Quote:
Originally Posted by Flat Six
Have had tankless (both Rinnai, RL94 like you have there) in our last couple of houses. So happy we did that.
Didn't do the recirculating pump in our last house, fixed that oversight in our current home. Ours is set to recirculate from 5a to 11p every day (I'm pretty sure every 15 minutes or so).
A couple of tips:
1) For interior units like yours (and mine), periodically remove the cover and blow out the unit as it'll collect dust (lots of that here in the desert) and -- in my case -- sawdust from woodworking projects.
2) Regularly de-scaling the water passages in the heat exchanger will help maintain the heat efficiency and longevity of your unit. Had to do it annually in Portland where we had moderately hard water; I suspect Beaux Arts to be similar. Here in Las Vegas the water is really hard, but since we feed the Rinnai w/softened water de-scaling once every two years feels about right. You should be able to get a copy of the annual water quality report from your water provider. Don't forget to check & clean the filter/strainer just above the cold water feed valve.
3) From what I hear the most likely malfunction is that the igniter will fail (it looks just like the one on my gas grill). If it ever malfunctions, it's pretty easy to replace. I was all set to do that a few weeks ago when ours tossed a code, but when I pulled the igniter it looked fine, just a little corroded/oxidized. Cleaned it up with some Scotchbrite and now is bueno.
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We have a button we push to start the circulating pump. We only push it when we need to take a shower normally. The pump cost $500 about thirteen years ago, so I'm happy not to run it daily for hours. I've never looked at the interior heat exchanger to see it it has dust buildup. I know the exterior one doesn't have it. Thanks for the tip on that and the igniter. I have an outsized water softener for the house. The last time I descaled mine, I couldn't detect any scaling, & that was maybe eight or nine years ago. I think I'll descale them this summer for good measure. Thanks.