Brivis Buffalo BX520 (300mm)
VerifiedMPN: BX52011 reviews
Biggest Piece of crap Sold – Unreliable Crap, need to set fire to this boat anchor and post on youtube, not even 6 years old and motor has failed Time for VCAT to act Next not fit for purpose Show details
Brivis Buffalo BX5 Error 46 & 50 – A month ago I purchased a Brivis Buffalo BX5 to replace a 30 year old Brivis Buffalo 85 (Buff 85) 3 days ago the unit failed with the following errors *46 Failed to ignite *50 Lockout after a pre prescribed number of ignition attempts I contacted Rinnai then made a complaint on their website as the unit installed cost $3,000 and I believed that… Read more
the unit may have not been "fit for purpose" To the credit of Rinnai a very experienced technician has just visited my home and corrected the fault. A faulty rectifier value. The valve monitors the flow of gas from the mains and is an integral part of the ignition process as the unit does not have a pilot light. I asked him why this unit left the factory in this condition. He responded "I don't build them I just fix them" So there you have it. A failure after just one one month on a an expensive unit that should last a minimum of 10 years. I believe Rinnai needs to urgently address a quality assurance issue in manufacture, transport or storage. This should be done ASAP to ensure that the brand reputation is not tarnished further. By the way, the old unit a Brivis Buffalo 85 worked for 30 years, without a single fault.
Thank you for your review Rob, As a trusted brand for… Read more
Have Had Issues – Purchased a new Brivis BX520 just over 12 months ago. This unit replaced our old Brivis Buffalo, which worked well for just over 20 years. A couple of weeks after installation, it kept turning itself off & had to be reset at the controller. Brivis sent a technician who replaced the controller, but the issue continued. On occasions the heater… Read more · 1
would not turn off, so had to be reset again. Last time, it switched itself off and I had to reset it numerous times to get it started again. Just recently, a technician visited again and replaced some parts. We're now hoping this will resolve the issue. Rinnai has been very good in the way it has addressed our concerns, and the technician they sent (Greg) was excellent. Whilst it's never ideal to have issues with a product you purchase, it's great to know that the supplier stands by their product and offers very good customer service.
Not sure what people are complaining about!!! – Replaced my Buffalo 20 with the BX520 about 4 months ago, got a 3 bedroom house with two living areas plus a study. Air wasn't as hot as the Buffalo 20 when the heater was first installed, but being an engineer I know that the more airflow passed over the heat exchanger the more heat is pulled off it. This extra air spreads the energy taken form… Read more · 1
the heat exchanger further therefore resulting on colder air, however you still have more energy being delivered to your house, it's actually pretty simple. People clearly just like to complain. If they bother to look in the manual for the heater you can easily adjust the duct temperature, which I did. I set mine to 60degC (from I think 50degC) and now it heats the house faster than the Buffalo 20 and my gas bill has dropped from $581 to $326 during my winter quarter and it has been really cold and wet here in Gippsland. Also Upgraded my controller to the one with the dial so I can program it to come on and off and change to different temperatures at different times of the day and days of the week. I think it is brilliant and wouldn't hesitate to buy another one!! One down side is that it is a bit rattly, if you have the choice install it near your laundry or bathroom or toilet, not you bedroom. I used that foam tape you can get from Bunnings to put between the lid and outer body, that quietened it down significantly.
Excellent replacement – We replaced our current Brivis buffalo heater that has been in the house for 20 plus years. was a little concerned after reading some of the reviews but was explained by the fitter J & S heating in Tullamarine that the current return air vent was too small. Since its been in with the larger air vent it hasn't missed a beat and its quieter. Show details · 1
Poor reliability - matched by poor service – This unit was purchased and installed in August 2014, and after I booked a maintenance service became faulty with an error code 60, and couldn't be reset and didn't work. As a result the heater didn't work and we had no heat over Easter and for the three weeks it took to get a service person to attend. The service technician found that the fault… Read more
was due to a faulty PCB or 'Motherboard'. Thankfully it was under warranty - otherwise it would have been very expensive.
I had a Brivis Buffalo which worked flawlessly for over 20 years - this one failed after less than 3, and the Brivis/Rinnai service is atrocious. As I had also requested a maintenance service I paid for that but was overcharged with the full service fee of $239, when the correct 'under warranty' fee is $179. I have tried for over two weeks to get a response via email without any success. Called their 'Customer Service' number today, after waiting finally spoke with an unhelpful, uncaring person who referred me to email another department.
I don't think I will ever buy another product from this company Brivis/Rinnai - the combination of premium price - poor reliability and poor service are not worth rewarding.
Do not buy the heater from Brivis – Got my old heater replaced for Brivis Buffalo 5 BX520. Second day the heater stopped producing heat. Called up Brivis technician for check up. He said everything is fine, didn't check the heater at all just said everything works fine and I need to get the heater upgraded for stronger one when this one was recommended for my single story house. … Read more
After a week called up a private heater specialist. He opened the heater up and he found unit to have factory faulty supply air sensor He told me he used to work for Brivis for 30 years but they sucked every worker and got cheap Chinese people to save money that have no clue what they are doing. Avoid the headache, customer service is a pain in the posterior and you won't get a refund even if its under warranty.
Why are people so vitriolic ? – I too have had a Brivis buffalo for over 20 years. It was a very reliable appliance. When it was no longer serviceable I had it changed over to a BX520. It works well just like the old one. When I get services from the company the service guys are all experienced and of course they know all the error codes. What some people don't tell you is… Read more
that they just put in a replacement heater as cheap as they can and then the wife asks for a few more ducts, so they put them in too. They dont care when the technical guy tells them it will be undersized they just put them in. and then they complain because the heat is less in the other rooms. They just blame the manufacturer. Im OK because Im a technical guy, but some people have no idea, choose the cheapest solutions and then go crook because its not sized right.
Be warned this heater is hopeless – Had a Brivis Buffalo for 23 years and it was excellent so when it finally died we replaced it with a BX520. This heater is hopeless. Cannot get it up to 21 degrees in winter. May be claimed to be more energy efficient per hour but it has to run much, much longer to increase the temperature by each degree, consequently much more costly to run. The… Read more
installer came back and checked the temperature settings and fan speed which were both OK. Now stuck with this model which hopefully will fail within the warranty period. Be warned do not buy a Brivis BX520
The old brivis was great / this new one is rubbish – We had a brivis for 15 years and were so happy that, when it died of old age, we didn't hesitate to replace it with a new model. Big mistake. This heater is hopeless. We can't get it up to 20 degrees on a cold day and we get constant error messages which require us to reset. Customer service can't even tell us what the error code means. This is… Read more
the 4th call-out in 6 weeks and we are asked to wait a week. The next call will be to consumer affairs. Do not buy a Brivis !!!!
New unit after 3 weeks properly working stop end error#50 Contact BRIVIS – Be aware !!!!! The name should be changed to RABISH. Two week waiting on warranty service is unheard off. But it is a new standard for Brivis warranty services in winter in Melbourne. I've just replaced my old Buffalo20 unit. It was working 23 years every season with only two service calls Never ever will recommend this brand to any one. … Read more
What happen with the old Brivis and 3 day service?
Pensionier have to wait two weeks in cold for warranty repair.
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Hi Quality Please,
We have sent a private message to discuss the matter further.
Thanks, Rinnai Australia