Rinnai HOTFLO

Ballina Hot Water Specialists installed this unit for us in Northern NSW. This review is more about the business than the system they installed (that will follow). Ballina Hot Water Specialists were excellent from start to finish. Dane was clearly more concerned about me getting value for money than them making a profit. They made sure they… Read more ·  1

extended the life of my old system as long as they could before replacing it. I cannot speak highly enough about them, their prompy response and support, clean and efficient work, everyhting we asked and hoped for and finished the job well inside the allocated time frame. Also, excellent pricing (and I was prepared to overlook any variance in return for the high service level, but they came in as Best value as well. If your in this area, look no further.

Rinnai Hotflo 315 litre Electric Hot Water Heater – Thank you Rinnai very happy with the service of the technician that came out and fixed the problem, was the anode that was incorrectly installed from the start by builder plumber? So happy now thank you so much Show details ·  5

No issues whatsoever, easy installation and solid hot water – I saw all the negative comments here and decided to let everyone know that my Rinnai electric HOTFLO 250L purchased July 2019 is wonderful, good narrow dimensions, made in Australia, Victoria new factory - I did my research. I'm guessing that other customers were ether in minority and/or unlucky and/or products were made in China and all called a… Read more ·  1

plumber instead of calling Rinnai direct and let them guide them through the process. Got good price, $729 delivered and then I organised best installation option - don't let plumbers rip you off please.

It does the job well – This is the only hot water heater I have ever needed to buy. The previous one died of old age in mid-winter. I went up a size, from 80L to 125L, mainly for family visits, not because I need the extra capacity every day. Being without hot water for almost a week (the old one carked it on a freezing Friday night and the supplier with the best… Read more ·  1

price in my regional area didn't have this model in stock) has made me really appreciate reliable hot water.

Running costs are fine for the size. Installation was straightforward. Overall, the whole process cost less than I feared, and less than the Harvey Norman supply and fit package.

No issues at all - it does precisely what it's supposed to, at least at this stage (seven weeks).

Rinnai tank fail within 4 years – I have had 2 Rinnai hot water cylinders fail within 4 years. Great hot water for the 4 years. In both cases, rusty water in the annode well... flagged to me by irrate family trying to have shower. I changed brands after second time.

Poor product – On the 3rd unit after 2.5 years. The tanks keep leaking. On the 2nd tank that has just been replaced,the pressure valve went after a little over 12months. Had to be replaced at my cost. The plumber has told me cost to be borne by me to have 3rd tank installed. Not covered under warranty. Very poor after approx 2.5 years. How many tanks will I need during the 10 year warranty period? Show details

Very Poor Value Hotflo – We purchased a new Rinnai Hotflo Electric Water Heater in May 2020. On Sunday the water went cold and the plumber came today and replaced the water element and the thermostat. Hot water is flowing again. These items are out of warranty. These things are supposed to be like proper fridges and washing machines and last a good ten years. Three years is just not good enough especially when there is just the 2 of us pensioners. Show details

Great initially but failed quickly – I bought my Rinnai Hotflo in September 2021 and it worked perfectly until the heating element failed 14 months after purchase, a mere 2 months outside of warranty . The company I purchased from charged me to look at the system (as over 12 months old) but couldn't find a fault and then I had to pay again for an electrician to find the issue and… Read more

replace the element. An expensive exercise given I paid more for the Rinnai brand for peace of mind. I'd recommend go cheaper and then if it fails , you're still ahead after fixing it anyway. Rinnai offered me $75 compensation (which never went anywhere) when it cost me $400 to investigate and have repaired for a $910 product.

Only lasted 15 months leaking water and shorting out the rcd because of the water leak – Only lasted 15 months leaking water and shorting out the rcd because of the water leak. Has been 6 days waiting for the prompt service call. I bet the service technician gets to have a hot shower everyday but my 86 year old mother doesn’t which Rinnai was told of that. Great prompt response Rinnai. I bet Rinnai will jump up and down when I get sick of waiting and get it replaced and send them the bill. Show details

Worst Hot Water system – In the first year the pilot light went out on two occasions. I followed the directions and relit the system assuming it was caused by a storm or strong winds. In the second year it got worse. At least once a month the pilot would extinguish even in good weather. Tired of having no hot water on winter mornings I called Rinnai but they would not… Read more

honour any warranty. They directed me to a service company who charged $220 to relight the system. We continue to lose hot water at least once a month. The system cost $2000 installed. I am now taking the matter up with consumer affairs. Worst product and even worse service.

split housing – my system is 5 hears old . the pressure relief valve was leaking but whe i went to change it i noticed the outer shield had split . renai denied liability without considering all the facts . Show details

Piece of Junk! – Installed by licenced plumber day 1 and didn't work from brand new. Have had multiple call outs to repair over 4 years of use and has let me down on Xmas day 2021 with a house full of guests. Absolute rubbish! Save yourself the time and money and but something else!

2 months old and no hot water – Plumber supplied this unit. Has been working for two months then no hot water. Phoned the warranty line, told to expect a call by 2pm same day. No call. On the phone again, massive waiting time. Will call the plumber and see if this hunk of junk can be returned or swapped for another unit.  Show details

Wish I had seen these reviews before I bought this lemon – We built our new house 5 years ago, the unit worked ok for the first winter (we shifted in late July, live in North Queensland and do not need hot showers in summer). Every winter since we do not get even warm water, have contacted Rinnai before and they told us to contact the company we bought unit from, have had them to look at item and they… Read more

cannot get it to work any better, there are only two of us in the house so this unit should be able to keep up with our usage. We have not been able to have a WARM shower for 4 years I am fed up with it but cannot afford to buy a new unit. Do Not Buy These Heaters. Bob

HOTFLO 10 - Rubbish!! – Had nothing but trouble with this water heater, since installed by a Licensed Plumber. Had numerous callouts, and now the water is lukewarm at best. Tried everything. It's definitely not the water or gas pressure as both are excellent. New battery and still the same old problem. Call a technician and pay $300 just for a call out. Do not buy this product, it is absolute rubbish. Show details

Extremely Poor Product – After almost 20 years, the Dux Everhot had to be replaced. Was replaced with a Rinnai (plumber's choice) on 18/3/2018. Model No EHFA250536 Serial No 5008431 Date of Manufacture 10/10/2017. This worked for about 4 months then we were away for 4 months. About December 2018, we noticed some intermittent heating issues and replaced Mains Fuses… Read more

thinking this was the issue as the hot water cylinder was supposed to be new. We were away again till end March 2019 and since then have had increasing problems, until now, we have no hot water at all. Have had an independent electrician check all wiring and fuse box/switchboard but consensus is that the cylinder is at fault. Not surprisingly, the plumber has avoided our calls and messages, probably being aware that this product is sub-standard to say the least. The cylinder has had less than 8 months use, generally 1 person, sometimes 2 at the household. Have spoken to 2 other registered plumbers and they agree the cylinder is at fault and pointed us in the general direction of these reviews. Well, add another!! This is a terrible product and our after-sales service has been non-existent. We, however, are not prepared to stand by and let this go away and will be placing the matter in the hands of the ACCC. This product is known to be unreliable and faulty and there appears to be no after sales services or upholding of warranty. Buyer Beware!!! Do not install one of these cylinders!! They should have been recalled after the first set of bad reviews received. It is a very poor testament to the company that this product continued to be sold.

Warranty useless – We had Rinnai Hotflow 250 installed 10 months ago. This week the heater element burnt out within the 1 year warranty period. Rinnai insists that their technician inspect and replace rather than the installer ( who came out to inspect 2 hours after phoning by the way ) Problem is they don't contact you and any attempts to phone them are met by a… Read more

girl who "just takes messages" Meanwhile you and your family are without any hot water.due to a shoddy part which is supposed to last many years burning out within one. Your only alternative it seems is to pay for the replacement yourself which I suspect a lot of customers do.

April 9th 2019 Update: Follow up on Warranty Useless

The staff at Rinnai are inefficient, uncoordinated and incompetent. The installer and I gave them all the details 3 times in 2 days and in follow up calls they couldn't find any details. Wasted hours getting through on phone and waiting for callbacks that never came. Even got a recorded message asking if we were happy with their service and presuming I wouldn't need them again. What a joke.! After 3 days without hot water for my family and getting nowhere with Rinnai, the installer AC Plumbing came through and completed the work. We would have been weeks waiting for Rinnai to get its act together and I think any reasonable arbiter would agree I made the right decision. I cannot praise AC Plumbing, Strathpine highly enough bcs they did the work without charge and deserve to be compensated by Rinnai.

DEOSNT WORK 3 YEARS OLD TO THE DAY – our 3 year old Rinnai Instantaneous 10 has stopped working.. called Rinnai and they were hopless.. so much for their "troubleshooting".. they said to call a plumber.. no help at all..Junk product.. Have had a plumber around and he cant work out whats wrong... Aint a cheap excersise.... Said to call Rinnai.. I explained that we did and they said… Read more

to call a plumber, he had a chuckle at my expence...

No mention from them of warranty?????

stay away from this rubbish product..

Stay away from Rinnai, bad product, bad service – Agreed this is very bad service, my tank is rusted I believe, as hot water came out yellowish. When I called them they will not be able to advise whether my tank is still under warranty or not, even I have provided the receipt, model and serial number. They told me to book the technician for $195.00 and they will let me know if it is still under… Read more

warranty or not.

All I want to know is what is the warranty period for my tank and the storage cylinder of my tank, no you will need to pay $195.00 for that answer. Sad sad sad, I don;t know how Rinnai's customer services be so bad beyond word can be describe.

Not enough for 4 persons to shawer – I installed a new Rinnai 315L single element unit 2 months ago. from that day, still now we run out of hot water every afternoon. 4 of us in my house. we don't use hot water to wash clothes. when I called their customer service. they asked me to give the credit card detail first to send a technician. very bad customer service. pls don't buy Rinnai product.  Show details

Stay away – Purchased product hotflo 170l, only had it for 18 months, and it leaks and pilot light turns off..,DO NOT CALL Rinnai customer support....you will be charged excessive fees for someone to come out and not fix the problem and still pay the call out fee of $200 and be told that the leak is condensation, turn a pilot light on, which the should have… Read more

been able to advise over the phone. Avoid at all costs...this customer service report is current as August 2018. I had a rheem for over 15 years and no issue...these leak after 18 months...save your money and do not buy.

What a dud – We had the Hotflo 10installed in March 2015 and by November 2016 it was subject to a warranty claim, no hot water at all. Subsequent to that claim the system worked until early 2018 at which point it started to play up, no warm at all or lukewarm. We spent a fortune thinking it was batteries. Our water flow is from a large rainwater tank delivered… Read more

by an excellent pump so pressure is not the issue. At time the system just went on strike. It stopped all together last month for a few days, so I decided against repairs, and have replaced it with a Bosch system, same flow rate and with the added bonus of not requiring any power for ignition, it’s a hydro system. I still have the old Rinnai unit if you guys want to have a look.

seems to a common theme lack of hot water! now what do i do – right ive just had a house built and been in only 5 month. now my Rinnai 315lt hot water is not hot enough even though its set to 70 degrees. we have to use max hot water at the tap and are still feeling cold as this weather goes cooler. ok rannai who do I call? the builder of the home? the plumber or you? im not paying a cent either way it goes… Read more

as ive paid more than the system is worth with the builders markup. no such product should be faulty in such a short time.

ill await reply so I don't get shafted with the you should have contacted us response.

thank you

Rubbish – After only two years of use in a single person household I've just paid $372. to replace the element & thermostat. Oh, & 2 rusted bolts. I'm assured the parts are better quality than the original but betting the manufacturers won't accept responsibility for supplying sub standard parts. Reading other reviews it seems pointless contacting… Read more

Rinnai who would say I should have contacted them first. Wonder how long that would have taken to get hot water back on.

Buyers be aware – Bought this system 13 months ago . Had very cool hot water on Thursday and then no hot water on the Friday rang the supplier who said it would be one of three things 1. Missed boost 2. Element faulty, or thermostat gone.. he advise that we could call a plumber or electrician either way we would have to get some one out. So $236.50 later and… Read more

after getting it fixed over the weekend we then we rang rinnai to see about claiming it under warranty who now inform us that sorry you should have called us first. We explained that we called the supplier who installed it and he gave us a number for the electrician. Rinnai don't want anything to do with us now as we did not ring them first. What a take even the electrician told us the thermostat was faulty. You expect to get more than 13 months out of a brand new hot water system. Would never buy a rinnai product again . They brag about their customer service. That's a joke So if contempating on getting a new hot water service find out all about it before you buy. Customer service seems no longer to exist and your warranty is no longer worth the paper it is written on as they always have a way of getting out of it. What ever happened to the saying we stand behind our product now they run away from it . Ever stop to think these days you get better warranty and service for a toaster these days but nothing on the high end products .

,

Hot Water System – hot water unit which we did our research and found the Rinnai where ok but the Rheem ones are better for what my plumber has told me. Show details