Rinnai Water Controller

Backlight display issues – I just upgraded my infinity 26 after 15 years of faultless service. I decided to upgrade my controllers as I was told the old ones didn’t work. I upgraded from a MC70-2A kitchen controller to a MC100V. The old controller has clock and temperature display lit up but the new controller is just an LCD with a backlight that only works if one presses a… Read more

button on the front of the unit. This makes the display unreadable in any circumstance other than when one presses a button. I should have read Bruce’s earlier comment here, in which he described the problem perfectly.

I love rinnai equipment but this controller is really uselesss if reading water temperature or a clock is important. What a waste of money. Why they didn’t keep the type of display from my old controller or the type used on their bathroom controllers is beyond my comprehension. If there was a way to have the backlight activate when hot water was applied it would be a lot better alas this is not even available.

I upgraded because my old system was so good and o didn’t look at another brand. If you need to update your entire system and a kitchen controller is important, I would look elsewhere.

Poor product design that Rinnai won't fix by firmware "flash" – MC-100V-1A backlight doesn't stay on. Designers didn't include an option in "Mode" for backlight off, backlight on, backlight timed. Very disappointing product because you can't read the time with the backlight off. Nor can you read the temperature. Nor does the backlight come on when delivering hot water so you can't even see the temperature of… Read more

the water. Very disappointing that software engineers haven't bothered to provide a "flash" for the firmware to rectify the poorly thought out design. Even worse that Rinnai doesn't fix the defect in the design.

What a cheap piece of plastic – Water heater works great, but the controller won't reboot when we have blackouts, even split second ones, which is quite often, hence we get cold water if we don't realise the controller is off (and unless you're constantly checking you don't know until you're in the shower). It's certainly not user friendly but I can live with that, but in 2018 I… Read more

just can't accept cheap piece of crappy designed plastic. Batteries are dead, tried to remove the cover (which can't be removed unless you've got one of those tiny glasses screwdrivers), the cover was put on so tight by the installer that I couldn't unscrew anything. Trued to put it back on the wall socket (another crappy design, please make it fit better), didn't quite sit there, fell on the floor and broke. First time I've touched it and it's cactus, seriously. The little plastic bit under the power button is broken (it didn't even fell on it) so I have to get a new one.

Not happy

How to 'fix' the problem of transfer reverting to 42 degrees – I called Rinnai and they said it's a safety feature and it can't be changed. This is frustrating because a) it's not in any of the product descriptions and b) if the last time the water was set was in the kitchen at 50 degrees, children can still scald themselves in the bathroom if they turn the hot tap on. I got the installer out here and he… Read more

also said it's programmed and can't be changed, but then he had a think and realised that if both controllers are set to 'universal' then the 'transfer' toggle will result in a maximum of 42 degrees, but he set the kitchen as the 'master' and now when we transfer back to the kitchen it's still 50 degrees.

Hoorah.

If you want to do it, turn the kitchen off. Hold down the 'on/ off' and 'transfer' buttons at the same time till there is a beep (about 5 seconds) - the kitchen will now be the master and the temp you set there will stay programmed in as you change the transfer control between the 2 stations.

Master temperature 42 – I like the Rinnai 26 but prefer my old Bosch. The master hot water temperature on the Bosch can be set to 50 or 55 and whenever you transfer control back from the bathroom, it goes back to that temperature. I find the Rinnai frustrating as the master is 42 degrees, so every time I transfer control back to the kitchen or laundry, I have to manually… Read more

up the temperature to 50 (42 degrees may be safe, but I am living in a house with adults). To me that is inconvenient and will end up causing unnecessary wear and tear to the controller (and my finger!).

For that reason I would go back to Bosch! Can be set so you can run a bath and the water turns off when it reaches the preset water limit. Master temperture control fixed at 42 and resets back to that every time.

Must have if you have Rinnia Gas Instantaneous – We have a Rinnai Enviro 26 and have installed 4 of these standard controllers. You can only have 4 and that is the maximum number and we put 2 in bathroom, 1 in kitchen and 1 in Laundry. The Enviro 26 max temp is set to 60 degrees and only the kitchen controller will be able to get up to that with the others limited to 50 degrees which is… Read more

great if you have safety concerns.

I am a handyman and I put in all 4 controllers myself. I didn't used the cable that came with the controller as it is too thick and hard to install and also limited to 15 metres in length. I just bought a roll of 100 metres cable from Altronics for $30 and installed all the controllers that way. Admittedly, the Rinnai cable have more mechanical protection as it has an outer sheath but I reckon it is overkilled.

Controllers are very easy to use. If I have to be picky, they have a green LED readout for the temperature which like all LED readout, can be difficult to read in strong sunlight. Temp control for showers and only need to turn on hot water tap Readout can be difficult to see in strong sunlight

Excellent – Excellent hot water system. We have a controller in kitchen and bathroom and can easily turn temp up to 55 degrees for washing dishes, and then turn down to 42 degrees when kids are having a shower or bath. Had for over 9 years and never had a problem. When someone flushes toilet or turns on water whilst in shower the pressure drops, but temp does… Read more

not change which is a big bonus. Will definitely buy again for new house. Endless Hot Water. You can set temperature to 42 or 43 degrees and know that your children can safely have a shower or bath by only turning on the hot tap. It takes a while for the hot water to come through.

Excellent – By getting controllers you add more years to your warranty and only use enough gas to heat the water to the temperature you need at that particular time. They save you a heap on gas and are very easy to use and it's nice to know that my child is safe from burns, no matter how much she turns on the hot water tap. Now this is the best idea since… Read more

sliced bread.

I have a standard controller in the laundry, a deluxe one in the bathroom and a master deluxe one in the kitchen.

The bathroom one will fill the spa/bath to the desired volume and temperature then it turns off the water and calls for you to let you know that your bath is ready. I never have to waste water filling a bath then having to add cold water to it so I can get into it without burnng myself.

I can be in the kitchen doing dinner prep and see what temperature my child is using in the shower. If she has been in there too long, then I hit the off button and her water goes cold, making her get out.

It has water saver functions on it too.

Excellent – Makes life easier and safer. Greater control over the water temperature. The look of the controller is also visually pleasing. So easy to use. Safe temperature in the bathroom, when set to you liking there is no need to use cold water. The water takes a short time to come through but no different to our old tank.