water filter for tankless water heater

Okay, let’s talk about putting a water filter on the tankless water heater. I finally got around to doing this a while back.

Why I Bothered

So, I got this tankless water heater, right? Supposed to be efficient, save space, all that good stuff. But the thing is, where I live, the water is pretty hard. You can see the buildup on faucets and showerheads after a while. I started thinking, if it does that to the outside stuff, what’s it doing inside that expensive new heater? Last thing I wanted was that thing scaling up and dying on me way too early. Plus, I think the manual mentioned something about water quality, but who reads those cover to cover?

Picking the Filter

I looked around a bit. There are all kinds of filters out there. Big whole-house systems, little inline ones. Honestly, I didn’t want to break the bank or re-plumb half the house. I just needed something to specifically protect the heater from scale. Found a scale-inhibitor type filter that seemed straightforward enough. It wasn’t about making the water taste better, just stopping that crusty buildup inside the heater’s guts. Looked simple enough to install, too, which was a big plus for me.

Getting it Done

Alright, installation day. First things first, gotta shut off the main water supply. Don’t forget that part, seriously. Then I drained the hot water line near the heater to get the remaining water out. Made less of a mess that way.

My setup needed the filter put on the cold water line going into the tankless heater. Seemed logical. I had PEX pipes, which made things a bit easier than wrestling with old copper, thankfully. Still, needed the right PEX tools – a cutter and a crimper.

• Cut the cold water PEX pipe where the filter needed to go. Measured twice, cut once, you know the drill.
• Attached the fittings that came with the filter onto the filter housing itself. Used some plumber’s tape on the threads, just to be safe. Don’t want leaks later.
• Popped the filter onto the cut ends of the PEX pipe. Made sure the flow direction arrow on the filter was pointing the right way – towards the heater.
• Used the crimp tool to secure the PEX rings over the fittings. Gave them a good tug to make sure they were solid.

The whole process probably took an hour or so, mostly because I was double-checking everything. Didn’t want to turn the water back on and have a spray park in my utility room.

After It Was In

Turned the water back on slowly. Checked for leaks around the filter connections. All dry, phew. Ran the hot water for a bit to flush the line. Can’t say I noticed any immediate difference in the water itself, but that wasn’t the point. The point was stopping the scale I couldn’t see.

Peace of mind, mostly. Knowing that I put something in place to hopefully extend the life of that heater felt pretty good. It’s one of those preventative things, you know? You do it so you don’t have problems down the road.

Was it Worth It?

Yeah, I think so. Wasn’t too expensive, wasn’t terribly difficult to install myself. If it helps that tankless heater run efficiently for longer and prevents a costly repair or replacement, then it’s definitely paid for itself. It’s just one less thing to worry about breaking, and that’s always a good feeling.