Busted rennai tankless copper pipe

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aikidospirit

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hi everyone, i'm a first time poster here. i live in austin which has had an epic freeze. my tankless water heater split a copper pipe. i've cut a copper line and capped before, but this split pipe is new for me. does it seem repairable, and if so, how? there's a picture attached and i circled the split in red.
Thanks!
Will
 

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Ouch! That looks like a question for the folks at Rennai. I would give them a call and send the photo over. Let us know what they tell you.
 
Welcome.
Looks like the heat exchanger, so in the future, if you do not have a recirculating system, installing one and turning the pump on manually will keep the heater operating, and prevent that from happening.
 
If your lucky you can squeeze it closed a little and then braze or solder the seam.
Worst case scenario is it leaks.
 
I wont say it can’t be repaired, but it might be a tough repair. I would find out the cost of that part of the assembly first if they even sell it. I would tear it down and pull it and find a good weld shop or auto radiator shop that is good at TIG welding copper and give them a few bucks to give it a try at repair. Soldering it at home in place might work but it will take a lot of heat and might unsolder another place or might make a repair you will be always second-guessing.

Welcome to the forum.
 
Hi and welcome. Sorry to hear about the split. Agree with Bud if you want to try repair. Radiator repair shops could probably fix that, if you can find one to do it.
 
Welcome.
Looks like the heat exchanger, so in the future, if you do not have a recirculating system, installing one and turning the pump on manually will keep the heater operating, and prevent that from happening.

I agree, unless you don't have power or possibly water, both of which could have been an issue.

Will home owners insurance cover whatever costs are involved or is this your only damage?
 
I would not trust a TWH repair. You could fix one thing, only to find 6 other broken lines. It is very labor intensive and parts are hard to come by. It may be easier just to run out and install a similar tankless.
 
Looks like the tank itself is damaged like several tanks in Texas, last week. You can attempt to fix the (pipe) tank and add a recirculator to run water effectively. Or get a replacement and better insulate it, like many people did after getting this issue.
 
Friend of mine installed a tankless water heater and it was very undependable and then caught fire and nearly burned his house down before he caught it... after using it for a year, he tossed it and went back to a hot water tank...
 
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