Moore's water and the tankless heat exchanger
Moore pumps most of its own water. According to the 2025 report from the Moore Public Works Authority, 23 groundwater wells feed the system, topped up with water bought from Oklahoma City. A USGS study of the Central Oklahoma aquifer those wells draw from measured more calcium, magnesium and bicarbonate in its shallower water, and those are exactly the minerals that turn to scale when water is heated fast.
A tankless heater heats water as it flows through a narrow heat exchanger, so the minerals have very little room to hide. Scale builds on the hot surfaces, the unit has to work harder to reach temperature, and eventually it starts throwing error codes, fluctuating between hot and cold, or shutting down. On a tank heater, sediment collects at the bottom. On a tankless unit, scale narrows the exact passages the water has to move through. That is why regular tankless water heater flushing and descaling is worth keeping up with in Moore.
Tankless water heater flushing and descaling
Descaling is a maintenance visit, not a repair. We isolate the unit with its service valves, connect a pump and circulate a descaling solution through the heat exchanger to dissolve the mineral buildup, then flush it with clean water. While it is open we clean the inlet water filter, check the flow sensor and igniter, and look for leaks at the fittings. If you have a water softener or a whole-house filter, we check how it is working, since it changes how often descaling is needed.
Installing tankless in an older Moore house
Census estimates date roughly half of Moore's houses to the three decades from 1960 to 1989. Most of those were plumbed for a tank heater in a garage or hall closet, with gas piping sized for that load. A tankless conversion in one of those houses usually involves three checks:
- Gas supply. Meter capacity, pipe size and run length to deliver the unit's full firing rate.
- Venting. Sealed vent pipe to an outside wall or roof, with clearances from windows and doors.
- Condensate. High-efficiency units drain acidic condensate, which needs a proper drain route and, often, a neutralizer.
Newer homes rebuilt after the 2013 tornado sometimes have an easier path, with shorter runs and room on an exterior wall. Either way, we confirm it before you order a unit.
Freeze protection for exterior units
In the February 2021 cold, when the Oklahoma Climatological Survey logged minus 14°F in Oklahoma City, an outdoor tankless unit that lost power had no defense. Built-in freeze protection depends on electricity. We insulate exposed water and condensate lines and show you how to drain the unit in a power outage. For everything we do with these units, see our tankless water heater installation and repair page, or visit our Moore plumber page for more on local water and housing.