White pebbles in hot water

[rogera]

I have a Noritz always hot water heater. My faucets are dripping. When I clean the components of the faucets I find white pebbles. What or how does this happen and what can I do to stop this from happening. I already had to replace a bath shower faucet due to constant dripping.

 

[Jadnashua]

Do you have (really) hard water? A tankless WH has a quite intense flame so that it can raise the water temperature a lot in a short distance (think hand through a flame - to be effective at heating, it has to be a blowtorch!). If you have hard water, this can cause some of the minerals to precipitate out. The thermal expansion/contraction in the heat exchanger can cause them to break off into the water stream. Take some, dry them out, then pour in some common vinegar. See if they dissolve over night. If so, you might want to install a water softener.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[DonL]

failed dip tube

I don't think it would be a failed dip tube in a tankless. But I could be wrong.

 

[Magneto]

I think the water softener route is the right way to go as well.