Breweries, dairy plants, bottling lines, and food production facilities are all dependent on the same key ingredient: hot, safe water. Your commercial hot water system does a lot of work—sanitizing conveyor belts and filling equipment, cleaning kegs, pasteurizing product, and supporting clean-in-place (CIP) cycles. Hot water is crucial for ensuring compliance and consistency in the manufacturing of any food or beverage product.
Commercial Water Heaters in Food & Beverage Production
In the food and beverage production industry, sanitation is non-negotiable. It’s a mandatory requirement that supports everything you do. A single failure in hot water delivery can ripple through your entire operation like a tsunami.
Without hot water, you get contaminated batches, failed inspections, regulatory penalties, and recalls. Not only are these costly to your revenue, but they are also devastatingly damaging to your reputation.
Customers and inspectors alike demand absolute reliability from your food and beverage production operation. The systems that supply your facility with hot water need to be performing at their peak to make that happen.
When a water heating system—heaters, booster heaters, and water softeners—functions optimally, production flows smoothly, like a well-oiled machine. Sanitation cycles finish on time, energy costs remain predictable, your line stays safe and under control, and you pass inspections and safety checks without worry.
When one of those systems slips, the impact can be immediate. In other words, bottles leave the rinse station cloudy, CIP cycles stretch longer than scheduled, production grinds to a halt while staff on the line wait for water to heat. It’s essential to recognize the risks and take action to keep your equipment at peak performance. Protect your compliance and your profitability.
Your Water Heater is Crucial to Your Line
Your commercial water heater is at the foundation of your hot water system and thus, your entire production line. In a food and beverage facility, a commercial water heater does far more than just provide hot water for the sinks. It drives sanitation stations, prep areas, fillers, bottling equipment, and CIP systems. If your water heater falls short, the entire system falters.
One of the first signs of trouble with your commercial water heating systems is inconsistent water temperatures. For CIP, USDA and FDA standards require rinse and wash water to reach and maintain specific thresholds, depending on the application. For example, mechanical warewashers must consistently reach 180°F at the final rinse manifold for adequate sanitation, while CIP systems in food and beverage processing typically require wash and rinse cycles between 160°F and 185°F, with 180°F serving as the FDA benchmark for thermal sanitization.
If your water heating system can’t keep up, tanks and lines don’t get fully sanitized, and you risk compliance failures. Typically, this is noticed by operators who may discover “lukewarm” water or cleaning cycles that don’t seem as effective as before.
Other signs include audible clues. Rumbling and popping sounds are a telltale sign that scale has built up on heating elements. These sounds indicate that the system is overworked and isn’t running as efficiently as it once did. Small leaks and patches of corrosion are also red flags. When you notice these signs, it’s time to address them because they can be precursors to major breakdowns.
Another sign is an increase in your energy bills. While it can be tough to spot increases in usage versus typical energy cost increases, a sudden uptick in cost can indicate that your water heater is burning through more fuel to get the same level of performance.
Water heater recovery time is another signal to watch. When a water heater has a slow recovery (time to reheat between CIP cycles), it could be clogged with sediment and scale…or simply too small for the current production demand. Often, when plants grow and expand production output, their older systems can’t keep pace.
A Note on Redundancy: Even with the best water heating equipment and emergency service, if a single piece of critical hot water equipment goes down, production stops. Troubleshooting, repairs, and especially replacement take up precious time, but in a regulated environment, any sanitation interruption halts operations. Redundancy is a smart way to make sure you never go completely down.
A redundant system in water heating typically means a second water heater, an additional booster heater, or parallel tanks. These measures help ensure that if one of your crucial pieces goes down, your team can keep going. The cost of redundancy can often be offset by preventing just a few incidents of unplanned downtime on your line.
The idea of redundancy is especially important if your production output is growing and expanding. As your operations grow, even slightly, a single heater or booster can bottleneck everything. When you have a redundant setup, you’ll be able to continue to scale up and enjoy the peace of mind that comes from having a built-in safety net.
If you aren’t sure you have the backup capacity you need in your current setup, reach out to Reliable Water Services. We can help you evaluate what you have and recommend redundancy options to help keep your lines up and running, even if some piece of your equipment isn’t.
Whenever your commercial water heating system stops performing at its peak, you’ll run into delays in production. It’s always best practice to call in professional services at the first sign of underperformance. Taking action when you notice small issues will help you avoid bigger shutdowns in the future.
Booster Heaters: Meeting Sanitation Standards Every Time
Booster heaters are one heroic component of water heating that often goes unsung. Booster heaters ensure compliance for dish machines, bottle rinsing stations, and sanitation equipment. Rinse water must be kept at 180°F. Without that added boost to your system, water won’t reliably sanitize, and inspection failures are almost guaranteed.
How do you know when a booster heater is underperforming? It often shows up in the finished product. Bottles might appear streaked or cloudy. Utensils and tools might leave washing machines with spots. Rinse cycles might take a lot longer than expected. Keep in mind, these issues can often be mistaken for problems with the detergents or chemicals you’re using for cleaning. Often, though, the booster heater is the culprit.
Inconsistent rinse water temperature is a critical issue in regulated environments. The smallest dip below the food safety code requirements will put your entire production run in jeopardy. When you depend on rapid and effective sanitation, you can’t afford to ignore signs of a problem.
When your commercial booster heater is well-maintained, every rinse cycle will meet standards. Your production line will continue to flow at the expected speed. Your bottle and packaging will look clean and clear. You’ll avoid rewashes and rejected product. Your booster heater is crucial to the overall performance of your water heater system.
Commercial Water Softeners: Quietly Protecting Equipment
Another low-key superstar of your water heating system is your commercial water softener. In the Midwest, especially, hard water is one of the most persistent challenges for food and beverage production. In states like Wisconsin and Indiana, water is often classified as very hard with mineral content above the national average.
These minerals, like calcium and magnesium, build up on heating elements, coat tank walls with scale, and clog lines. Your system efficiency is slowly and steadily reduced each day by the buildup of hard water.
How do you know if hard water is a problem for your production facility? You’ll likely see bottles and cans emerge from sanitation cycles with visible streaks and cloudiness. Breweries can experience subtle “off” flavors in product because the minerals can interfere with brewing chemistry.
Another sign might be that your equipment suddenly requires more frequent cleaning and descaling. Alternatively, you may notice that the output slows, and you may need to request more frequent service and maintenance.
The solution to these issues is to have a properly sized commercial water softener in your food production facility. A commercial water softener removes the hardness minerals before they ever hit your water heater or booster. Soft water keeps heating elements and tanks clean. Your equipment runs at higher efficiency.
Most importantly, your product quality remains consistent when you cut out hard water. CIP cycles are on schedule. The equipment on your line lasts longer and stays safer. In an industry where margins are everything, avoiding hard water and scale buildup can be a total game-changer.
Why DIY Fixes Don’t Work in Production Facilities
When you notice that your hot water system is slipping or becoming less efficient, the temptation to attempt quick fixes and “hacks” is very strong. Some facilities might try to flush tanks by themselves, swap parts, or add filters to “buy time,” but these approaches rarely resolve the underlying problem.
Commercial hot water systems are complex and even dangerous in the wrong hands. They operate under high pressure. Hot water systems combine gas or electric heating elements with water. They’re directly tied to critical sanitation processes. In other words, they aren’t the place for a poorly executed repair.
Trying to fix the system yourself can create safety hazards for staff. It can cause further damage. Importantly, it can also void warranties and coverage, potentially leaving the facility liable for higher costs.
Downtime is always expensive, but downtime from avoidable mistakes is worse. Even if a DIY solution seems faster in the moment, it nearly always results in bigger costs down the line. Professional services are the only reliable way to keep your water heating systems safe.
Fortunately, Reliable Water Services is here to support peak performance at your food and beverage facility. Our partnership goes well beyond 24/7 emergency service (which is critical in itself). We’ll help you make sure your system is set up for your needs and that you’re aware of early signs of failure so you can be proactive about problems.
Correct equipment sizing is another crucial area where we add value. Production facilities continue to grow and evolve, with increased output and the introduction of new product lines. A water heating system that was sufficient five years ago might be undersized today. Our technicians can help you evaluate actual usage, peak demand, and future growth so your water heating system supports the needs of your facility.
If you’re looking for peace of mind in your facility’s hot water system, rely on Reliable Water Services. We offer emergency services and solutions to keep production up and running smoothly. Contact us today to make sure your hot water system is working as hard as you do.