PROJECT – HOT WATER ISSUES AGAIN – May 1, 2026
Just a few months after installing a new on demand hot water system to replace two aging 400 gallon traditional tanks, the hardness of Aqua Ohio water is wreaking havoc on the new system causing the heating elements to degrade way faster then anticipated. Right now, one of the two heaters keeps tripping the breaker and we’re running on one. The water is warmish, but not too comfortable on the one unit. New heating elements are being rushed to us for installation, but we don’t have a date.
UPDATE – May 22, 2026
Hot water is up again. The elements have been installed, but the other part of the problem that had us perplexed was that the circulation pump impeller broke from the shaft and the pump was not moving any water to keep the on demand units producing hot water at the showerheads. That’s now been replaced and everything is functioning as it should. However, there is more to do to keep it from happening again. A special filter system that coats the minerals in the water to keep them from sticking to the heating elements is being designed to minimize the risk. All 36 of the elements will be replaced once it’s ready to bring each unit up to like new condition. Once complete, we expect a much more reliable hot water system.
UPDATE – May 13, 2026
The manufacturer rep, the engineer and the installer were on site this morning to put their heads together on a solution. There is a flow issue that reduces the hot water traveling through the pipes down to zero gpm. Right now the finger is pointing to the circulation pump which will be replaced by Friday. One unit is functioning as designed, but the other is offline. The reserve tank is valved off, so there’s no buffer if the demand gets too high, but there is hot water in the showers after a mixing valve adjustment. Keep in mind that you may experience an ebb and flow of hot/cool water because of that. If it gets cooler, just be patient and it’ll return to warm again. Stay tuned as the drama unfolds.
UPDATE – May 11, 2026
There is still only one unit funtioning, which is not adequate. On Friday, two more elements failed on the one unit. The manufacturers rep was on site this morning working to resolve the problem. Parts are being overnighted today, but can’t be installed until Wednesday. Symptoms indicate that the installed flow meters are not sensitive enough to call for the system to heat when there is not enough hot water demand on the system. That’s what they’re evaluation presently. But there are other questions still to be answered. We’ll keep you informed here as we have updates.
UPDATE – May 8, 2026
Four elements were replaced on May 7 and the system was producing hot water. This morning, there was no water moving through the units. The manfacturer’s rep was contacted and is enroute as of 9 am this morning. We’re praying it a minor hiccup that can be easily resolved, but until he determines what the problem is, we’re without hot water again for the time being.
UPDATE – May 6, 2026
We received some bad intel on the arrival of the parts. It looks like they’re coming today, not yesterday. The manufacturer rep will be at the Y at 9 am on Thursday, May 7 to install.
UPDATE – May 5, 2026
The replacement heater elements have arrived at the manufacturer’s rep’s house today. He’ll be in tomorrow (Wednesday May 6) to install and should have additional information about how to manage the Aqua Ohio water to prevent this from recurring down the road. We’ll be ordering additional elements as backups to keep on hand.
UPDATE – May 1, 2026
To resolve the hard water issue, we’re investigating a couple options… A special filter to remove certain hard water elements or a water softener system in case the filter option isn’t an appropriate solution.
