Rheem Tankless Water Heaters: Frequently Asked Questions Answered By A Plumber | Carrollton, TX
When upgrading your home for improved efficiency with a tankless water heater, you might have several questions you want answered. This blog post explores some of the most frequently asked questions about Rheem tankless water heaters and their answers.
Question: What’s a Tankless Water Heater?
Answer: A tankless water heater is compact and ensures an instantaneous, constant hot water flow in the home. Compared to traditional tank-type water heaters, Rheem tankless water heaters are far more energy-efficient as they rule out the need to reheat stored water.
Question: How Does the Rheem Tankless Water Heating Equipment Work?
Answer: The conventional storage tank water heaters store hot water and heat water 24/7, even when you’re not using it. However, Rheem’s new generation tankless water heater technology heats water only when needed.
When you open the faucet, water passes through the Rheem tankless water heater that heats it at the temperature you’ve set on the thermostat. When the faucet is turned off, the Rheem tankless water heating apparatus is prompted to go into standby mode.
Question: How Can a Tankless Water Heater Heat Water Instantly?
Answer: When your faucet is turned on, water flow triggers the Rheem tankless water heater to turn on. Depending on which energy source you use in your home, the powerful electrical elements or gas burners will come on, heating the water rapidly as it flows through the tankless unit.
The time taken to obtain hot water is proportional to the distance traveled by the hot water from your Rheem tankless water heater to where it’s being used.
Question: Can the Device Be Installed in the Same Place My Old Hot Water Heater Was?
Answer:
Provided there is sufficient combustion air, a licensed plumber in Carrollton, TX can install a Rheem tankless water heater in your garage, attic, utility room, basement, or on the outside wall. Also, the plumber could still install them in places where your typical tank-style water heater might not fit.
The thermostat can be placed in any room in the home. However, in deciding the location of your tankless water heater, always consult the product’s use and care manual for proper and safe installation.
Question: What’s the Uniform Energy Factor for the Rheem Tankless Water Heating Devices?
Answer: Mid-efficiency Rheem tankless water heaters, such as the RTG-70DVLN-1 indoor natural gas Rheem tankless water heater, has a uniform energy factor (UEF) of 0.82.
High-efficiency Rheem models like the Professional Prestige Smart Electric Water Heater with Demand Response come with a UEF of up to 0.93. Apparently, this is the best most-energy efficient Rheem tankless water heater overall.
Question: Does This Mean Tankless Units Have Lower Operating Costs?
Answer: One undeniable fact tankless water heaters have relatively low operating costs is because of their higher energy factor (EF). Rheem tankless water heaters don’t have a standing pilot light – the direct ignition will send a spark to the main burner when a flow of hot water is detected.
Question: Does Rheem Provide Customer Service for Their Products?
Answer: Of course, yes! Rheem has a reliable customer service staff offering timely assistance to clients from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. You can call them or visit their site.
Question: What Kind of Venting Do These Tankless Water Heating Systems Require?
Answer: The exhaust venting should be strictly Category III stainless steel, which applies to the terminal vent, all elbows, the vent pipe, and the adapter.
This is essential to prevent condensation due to the by-products of combustion and flue gasses. Stainless steel won’t degenerate under such conditions compared to type B venting.
However, outdoor Rheem tankless water heaters like the RTG-53X and GT-199X need no venting. Ensure you always refer to the manufacturer’s use and care manual that comes with the product for proper installation and venting.
Question: What Safety Device Is Used to Prevent Overheat Failure of the Heat Exchanger?
Answer: The heat exchanger features an overheat-limiting film wrapped around it entirely. The film monitors the heat exchanger’s temperature and automatically shuts down the exchanger should it sense an unsafe temperature. This feature is exclusive to the Rheem tankless water heaters.
Question; What’s the Function of the Sensing Burner?
Answer: The sensing burner detects incomplete combustion when the water heater is in use. If there’s incomplete fuel burning, the device prompts the water heater to adjust accordingly, ensuring clean and efficient unit operation. Similar to the overheat limiting film, this feature is exclusive to Rheem tankless water heaters.
Question: Can I Convert the Water Heater from One Fuel Source to Another?
Answer:
Absolutely no! You cannot convert natural gas Rheem tankless water heaters to LP or vice versa.
Question: How Do I Ensure I Choose the Appropriate Unit Size for My Home?
Answer: That’s pretty simple!
Say, if you’ve only one bathroom in your Carrollton, TX home, a Rheem tankless water heater RTG42 series is the ideal option to ensure a steady, sufficient hot water flow for your needs.
On the other hand, those with two bathrooms can consider an RTG-53 series Rheem water heater to maintain a continuous, adequate hot water supply in the house.
For individuals whose homes have three bathrooms, Rheem tankless water heaters RTG 74 series are an ideal option; these can supply up to three showers synchronously. Lastly, if you’ve three or more bathrooms or multi-head showers, consider linking two, three, or more Rheem tankless water heaters.
Contact bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas for Tankless Water Heater Installation, Repair, and Maintenance
Your questions have now been answered. But this isn’t a complete checklist. If you still have other questions you need answers to, kindly contact the professionals at bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas for advice.
We offer a wide range of water heater services in Carrollton, TX, and the neighboring areas, including tank-type, tankless, and solar system water heater installations. For emergency water heater issues, bluefrog Plumbing + Drain of North Dallas is just a phone call away.
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