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Rinnai tankless water heater.

woods

woods

I probably did it wrong.
Joined
May 22, 2020
Member Number
1120
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5,162
No hot water. Vibrates like hell. Code 12. Propane tank is at 65%.

These things are probably something I should be calling a professional for, right? Only thing I know about it is where its located.
 
Did you do step 3?
  • Check gas is turned on at the gas metre or cylinder
  • Check gas is turned on at the water heater
  • Check there are no obstructions to the flue outlet
 
I have a similar water heater that quits putting out hot water on occasion, due to really low usage in my studio. For some reason, if I "crack" the pressure valve lever at the unit a teeny bit, I get some water blow out and then my hot water starts flowing again.....every time. :homer:
 
Code 12 is failure to light. The vibration could only be the inducer fan (as it is the only moving part and would also cause the unit to not light) so I'd start there. But if you don't work on them or have a solid knowledge base you might want to call for help.
 
I have zero experience with them, but Vibrating might mean it’s boiling water inside. Check for obstructions on the output.
 
how cold has it been? Propane flows differently based on temperature and that could Be enough to trip the sensor. I’d try doing a reset and seeing what happens. Also could be a dirty orifice propane isn’t the cleanest fuel. Got the manual still? Should be some trouble shooting in it that could be helpful. On a side note probably unrelated to your problem but you should be doing a flush service on it once a year.
 
Pulled the panel off. Yanked the ignite and flame sensor bits. A little carbon build up. The felt gasket disintegrated on me. So I'm sort of screwed there.

That radiator thing behind the 40 screws is covered in green and white shit. Like the stuff you'd see on a battery terminal on a car.
 
jeeptj19992001 said:
you just got 3 ft snow
check flue
remove snow from around tanks.
Click to expand...

The flue is the bit coming through the outside siding, right? Its was buried. Before I pulled the panel off, I trenched out there and cleared it. Still made the sound and threw the error code.
 
The vibrating is was freaks me out. YOu can feel it through the entire house.

Since that gasket is pooched, I'm going to have to wait before I plug this thing back in huh?
 
probably no big deal, it's likely under vacuum when the draft inducer is running, meaning it will leak "in" rather than "out"
 
woods said:
The flue is the bit coming through the outside siding, right? Its was buried. Before I pulled the panel off, I trenched out there and cleared it. Still made the sound and threw the error code.
Click to expand...

Shut it down and let it cool. Probably too much pressure to let the water in if it's airlocked.
 
Put everything back and it fired up. Running fine. Going to get a gasket though to replace the one that I had in there.

Not sure if it was the flue or those igniter rod things.

Thanks all.
 
Small update.

I shut the gas off to the unit last night. Until the new gasket gets here, I just feel unsettled about the propane. Just shut the valve off for peace of mind.

Turned the gas on this morning and kicked on the shower. No error codes and it worked, but for the first 30 seconds it vibrated like hell. Once it got settled, it was fine. When I get home from work tonight I'm going to shovel the area and make sure the flue is totally unblocked.

I am also going to chat with the HVAC guy. See perhaps if it needs to be serviced or something. I'm sure it hasn't been touched since 2007. There's a lot of corrosion on that burner box dealio.
 
They are subject to scale and need to be flushed occasionally depending on your water source. I love mine and have it circulating the whole house. The only thing I miss is having cold tap water when you need it. They don't mention that feature. :laughing:
 
See, mine has the issue where if you have the water going at more than 80%, it won't kick on. So when doing the dishes, the water needs to be full bore to get hot water.

I wonder if the tank needs to be replaced. I mean, 13 years old. Standard tanks are good for like, 7. Dad was talking about how the gas valves can go too.

I'll chat with the HVAC guy.
 
What kind of life span are people seeing out of these?

The new house I bought down here has one (V75), our water sucks, and I have no softener (yet).
 
FlexyTJ said:
What kind of life span are people seeing out of these?

The new house I bought down here has one (V75), our water sucks, and I have no softener (yet).
Click to expand...

From what I've read, 20 years apaprently.
 
probably has the circulating pump teed into the cold side of the water heater too close to the cold feed to the rest of the house
 
woods said:
See, mine has the issue where if you have the water going at more than 80%, it won't kick on. So when doing the dishes, the water needs to be full bore to get hot water.
.
Click to expand...

Some, especially older models, need a higher flow rate to kick them on. Just a slow, low flow from a tap won’t turn the burner on, it needs nearly a full on or nothing. My Bosch tankless is like that and it’s a PITA really. You’re also supposed to do an annual flush and maintenance on them.


Mine was installed by me in 2000, so that’s my experience with their lifespan. I plan to replace mine with a regular tank heater when the time comes.
 
Wheelerfreak said:
Some, especially older models, need a higher flow rate to kick them on. Just a slow, low flow from a tap won’t turn the burner on, it needs nearly a full on or nothing. My Bosch tankless is like that and it’s a PITA really. You’re also supposed to do an annual flush and maintenance on them.


Mine was installed by me in 2000, so that’s my experience with their lifespan. I plan to replace mine with a regular tank heater when the time comes.
Click to expand...

Yea, I'm going to do the whole flush thing now. I'm thinking it wasn't done ever.

I'm 50/50 on the whole water tank deal. The rental we own has a water heater, and its fine. But I do like not having to worry running out of hot water.

Called a few plumbers and HVAC guys in town. They're either booked or don't do water heaters. earliest I'd get someone here is end of January. Going to install that gasket when it arrives and do a better job at shoveling out that flue tonight.

That shuttering/vibrating thing it does really freaks me out though. Be happy if that just stopped.
 
MurderYota said:
Why wouldn’t you have cold tap water?
Click to expand...

There's a tee that connects the hot and cold supply to a loop. The tee has a thermo valve, so when the temp drops below about 90° on the hot side, it opens and circulates all water in the house through the water heater until that tee gets well above 90° again. This is how you get instant hot water at all faucets.

If the water has circulated recently, you'll get very warm to room temp water out of the tap until the downstream side (cold side) of the thermo valve has been emptied. After that, you'll have cold tap water until the hot side of the thermo valve reaches 90° again and it circulates.

[486 said:
;n238279]probably has the circulating pump teed into the cold side of the water heater too close to the cold feed to the rest of the house
Click to expand...

The tee is at the farthest usage point from the water heater and plumbed correctly. The only way to not have hot and cold mixed in a loop is to have their own dedicated supply lines.
 
Deuce 40s said:
The tee is at the farthest usage point from the water heater and plumbed correctly.
Click to expand...

here and my dumb ass would just snake another line from the water heater out to the furthest point
but I likes me some cold wawter
 
I went to a call for a similar issue but punted the call to someone that actually works on tank less water heaters. The noise / vibration was terrible. I believe it was gas pressure / flow related, or something to do with intake / exhaust, I've had furnaces light off inside the burner and it sounded similar to that. Kinda like a pulse jet or something.

Maybe I missed it but have you checked your LP regulator(s) to make sure the vent is clear? Any other LP appliances?
 
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