We have a small condo on the French side.
It seems we are replacing our small water heaters on a yearly basis.
The building is old and I am sure the pipes are in bad shape.
We are only there in high season.
Is there anything we can do to lengthen the life of these water heaters?
My plumber at home says they should be cleaned yearly to remove the gunk and build up. We took one apart and could not figure out how to do this. Would it help to put in a reverse/osmosis system in?
Any ideas would be appreciated.
Merci

We have electric shower heads in our house on the Dutch side. I'll find out the details and post those findings. Good luck!!!

Thanks , Michael
We are on the French side near Marigot.
I am not sure which is the best way to go.

We also have a condo on the French side. I have removed the electric water heater and replaced it with a tankless type. Our condo is small, so it does great. It only heats when the water runs. It has no storage. I purchased on the island. Clem

Clem,
Our's is the tankless type also. But it seems they burn out on a regular basis.
We keep a back up in the condo just in case. We have been getting them in the US. Where did you buy yours? Thank you.

I bought mine in a plumbing supply in Phillipsburg. It is made in Franklin,Ma. It has been in for about 3 or 4 years now. We don't have a back-up, but maybe we should. Clem

I just checked what I have here. It is a Stiebel Eltron unit. It has a 3 year warrenty. I have had it going on 3 years now. I also a tankless unit in an appartment in the US for about 5 years now with no problem. I did pay too much here. I can get it cheaper elswhere. Clem

I appreciate your help, Clem.
Yes, they are much cheaper in the states.
I never even considered the warranty.
Thanks

Clem,

Would you mind if I asked who did your installation of the water heater? Our old tank-type water heater just died, and we're going to get the Stiebel Eltron unit.

If you are replacing the water tank often the ph of the water may be a consideration. High ph means calcium buildup and tankless water heaters have zero tolerance for high or low ph and they are expensive to replace...because cleaning them is difficult to impossible.
Tankless heaters are also very picky about incoming gas pressure - measured in water column inches - pressure too low will cause sooting and pressure too high can mean burning out the heat exchanger. Tankless water heaters can have up to 40 burner tubes and are fussy pieces of equipment. Electric versions obviously don't suffer from gas supply problems but are still subject to problems from low and high ph.
I recommend to my customers that if they are in an area where the water supply is..ie. high in ph that they either install a water softener ahead of the heater or use a tank type water heater which can be periodically acid washed/cleaned when there is a buildup of calcium.