Rinnai Instant hot water makers

Rookie

We started installing Rinnai 2520 L.P. gas instant hot water makers, they seemed to be working great, all of our clients are impressed by the lower fuel consumption and hot water flow is fine.I was a little worried about installing this new product based on what I have heard about previous water heater problems( with different manufactors) has any one else had good luck with these units? I have installed their direct vent furnaces in some applications, mostly where electric heat had been installed previously, we have had no trouble what so ever.

Unknown

rinnai

Jim,

I've heard nothing but good on these heaters from a couple of my customers. They speak so fondly I have considered bringing them into inventory.

Steve

Rookie

Rinnai

Steve we are comparing two of ours client's gas bill for the next month , this will give us some hard facts on the savings they are experiencing.Also we have not had any complants on the flow or demand. I'll post them next month

Jamie_6

Jim,

We love this brand of instantaneous hot-water makers! And have had nothing but great luck with them. Of course you must cross all your T’s & dot all your I’s when considering installing them. We actually carry water gauges on the truck so we make sure the house has a least 60 PSI while the water is running! We also check with our local gas company to make sure that the residence can handle another 200,000 BTU’s along with the existing equipment!

Actually, I have one in my own house. And you can’t bet this time of year when all of the out-laws (opps in-laws) are in down and between 8 people hot-water is NEVER an issue.


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Kal Row

the basic issues are...

temp rise: it you live in the north east, the street water is 40f in the winter, to get it to shower or bath temp is 70-80f rise , lets do the math, a serious shower is 4gpm, times 8.34 pounds per gal, times 80 degree = btuPerMinute * 60 = 160128btu-per hr minimum to keep up – that’s a lot of btu’s

reliability: based on some people I know overseas, the failure rate is twice as high as a reg hot water heater, – no – you don’t have throw it out every ten years, but something breaks on it every 3-5 – don’t expect to find parts at HOME-DEsPOT on weekends like you do now, everyone has a thermocouple in stock that will fit most WH today

gas pressure: these things need a good gas supply as they modulate up to 195,000 btu

power: – if you live in a blackout prone area – fo-git-abow-eet

as there is no storage: there is also no convective heat migration, so if it’s not near the point of use, it will take some time to get hot water, and putting a circulator on them defeats them completely


there is a reason why AO-Smith sells both – got to get the best fit, if you are building a condo in Florida, and can put it close to the bathrooms – go for it, in NYC, don’t even think about it – on the other hand in certain areas (cheap elec and solar preheat) – It makes sense to even put an electric tankless in

the planet utopia is still many light years away!!!

Having said all that – rannai has the best name out there, followed closly by bosch (under many brand names)

JackFre

The success of on demand water heaters

will be entirely dependent on installing contractors understanding the installation requirements and proper application of the product. With the right guy who understands flow and temp rise (published by the manuf), provides the required gas/elec, and understands the benefits of, yes, locating the unit close to the primary point of use, mid 80% on demand water heaters will do a hell of a job for the American consumer just like it does for all those people around the world. Otherwise I suspect they would all use inefficient tanks too.

By the way, who decided that it was a good idea to take a 60% tank water heater with poor recovery (small gas line/burner) and put it far from the point of use and then put a pump on it to use even more energy? Just because it has been done for a long long time does not mean that it makes sense to do so. In my humble opinion, of course.

JackFre

The success of on demand water heaters

will be entirely dependent on installing contractors understanding the installation requirements and proper application of the product. With the right guy who understands flow and temp rise (published by the manuf), provides the required gas/elec, and understands the benefits of, yes, locating the unit close to the primary point of use, mid 80% on demand water heaters will do a hell of a job for the American consumer just like it does for all those people around the world. Otherwise I suspect they would all use inefficient tanks too.

By the way, who decided that it was a good idea to take a 60% tank water heater with poor recovery (small gas line/burner) and put it far from the point of use and then put a pump on it to use even more energy? Just because it has been done for a long long time does not mean that it makes sense to do so. In my humble opinion, of course.

Kal Row

you'd prefer it in a closet??...

I have serviced enough laars ebp's in closets, that I cringe at the mention of the phrase “install near point of use”

it's not about what is good, it's about reality

if you got attached townhouses, you cant put a tankless anywhere near the bathrooms in the center of the house, and people wont give up a closet so fast - when they have the whole basement avail, and even then given a chance, they will put it in a closet - cause they want to rent the basement and give up as little boiler space as possible,

so we are back to a storage tank, though you can use the rannai as a condensing boiler and pipe it to a tank for DMHW and also use it for heat - but in that mode - it's combustion and heat transfer is not as efficient as a vie$$mann vitoden 200, or even a Weil-McLain ULTRA

Rookie

Rinnai Continium

I can't find your logic Kal, are you upset with someone that put an on demand water heater in a closet? Your first post you were talking about buying parts at Home depot? They don't sell this unit at Home Depot, why are you buying parts at Home Depot anyway? If you install a product don't you keep replacement parts in stock? The original post was asking weather anyone had success or problems with these type of unit and there comments. You can't even pretend to compare this Technology to a 40 gallon storage tank type gas atmospheric vent water heater, come on are you serious? The Rinnai has a 5 year warranty on all parts and a ten year on the heat exchanger, can be installed by one plumber, in a basement, in a closet, in a bathroom, outside or inside, weighs 49 lbs. can be located anywhere a storage tank type gas water heater can be installed and more. Ask your friend in Europe how many atmospheric or direct vent storage tank water heaters he has seen.

Kal Row

dont know where to begin...

First, i am not disparaging toward thankless, I put them in myself and they perform as advertised, as long as they are fit to the task at hand, (shoot, every pool heater I have installed, is really a tankless too!! - i call them "thankless" - nobody appriciates em)

The issues I raised are valid for all types of boilers – ie a badly installed thankless is no better/worse than a badly installed reg one

The location I am talking about is the mid-east, where almost everyone has one, and they are fed by a solar pre-heater (perfect fit), so my failure rates are based on the real world averages this person services not just one owner

The power failure issues are real, the temp rise issues with a high demand in a cold water source location are real, and as there are more moving parts, the service issues are real, warranties notwithstanding

I am not saying not to use them – just fit them right, with full knowledge of the facts, my local plumbing supply is selling BAXI’s like crazy, and there are going to be a lot of disappointed customers, but then again there are a lot of disappointed customers buying reg WH’s too

I was just playing devil’s advocate not devil

Jack_23

Jim,

would you kindly contact me at jafre@aol.com? Thanks!

MT

hey guys I really like these tankless wh and believe its the future. My question is are these Rinaii tankless heaters designed to give instant hot water and endless hot water for a whole house? Also have you guys heard of those S.E.T.S tankless electric WH? Have any of you guys retro fit one of these S.E.T.S units in a house?

MT

Rinnaii

hey guys I really like these tankless wh and believe its the future. My question is are these Rinaii tankless heaters designed to give instant hot water and endless hot water for a whole house? Also have you guys heard of those S.E.T.S tankless electric WH? Have any of you guys retro fit one of these S.E.T.S units in a house?