Pipe sweating is a question that’s been asked numerous times and its an important one to deal with (albeit very tricky).

In all modern homes the basement floor and walls are all wrapped in a thick plastic barrier to prevent moisture from seeping into the home. Unfortunately we all don’t live in new homes and we have work with whats available. Moisture seeps into the basement through walls and floors causing a high humidity environment, any source of cold cause this water to condense.  All tankless and tank type water heaters have a cold water line leading to the appliance.  This supply line almost always “sweats” and can cause corrosion at a the tankless water heaters connection site.

Your best solution for Pipe sweating?

Wrap your pipes in a rubber or foam pipe insulation this will contain the cold temperatures and prevent sweating along that temperature gradient.

The next best solution is to deal with the issue at its source, this means waterproofing your basement floor and walls, fixing any water leaks that cause additional humidity levels.  As a last resort you can look at running a dehumidifier in the basement to bring the moisture levels down even further.

Good Luck and protect your tankless with pipe insulation

Firstly, there’s so many appliances in a home that run now (computers, stereos, big screen TV’s) and these units produce a lot of heat.  Think about when  you leave the computer running in a room with door closed how quickly its transformed into a sauna.  All these new electronics can really raise the temperature of any home and if its 36 degrees outside it doesn’t take long to send your homes interior temperature sky rocketing.

Secondly, (more on the lines of tankless water heaters) a tankless water heater will only turn on when there is hot water needed, so all day when the home is empty that old conventional tank is just producing heat, and heating up your house.  Its even worse if you have air conditioning and its working to cool your home all the while the water heater is heating up the house…. Might be time to switch to a Tankless

Comments are open on this post if anyone wants to add some input.

Take Care,

The Tankless Crew

Bosch vs Rinnai Tankless

When it comes to home improvement there are so many options available. Most homeowners make a mental to do list of the projects that are weekend projects and ones best left to the pros. To do lists are usually placed in order of cost and capability to complete the task. A tankless water heater is a project that is well worth putting at the top of your to do list. We can have REP come out and go over where a unit can be installed and what an install entails. Then you can spend the rest of your Saturday planning on how to use the extra space your old hot water tank took up.

With conventional tank type water heaters there is a strangely long list of things that are not exactly great selling points. Things like, pilot lights that miraculously go out at the most inconvenient times, limited storage capabilities, short life spans, and a loss of energy efficiency due to sludge build up at the bottom of the tank.

The tankless water heater solves a lot of the standard water heater problems. Current water heaters use energy by constantly working to maintain heated water temperatures of 40 to 50 gallons that is not even being used. A tankless system costs 60 percent less to operate than the standard tank because it only heats the water when it is requested by the home owner. Another selling point is the life expectancy of these units, double sometimes even triple to that of the traditional unit.

If you are trying to ‘Go Green’ most tankless water heaters are Energy Star approved. This means that you are not only reducing your carbon footprint by 63 percent compared to the standard unit, you will also be saving energy, and that means real money back in your pocket.

In addition to the money that you are going to be saving on reduced energy bills, the Provincial Government offers tax incentives of up to 30 percent for energy efficiency improvements.

Bosch vs Rinnai Tankless

There has been quite the buzz regarding tankless water heaters lately.  Claims of their superior energy savings and efficiency have been touted by every company pushing the units.  Yes they do reduce the amount of gas or propane you use but they also provide endless hot water.  If you take a 45 minute shower your more than likely using more energy than you would with a conventional tank that simply runs out of hot water after 20.  Yet if you are reasonable and shower for the same duration, you have great potential to see some real energy (and money) savings with a tankless water heater.

Now that you know you want a tankless you have two options…

Option 1 –  Go to your nearest Home Depot and purchase one from there, then hire a gas fitter and a plumber to install it

or

Option 2 –  Look for a professional tankless installer who has the specialty to preform a stand-up job.

Being the person purchasing the system cost will obviously be a factor and I guarantee Home Depot will be the cheapest option (If cost is your only driving force you should click the link and head to Home Depot now).

For those of you that stuck around I will explain why the second choice is probably the best choice.

Firstly if you call around to a few tankless installers you will quickly realize that none of them sell Bosch tankless heaters (Bosch is the only tankless brand Home Depot sells). The reason why these companies don’t offer this brand is due to the fact they offer extended warranties and guarantees.  They are on the line for the products they sell and thus they go with quality products they know will stand up  and remain reliable.

Enter Rinnai.

Ask these same tankless installation companies if they sell the Rinnai brand tankless water heater and I bet you find that 99% of them do. Rinnai tankless water heaters are built to last and this is why industry professionals install this brand. Lets compare the Bosch and Rinnai tankless models and see some of the differences.

Bosch Aquastar Tankless Water Heater 1600H compared with Rinnai R75LSi Tankless

Bosch Tankless Verses a Rinnai Tankless

As you can see there are some definite differences, probably the most glaring is the amount of hotwater that can be provided.  The Rinnai is able to produce more than twice as much, meaning you won’t run into problems when running more than one appliance or faucet..

Of course this doesn’t take into account all the benefits that you get from a professional install like:

• Proper venting, tankless systems have very specific code requirements

• Correct sizing so that you always have enough hot water

• Additional warranty and workmanship guarantees

• Maintenance guarantees, service plans, and emergency tech service.

Sure any Ontario Home Depot has the cheapest system but I hope I clarified why they’re some much cheaper.  Now those of you still left reading option 2 and didn’t click on the Home Depot link you are obviously interested in a tankless.  These systems can’t go in every home due to venting issues so we send out a technician to make sure everything will work and what size tankless  your home would need. This is a free service, so just fill out the form below and we will call you to schedule a time for someone to come by.  Typically only 15-20 minutes.

Technicians are fitting and sizing tankless water heaters in all of the greater Toronto area as well as, Hamilton, Burlington, Oakville, Etobicoke, Mississauga, Rexdale, Richmond Hill, Vaughan, Markham, North York, Scarborough, Im sure I have missed some cities but you get the idea, if in question just send us an email.

Microwave Tankless

Giant microwaves to heat water instantly? Is this real? And can it actually work?

A microwave (like in a microwave oven) is generated by a magnetron at a frequency of 2.45 gigahertz, this is the exact frequency that targets water molecules and gets them vibrating faster and faster, thus heating up.


The principal behind a microwave tankless water heater is basically the same as your microwave oven at home just on a larger scale. Cold water will simply pass through the unit where it will be bombarded by microwaves actively exciting the molecules to the required temperature. The warm or hot water will then pass through the pluming system to the source of demand.


Effectively this is making hot water produced by electricity actually a reality. There are electric tankless water heaters, sure, but they require massive amounts of power and don’t reliably produce enough water to supply a modern home. Wanderport, a manufacturer of these systems is claiming upwards of 6-7 gallons per minute which is directly on par with conventional tankless systems.

What’s potentially so great about these systems?

First off there is no venting needed, no holes in the walls, no venting proximity restrictions; these are huge barriers that gas or propane tankless systems face. On that same note, the conventional tankless systems sometimes require home owners to upgrade supply lines as units can consume upwards of 199,000 Btu’s.


Secondly a microwave unit has an efficiency of 99% and emits no pollution. The unit also doesn’t degrade over time as a conventional tankless does with calcium deposits and buildups in the various heat exchangers that they need.


So what’s the chances of you getting a microwave water heater in your home in the near future?

According to Wanderport, quite realistic. In fact they have a product on the verge of being released. Its already won an advanced technology award from the Toronto Construction Association.


Check out the future of water heating here.

Rent a Rinnai Tankless

A tankless water heater can be an expensive upgrade for a homeowner. Sure the system will save you money on natural gas or propane but there is a large sum of money to come up with initially that takes a while to recoup.

Renting a Rinnai Tankless

We facilitate the renting if Rinnai tankless systems which only cost $39.95 a month, there is no installation fees and any breakdown or maintenance fees are completely covered as you are only renting the system.  Tankless systems have a lifespan of over 20 years, if after a set period of time you decide you want to purchase it, no problem.

The Federal Government removing their portion of grant money has reduced the incentive to purchase these units and thus booting the value in a rental system.  In all likelihood you are probably renting a conventional tank already why not upgrade to unlimited hot water and save a bunch of money off your gas bill (in most cases it easily offsets the additional rental costs.

Call or send us a quick E-Mail to find out more.

Things to Know.

Most of us have grown up with a standard tank type water heater.  As such we are used to the way our hot water system works.  Switching to a tankless water heater will have an affect on the way your hot water system works.

With a tank type heater, when you turn on a hot water faucet, the hot water, typically 140 degrees, immediately begins flowing through the pipe to get to your faucet.  As the water travels through the cold pi pe, it cools off until the piping material warms up.  That is why your hot water doesn’t instantly go from cold to hot; it has to warm up the pipes first.

Some homes have hot water circulating systems that circulate the hot water through the pipes to obtain instant hot water at every sink.  Circulating systems can save a lot of water.  They are wasteful of energy though, since the water heater will fire up more often to replace the heat being lost through the piping which acts like a big radiator even if the pipes are well insulated.

There are also pumping systems that pump the hot water to the fixture from the heater only when you want to use hot water and you don’t run any water down the drain. You still save the water and time, but you don’t waste water.

Tankless Systems

Tankless water heaters are being promoted as providing endless hot water and as being energy saving over traditional water heaters.  While both of these facts are true, there are other things to consider.

If you are considering replacing your tank type water heater with a tankless unit, and you have a typical house, make sure you get one large enough to do the job.  Since you are heating water as you use it, you must heat it much more quickly than a tank type heater so you need to add heat much more quickly.

For a gas type heater this means you will be using a lot more gas volume/ minute than with a tank type heater.  Your exhaust flue may need to be larger and the gas line might need to be upgraded. For electric units you might have to have special wiring put in to handle the high amperage loads created by an electric tankless water heater.

Tankless water heaters are typically much smaller than conventional tanks and are hung on the wall, resulting in a significant space savings.

Tankless water heaters can save you a modest amount of energy, typically around $20.00 – $40.00 a month. They are also eligible for home energy Grants and Rebates provided by the Government to aid in a speedy transition from the old energy consuming conventional tank to this new efficient technology.

The best Tankless ?

This is a controversial question as some tankless water heaters result in a much better fit than others and thus they may be considered better by some users on different situations.

We have facilitated the installation of thousands of tankless systems and ensured that additional warranty and extended service is provided on all of the installed systems.  In terms or reliability the Rinnai tankless heater is by far ahead of all the competition.  Service records are able to prove this statement, emergency maintenance personnel are rarely called to fix the unit.

The Rinnai R75 is one of our biggest sellers.

• 12 year heat exchanger warranty

• Max input of 180,000 BTU

• EZ connect (2 unit connection)

• 7.5 GPM

• Energy factor of 0.82

• Concentric venting

• Reliable

It should be noted that Rinnai has very particular venting requirements that make it a bit more difficult to install.  The specialized vent pipe is concentric meaning that the exhaust pipe is inside the intake pipe.  This means that the hole drilled in the wall is at minimum 5″ in diameter. What makes it such a great unit is its reliability, Rinnai systems rarely break down.

The Navien tankless is a big seller as well; it has the condensing aspect of the market cornered.  This condensing technology brings the efficiency of the unit up into the high 90’s and makes it the most efficient tankless.  Do note – There have been issues and we are servicing this tankless more than any other we have installed.

The Navien CR210A is the primary tank installed.

• Max input 175,000 BTU/h

• Energy factor of 0.95

• 7.6 GPM

• Buffer tank and circulation pump

• PVC venting

The water quality in Toronto and surrounding areas like Mississauga, Brampton, and Caledon (Peel region) is considered moderately hard.  Vaughan, Markham, Richmond Hill, or York Region has hard water due to the Oak ridges moraine and deposits within it. City of Toronto, Pickering, Ajax, and all cities along the shore of Lake Ontario that rely on the lake for water have moderately hard water.  This is important to know as a tankless water heater can collect deposits causing the systems efficiency to be reduced.  It is important to clean your Tankless water heater on a yearly basis.

There are a number of great tankless water heater brands available in the market place currently.  The new version of the Navien condensing tankless seems to have far fewer issues. Also most of the manufactures have developed and now sell condensing units.

Takagi TH-2 is a great condensing tankless
Rinnai has condensing unit available that works amazing as well  — RC98 Brochure
Noritz also make a very good condensing tankless.

All of the units mentioned above have very similar stats and performance, thus its boils down to the situation.  Get a few quotes and go with an installer that’s not quoting you the bottom of the barrel price, you will get what you pay for.  The brand of tankless that you choose will be determined in part by you and the layout of your home with regards to venting and code requirements.

Post any questions you may have in the comments section and we will try and answer them all.

Navien Tankless Error Codes

This is the Entire list of Error codes for the Navien tankless water heater.

These troubleshooting tips are for models 180, 210, 240.

If you have any further questions send an email or post in the comments section and we will try to answer all inquiries.

There will be error codes on both the remote control and on the computer board on the main unit.

To reset a Navien tankless water heater either unplug the unit and wait a minute to plug it back in again, or press the power button on the remote control off and then back on again.

If Nothing else works call Navien’s Tech Support at 1-800-519-8794