Rinnai Sunmaster Evacuated Tube System

Faulty Recirc Pump – Had this high-end solar HWS installed in our new house in 2019, and have enjoyed its performance, benefitting from the low gas consumption. However, early into the 4th year, and it started emitting a horrid noise intermittently. I didn't get it checked out when I guess I should have, and then 8 months later it catastrophically died - blew the… Read more

circuit-breaker in the house, starting leaking water from the side of the control box, and the hot water taps ran cold. Turned out that the recirculating pump had shat itself, and shorted out the electrics. Plumber said pump death was not uncommon, tho he'd never seen one leak or short-out the house like that. Quoted me $800+ to fix it. So I hit up Rinnai, only to discover that whilst the continuous flow water heater has a 5 year warranty, and the storage tank has a 10 year warranty, the recirc pump has just a 1 year warranty.!! However, Rinnai eventually agreed to repair the unit, replacing the pump & the electronic box at no charge. So, well done Rinnai for honoring their responsibility......but surely this pump should have a 20+ year life....and a 10 year warranty..??

System 6 years old, best thing I ever installed. Free HW 6 mths of the year! Zero problems! – My 25 Tube Gas boosted system with SS 250L tank was installed in 2015, I have had zero problems with it during the last 6years but after reading the other reviews cannot believe that we have the same or similar system installed. As an Engineer I find some review comment farcical given the installers response to many of the problems as posted. My… Read more ·  2

system only normally servicing 2 person household & during Summer (6mths minimum) gas is turned off relying 100% on solar tubes ,although when guests arrive have never had a supply problem. During the Winter Gas usage has been slashed, my biggest outlay is the always the standing daily charge from my Gas supplier, very frustrating that it costs way more to be connected to Gas supply than for the Gas used, thinking about converting home to LPG to remove standing charge! Cannot comment on water temperature fluctuation performance during winter or extended cloudy weather as system is Gas boosted so during Winter it never runs out! 01/2024 Update. My system has not missed a beat since installation back in 2015. I have read other reviews that pan Rinnai but I still have nothing but praise for their Solar HW system. Apart from 6 monthly valve test/flushes I have NOT had to touch the system, it performs faultlessly.

Terrible noise when using hot water – We’ve had the solar unit in for 8 months and the sacrificial anode has been replaced 3 times in the tank to try and combat the build up of pressure in the tank. To date this has not fixed the issue. We were told that we weren’t using enough hot water, so what happens when you go away for the weekend? The copper water pipes have changed colour due… Read more

to the excessive heat and plastic around the solar return pipe has melted. It seems that not enough research and development has gone into this product and we a paying the price for it.

Unreliable product with a guarantee to fail multiple times – Having reliable Rinnai products in the past I thought I would fork out the money for the best efficient hot water system Rinnai offered. I purchased the Sunmaster with the evacuated tubes and instant gas booster. Boy was this a mistake.. The Bad - The system had issues from the day it was installed. Day 1- The first issue was the temperature… Read more

sensor on the evacuated tube manifold was faulty. The sensor was indicating a high temperature all the time causing the circulating pump to run 24 hours a day. Day 35 - circulating pump started making a whining noise so Rinnai replaced the pump. Day 89 - noticed the gas booster was running all the time. This would normally happen if there has been no sun for a few days however we have had sunny days for the past week. Discovered the pump to not be turning on during the day. The controller board was not turning on the circulating pump when the temperature sensor on the manifold reached a set temperature. Rinnai replaced controller board. 8 Months after install - another faulty temperature sensor on the evacuated tube causing the pump to run 24 hours a day. Approx 1 year 3 months after install - Gas booster running all the time again and no hot water in the tank. Another faulty controller. This time Rinnai replaced it with a completely different controller. 1 year 9 months - over pressure / temperature valve constantly flowing out scaling hot water..... The circulating pump was not turning off the the tank reached 70 degrees. Rinnai found the sensor in the tank to be faulty which they replaced.

It's now been 2 years and 6 months and I'm dreading the day when it fails again. I have connected the instant gas booster to a remote switch so I can remotely turn on the booster if there is no hot water in the tank. This is the only way anyone can tell if the solar system is operational or not. Most people will have no idea their solar system is not operating as the gas or electric booster will completely mask these issues. Rinnai has a lot of quality issues with this system. The use of poor quality, not fit for purpose parts has ultimately lead to the multiple failures I have encountered. To date every component of the solar system has been replaced apart from the evacuated tubes. A thermal camera will quickly identify any issues there.

The good- To be fair Rinnai has replaced all these items under warranty. My concern is once the warranty runs out will Rinnai come to the party?

If you are reading this chances are you either have issues with your system and are looking for a solution or, you are in the market for a new efficient port quality solar hot water system or, you are Rinnai. I hope this review can assist you with repairing your system or, providing information to assist you into making a informed decision or, providing you with valuable product feedback.

The issues I have encountered could be an isolated case however, reading other reviews I doubt this is the case. The review provided is factual and based on actual issues encountered and solutions to those issues.

Rubbish – We built a house and moved in November 2016 with this unit being installed brand new shortly after. Since then the Rinnai Sunmaster (Model: REU-VR1620WS-AK) has been in gradual decline. We first noticed the water starting to take longer and longer to heat up, then the water temperature started to decrease. Next we had an issue with an overflow… Read more

valve which resulted in the constant flow of water. This was eventually fixed as it is a known fault but it took a couple of calls for them to acknowledge this and more wasted water which resulted in a ridiculously high water bill. We then had to call Rinnai out again to get out another repair man to look at the issue with the water not heating up and the decline in temperature. By this stage the water was lukewarm and we had resorted to using a kettle for hot water. Turns out it was a problem with two filters that were dirty and needed to be replaced. The repairman said the unit is like a car and needs to be serviced regularly. So $225.00 later and now being advised that we need to have it serviced regularly with 2 people in the house and less than 4 years old...what a joke. We have had other HWS for years (one was over 10 years old) and never had to have it serviced. Stay clear of this model and Rinnai in general if this is their standard.

Still not working five years later – Five years on the unit still does not work and Rinnai seem to have their heads in the sand. The problem appears to be in the sensors, and the PCB. Don’t waste your money!! Show details

don't even consider buying this waste of money – initial unit,off peak electric boosted floor mounted 315 L tank with 25 evacuated tube solar collector installed before Christmas 2016, Household of 4 adults,Port Pirie SA ,where the sun signs almost everyday,most days with careful shower timing can get 4 showers but add a visitor to stay or for lunch and usually run out of hot water and need to… Read more

turn daylight electric boost on never performed very well and had continuing list of problems,pumps,sensors,etc and eventually tank and some tubes replaced March 2019, since then have complained about non performance as a solar unit,local installer refused to attend to check until at least a 25 degree day,no matter sun shone for 12 hours a day,circulation pump runs almost all day so unit thinks it has hot water available Has been over 6 months now and not one day despite how sunny a day where solar gain has been sufficient to not need electric boost. Best day's performance in last 6 months sees the water delivery to the house start at almost 60 degrees in the morning and drop to 50 degrees or less in late afternoon,no hope of running without nightly boost get a class action going or approach to ACCC and sign me up

Unreliable not fit for purpose – My unit has now failed for the 9th time in 3 1/2 years. The problem seems to be in the design or manufacture of the pump control system. As a result at night the pumps moves the hot water from the tank and cools it down on the roof. Rinnai are totally unhelpful. The ad hoc solution has been to put a timer in the power supply to the pump so it cannot run at night. To make matters worse the problem is intermittent. Show details

Reported pump 3 times in last year - it still whines all night!! – I’ve reported that the pump on our Sunmaster 26 has been running all night 3 times since we moved into our new house 18 months ago. Rinnai tell me there’s nothing wrong when there clearly is. The pump whines all night. And you can hear it from our bedroom upstairs. It’s infuriating! Our guest room is downstairs on the adjoining wall and guests… Read more

complain about the noise too. I do not recommend this system at all!!!!!!

I also fail to understand why the pump runs in the middle of the night. The electricity bill probably negates the benefit of having the panel in the first place.

Rinnai please take this seriously for once and do something about it!!

Rinnai- Not what it used to be! – Sadly things have changed at Rinnai which in my experience, is no longer as receptive, fair or warranty-compliant a company as it was seven years ago, when I last had an issue. This forces me to change a positive review to a negative one. I know 2 stars are rated as "bad" but "disappointing" is a better term! Also, it looks like I'm off to VCAT… Read more

with this matter.

Recently, halfway through what I thought was a 15-year warranty for a Rinnai Sunmaster Evacuated Tube System, it developed a small manifold leak on the roof tube array. The company determined that the whole array had to be replaced to fix the tiny leak, they supplied the parts but decided I had to pay for installation. ($1240.01) This is not how full warranties are meant to work! (even according to their own website.) What should have been straightforward became complicated! Rinnai said it had to review the claim in a decision process that took almost two months and I had to repeatedly ask how matters were proceeding. This is the third Rinnai rooftop solar product we've had in 15 years.

The first system was a solar panel system, which suffered a catastrophic crack and failure around seven years ago... not up to scratch for cold climates. We were not alone, and I am told by local plumbers Rinnai embarked on an exercise to replace several of these solar panel systems with evacuated tube systems. This gesture was appreciated at the time and I think showed Rinnai to be a thoughtful corporate citizen. However, the offer was never presented as a warranty fix for a different product (solar panel) as such, It was offered as an upgrade, which I was led to believe in a phone conversation with Rinnai reps, was a new system and with a full 15-year warranty. In the written documents there was nothing saying there were warranty limitations. Had this been made clear I believe I would have looked for other systems.

Back in 2025 when a small leak occurred, requiring, according to Rinnai, a full unit replacement, Rinnai made an arbitrary decision to supply parts but not labour. It's reason- labour costs should be thought of as applying to the original, failed 15-year-old unit and not the completely different actual unit installed in 2017. Firstly what does this say about the design of the product when a small leak can't be repaired? Surely that is the fault of Rinnai, which then expects its customers to pay for it? Secondly, when did warranties become arbitrary? Thirdly, if Rinnai failed to communicate such limiting warranty terms, seven years ago (and seeking acknowledgement of the new terms as a condition of supply) why does the customer have to bear that financial responsibility of a failure to communicate?

While communications remained polite in the recent process, the upshot has been I was told to take it or leave it (in nice terms) - I have virtually non-existent warranties and if I wanted to I should talk to a lawyer (again paraphrasing, but also I am taking up the suggestion to canvass further options... VCAT here I come!) I will say that I still believe in evacuated tube technology in colder and frost-prone areas. The systems are supposed to work at minus 12 degrees and also seem less expensive to run than heat pumps and gas and electric systems. I am just sad Rinnai, once a shining light in customer fairness in my eyes has chosen to be just like so many other companies...

Problematic At Best – A new Sunmaster with evacuated tubes, no older than three months started to fail about 2 weeks ago and the installation plumber had a shot at repairing it but only made it worse. Started with the hot water spitting pretty violently and has now reached the point at where there is pretty much no flow at all. Called Rinnia service who subsequently… Read more

called an agent who said we would have to wait 2 days for a service call. That will mean we are 4 days without hot water. I used to have a high opinion of Rinnia but would now like them to remove the system and will be asking them to do so, it is clearly not fit for purpose and their service arrangements are far from optimal.

Rinnai sunmaster 315 - rusted out tank – My rinnai 315 sunmaster tank has corroded out. 5 years 2 months after install. Warranty is only 5 years. Rang rinnai to get their help - hoping for some goodwill support, maybe a discount on replacing it. Too sad, too bad mate, nothing we can do. The tanks are made in china - the vitreous enamel lining would have been poor quality - and it rusted… Read more

out well before it should have. My last aussie made tank lasted 17 years. Same water quality, the only thing that has change is the poor quality materials used by rinnai. Now $1780 to replace the tank. That's $350 a year for 5 years. Would have been cheaper to forget solar all together, just pay the power bills, and have a hws that lasts for 10 years or something.