Have been following the threads on this & other forums about continuous gas water heaters, in particular Rinnai 26 as we are thinking of getting one with 2 controllers for future reno. But after reading reviews I’m getting worried - some of the ones here http://www.productreview.com.au/p/rinnai-infinity/7.html are terrible! The main criticisms seem to be :
• long delays in hot water reaching the tap, causing water to be wasted or having to be collected in buckets, even with distance as short as 5 meters from heater to bathroom
• if flow rate is less than 4 litres/minute heater does not work
• water does not heat at low flow rate so you cannot get hot water in short bursts
• water saving devices do not work with the heater, although apparently you can take the restrictor out of the shower head to get more litres a minute which will fix this issue. This is not ideal with water shortage scenarios
• fluctuations in water temperature from hot to cold while showering - also said to be caused by water saving restrictors, although people have changed the shower head with no effect
• conflicting statements re adjusting water temp - some say that theirs cannot be adjusted above the default 50c, even using a controller. Others say the temp can be increased but only if you have a temperature control panel purchased separately. Have found the answer to this I think - the online manual says the factory preset max temp of 60c can be increased by an authorised person. The people who cannot change their temp must have a ‘50c Compliant’ model
• lowest temp is 38c so you can’t have a lukewarm shower in hot weather as if you turn down the hot tap the water heater stops heating at low flow rate & water comes out cold
• the warranty does not cover common problems
• bad Rinnai after sales support
• 7 year life span, although some people say they have had for 15 years
• Some people say their gas bills have increased!
After reading all this I have some questions hopefully someone who has had a Rinnai 26 can answer. We have a small house inner west Sydney with one bathroom, only 2 adults and want to get rid of the large gas storage unit with the renovation so I suppose I want to be persuaded Rinnai 26 is a good idea!
*First, can anyone with experience comment on these criticisms, putting aside any owner loyalty?
*Second, hot water delay - we would have about 27m from the gas meter in the front garden to where the new heater would be at the back of the kitchen
Then there would be about 12m from the kitchen heater back to the bathroom
With this distance would there be a long delay getting hot water to the bathroom? We don’t want to use more energy and money in buying the pre-heating system for the pipes. At the moment we have 7m from the gas storage heater to the kitchen and collect about a bucket of cold water before the hot comes through. We can cope with this amount of delay in the shower, just put a bucket in. But multiple buckets would be a pain.
*The fluctuating temperature is a concern - especially if Rinnai support is bad & it’s not covered by the warranty. The warranty does not cover water supply or gas supply problems. Fluctuating temps are not mentioned in the troubleshooting part, so if this problem is caused by the water supply, has anyone experienced it and had it fixed?
*There would have to be new ¾” or 1” gas pipes (not sure which) from the gas meter to the water heater - about 27m. Any idea how much this would cost?
*Would 2 water heaters, one for the bathroom & one for the kitchen (ie two Rinnai 16) be overkill?
*Does anyone find it annoying that you can’t get hot water in short bursts in the kitchen?
*Does anyone regret changing from gas water storage to continuous flow?
*If using gas previously, have your bills decreased?
thanks, I’m posting this in the forums I found the original info, hope we can get some responses
