Rinnai REP160eN Smart-Circ Non-Condensing Natural Gas Tankless Water Heater with Built-In Recirculation Pump, Up to 6.6 GPM, Outdoor Installation, 160,000 BTU

This was a self install. I'm not a plumber but did my research, and after talking with multiple people in the industry, Rinnai was the brand recommended by the most professionals I spoke with.Turns out, they ship this unit with the flush valves already so that saved some money as I returned the flushing valves I ordered. Keep in mind, this unit comes from the factory with the recirc pump activated, if you don't plan on installing the thermal bypass valve immediately, you need to turn the recirc pump off, its in the manual on how to disable this.Overall I'm very happy. It works as it should. I had to edit the maximum allowable temperature as from the factory it maxes out at 120 degrees, but there is an easy setting to change this. I set mine at 130 degrees and it has absolutely no issues running a shower and a sink on it. I'll try multiple showers soon but don't suspect any issues. Highly recommend!

Unit works perfectly!

I purchased this REP199iP tankless water heater in March 2023 and had it installed in April 2023. I replaced a tank water heater with a dedicated recirculation line and pump that was 20 years old. Please be aware that if you already have a plumbed in dedicated recirc piping that the isolation valves that are included with this unit are not sufficient to allow connections of that dedicated line to the water heater's cold-water inlet. You will need to purchase what Rinnai considers an "accessory" Dedicated Return Valve - part #107000450 to make that connection. I found this at SupplyHouse.com for an additional $100+. If you want recirc capability and don't have a dedicated line already plumbed in, you can purchase a Thermal Bypass valve - Part # 107000413 (also not included) to install in the plumbing at your farthest fixture from the unit to run recirc.I used a Rinnai Authorized Dealer (I'm rural and this dealer was 60 mi away) to install my unit - they told me they were not plumbers. I should have listened to this warning. Authorized Dealers are not authorized installers. They installed my unit, without recognizing that a dedicated isolation valve was needed and used the most jury-rigged plumbing set up ever. Told me I was good to go and it took two days of no hot water and not wanting to call them back to try and fix it for me to figure out the problem. I ordered the isolation valve I needed and replumbed the whole deal to make it work right. Ridiculous. I did complain to Rinnai. 18+ months later, there is now an authorized installer (plumber) in the same city as the dealer who tried to install mine. So be aware if you look for someone to install it, should be a plumber.Overall, the unit works great - I have a 4 bdrm, 3 bath home and this heater has no problem supplying all the hot water we need. We had it installed in the closet in our garage that formerly contained our tank water heater - all the plumbing was there. Be aware, it does make noise when it runs - growling, motor sounds - even when no hot water is demanded because of the recirc pump that runs according to your useage schedule. BTW as a side note, with the ThermaCirc360 Recirculation feature, this unit will memorize your hot water useage schedule over the week and automatically set the recirc pump to assure you have hot water when you normally demand it. It's amazing.We had the unit installed in that closet on the wall common to our house's interior. In hindsight, given the noise it makes, we probably should have installed it on a side wall of that closet that wasn't common to the interior. The noise took some getting used to, because once it was installed, we weren't about to change it's location.So we've had this unit in service now for 18+ months. About a month ago, the unit started shutting down with a '61' error code. That error code indicates a problem with the combustion fan. This happened a couple times and the unit went into alarm. I powered it off/on and it started right back up no problem. This last week however, it shut down, alarmed with the '61' error code and would only run 10 seconds and shut down again. I frantically ordered a replacement combustion fan motor (part #105000993) from rinnaipartssupply.com in Ontario, Canada, the only place I could find it online. They drop shipped it out of Rinnai Mfg. in GA and I got the part with 1 day shipping.Because I didn't want to screw around trying to work with my closest dealer (who installed it) to figure out the problem and fix it (I envisioned 2-3 weeks without hot water), I went ahead and installed the motor myself - it was straightforward and easy. Once the old motor was out, I noticed the squirrel cage on the back of it was full of moths, obviously this is what had been impeding the fan's operation - how could they have gotten in there? I chatted with Rinnai about it this morning and they informed me that the venting system on this non-condensing unit has a dual walled vent pipe that both intakes air and exhales exhaust to control combustion. So, without a Univeral Bug Guard (Accessory Part #224042) available from SupplyHouse.com installed over the exterior vent intake, it will suck in bugs from outside into the combustion chamber and clog that fan. Oh, and bug damage to the combustion fan is not covered by warranty. So live and learn here to. My next purchase? A bug guard to put on that vent intake.I hope this helps anyone like me who purchases this on Amazon (I did save about a $400 dealer markup by doing that) and intends to find someone to install it. Save yourself some hassle and get a couple accessories in advance and make sure you have someone who know what the heck they're doing on installation.

While it was easy to do myself, it would have been better knowing all of the ins and outs of the installation requirements before having it on hand, that being said, I would recommend downloading and reading the installation manual beforehand if your a diy'er. Plumbing isn't my thing, but I did this myself in a day. With a trip to the hardware store. It does not come with any exhaust pipe and you have to use rinnai exhaust pipe. I would recommend buying the exhaust pipe and installing that before you get going on the water heater first. The water and gas were simple using shark fittings and some pex.

DO NOT purchase this product. We have had nothing but trouble with it and when we call customer support they are far from helpful. It was a total waste of our money.

I bought a Rinnai tankless water heater about five years ago. I only had a few problems with it and two repairs requiring a specialist who was hard to find and expensive. Recently, a small transformer inside failed. The repair specialist said it was very common for the unit I had. However unfortunately, Rinnai had stopped making the transformer part available two years ago. He quoted me a replacement cost for the Rinnai tankless wate heater with installation at $2,200.00 plus tax of 8%.Transformers are ubiquitous and affordable and are not specialized and exotic electrical equipment, so I called Rinnai to find the input and output voltages and the amps so I could order one from a third party. I was told they would not give me the information I needed to make a repair.A new one is necessary, because Rinnai will not provide me information about a part that cost about $30.00 from any of a hundred manufacturers in the US. They simply decided to stop making it to force people to buy new tankless water heaters. My next tankless hot water heater will not be a Rinnai.

Piece of junk! Will never buy this brand again will go from hot to cold.