

 

[reader2580]

They also know how to separate you and your money

I wasn't saying to buy anything from them. I did say it might be easier to call the water utility instead.

I'll admit I have a Kinetico water softener and K5 drinking water system, but I went to them and I wasn't pressured into buying. I bought a used Kinetico water softener for my previous house and had it refurbished by the local Kinetico dealer. I had $800 into it, and Kinetico gave me $1000 for it because the owner said he could use it in a rental he owns. (It was too small for current house.)

I went through several water softeners at my previous house and Kinetico just works although not cheap. The K5 drinking water system also just works and can be remote mounted. The online reviews on the K5 drinking water system never say anything bad except the price. The $200 to $300 RO systems mostly leak after a few years if you believe all the bad reviews. I am almost ten years in on my Kinetico system and zero issues to date.

 

[DrinkMan]

If Hemphill, Texas is your location, here are the annual water quality reports for the last decade. Don't see water hardness in the report.
https://www.cityofhemphill.com/util...uality-report-consumer-confidence-reports2021

Generally, according to most water hardness maps, East Texas tends to have softer water than the rest of Texas. If you look at charts from companies that sell water softeners, they call it "slightly hard" because their charts don't acknowledge soft water.

Here is the official chart from the US Gov't:

 

[karoc]

Wow Drinkman, that is neat and thanks for posting pic. I was getting nervous about not doing water sample test before made purchase.
Yes I’m in Hemphill,Tx so perfect

 

[DrinkMan]

Wow Drinkman, that is neat and thanks for posting pic. I was getting nervous about not doing water sample test before made purchase.
Yes I’m in Hemphill,Tx so perfect

I didn't like the Chloramine levels on your water quality report. Not from a safety standpoint but from a taste standpoint. EPA requires the reports to demonstrate that the water is safe, not good tasting. Chloramine at 1 ppm is rather high (and common, I think EPA likes between 1 and 4 ppm, which interesting enough is the same levels recommended for swimming pools). But luckily, very easy to fix for taste. A simple NSF 42 filter will take care of the off-taste. Heck, a Brita pitcher will fix it nicely. I'd do a point-of-use small drinking filter (like an under sink filter with a dispenser, about 100 to 150) and use a NSF 42 class 1 filter cartridge (prefer a 1 micron but 10 micron would probably taste fine). Your refrigerator dispenser with a properly changed water filter would probably fix the taste issues.

Note - as far as you tankless, check the recommended water specs from the manufacturer of the tankless (not the salesman, distributor, or anyone that sells water softeners) to see what they recommend.