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Friday, January 11, 2008

Rinnai Tankless Hot Water

Friday, January 11, 2008   

We are seriously considering getting a Rinnai in our home, an interior natural gas powered SKU. We have a decently sized tank, but one shower following another can sometimes result in lukewarm water. Our tank is about 10 years old too, so its probably close to seeing the end of its useful days.

Do you own one of these? Do you love it? Any problems? I see they are about $1,100 - but not sure if that includes installation, but I doubt it. I hear beyond the upfront cost these things end up saving you money because you don't have to heat a huge tank of water all the time. Looking for some feedback on this technology.
 
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Comments:

There are currently 13 Comments:

Anonymous Andrew said...
“My wife and I are renovating and we looked at putting one of these in and the probelm we ran into is that they require a 6 inch pipe for the vent and most existing homes only have a 5 inch pipe (in Canada anyways). This is an added cost to have a new vent pipe put in. Since we live in a condo we couldn't install it and are going with a high efficency standard hot water tank.”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
January 11, 2008 3:23 PM
“I can't speak for Rinnai, but our last house (built new) we we're pretty stoked about the tankless technology, so we had 2 tanks put in. The builder said that for a house that size, 1 might not cover it.

Unfortunately, it turned out to be a pretty big disappointment. I can't speak for Rinnai (ours were Boschs), but for the amount of hype we heard about the technology, it really underdelivered. After turning on a tap we'd wait at least 10-15 seconds for the water to get warm (funny because it's also dubbed "instant hot water"), and we also had issues with water pressure being on the low side, as well as temperature fluctuations while running. The only real upside was that you wouldn't run out of hot water, but the negatives outweighed the positives for us.

That's just our experience.”
 
Blogger e.dolecki said...
January 11, 2008 3:32 PM
“Great comments. So far not too positive. I'll keep all of this in mind and now can ask more informed questions.”
 
Anonymous curt in florida said...
January 12, 2008 10:14 AM
“Hot water from a water heater is not instant. It takes several seconds to reach the faucet also. The only way to have instant hot water is install a circulater system. I installed one on a previous home. The pump has a timer so you can set the time of day that in circulates. It worked great. It is a simple installation. It uses the cold water line as return line. I am building a new house presently and plan to use the tankless heater for hot water. If I have to wait 10-15 sec for hot water so what.”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
February 7, 2008 8:44 AM
“no heater can promise you "instant" hot water there will always be cold water in the pipes that has to be puged before your hot water can arrive in addition any tankless (and we sell the rinnai) need 4-5 seconds to start producing hot water (start up checks) after which its endless. most units are direct vent so you need a 6" hole in side of house and you must make sure your gas meter and PIPING are properly sized along with the heater . sometime you need more than 1 heater
i can answer any wuestions you may have
cgreenspan@comhs.com”
 
Anonymous Tony said...
February 20, 2008 4:30 PM
“I've had a recirculation system in my home for 8 years. It's saved me a lot of time and money. For the first 6 years I went through 2 pumps though. They were costly, noisy, and did not last nearly as long as I hoped. I did some research and found a system called The Hot Water Lobster that is pump free, uses your existing plumbing , and creats no noise. It's only $179.95, has a 10 year warranty, and is very easy to install. It took me 15 minutes. I have had it for 2 years now and am very impressed. I recommend this over any other system. Check it out at:

www.hotwaterlobster.com”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
February 24, 2008 8:45 AM
“Tankless is an excellant alternative. Extremely efficient. Does require a simple circulating system for absolute instant hot water. I installed one last week for an 80 year old woman, simply for efficiency and resale value increase. Make sure all connections are tight, especially gas. Ensure all lines are opened back up after completion. If the circulating sensor lines are not open, the system is inoperable. Rinnai is my personal favorite. If they are in the market, you are probably safe with any model, research your brand. Call local pros for brand opinions. Simple system and great efficiency”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
February 24, 2008 8:47 AM
“Wasting water waiting for hot to show up does matter. Very, very wasteful. Our Earth is dying and we just keep draining it dry just waiting for the water to get hot. Yes it does matter.....”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
March 4, 2008 7:30 PM
“To the bonehead who claims our dying earth is moribund because we wait 5 seconds for hot water - Hey- on a regular hot water heater in winter on the second floor of my house I wait 45 to 60 seconds! 5 seconds is a bonus. I also run the hot water constantly while I'm shaving and I have no plans to change my habits. You might also check your science. The same water is here that was always here, it's just not all where it used to be.”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
March 7, 2008 4:12 PM
“Don't forget all the other resources that are eaten up to keep your water hot i.e. gas / electricity - Not just water you're sending down the drain my friend. Change your habits and save yourself some pennies (and quite possibly the planet)”
 
Anonymous Anonymous said...
March 12, 2008 11:57 PM
“Has anyone else had issues with low water pressure with their Rinnai? If so, any advice on a solution to boost pressure?”
 
Anonymous Jim said...
March 31, 2008 11:50 AM
“I recommend the Hot Water Lobster instant hot water valve over a tankless. Tankless heaters take even longer than traditional tanks to provide hot water! Precious water is wasted down the drain while waiting for the heated water to travel to the tap. Instead of waiting longer for hot water, you'll get it faster hot water with a Hot Water Lobster! It gives convenient access to instant hot water throughout the entire home! It uses your homes existing plumbing and water heater and costs only $179.95!

The Hot Water Lobster uses no electricity and is pump free, so it creates no noise. It saves water, time and energy! Hot Water Lobster is made in the U.S.A., has a 10-year warranty, and can be easily installed in under 10 minutes.

Check it out at:
www.hotwaterlobster.com”
 
Anonymous Mitch said...
July 13, 2009 2:06 PM
“Jim,

You're an idiot... and a shameless pimp.

Tank and tankless heaters BOTH output hot water the moment there is flow. How long it takes is completely dependent upon the length of pipe between faucet and source.

-Mitch”
 
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