Need Hot Water System and Plumbing Advice

LMisterbumpy on 21/09/2017 - 23:18
Last edited 22/09/2017 - 10:17 by 1 other user

Hey peeps!

I just bought my first house and just started moving in. My hot water system (HWS), which is a Rinnai Infinity 26 PLUS (gas), decided to cut hot water mid flow sporadically ie. 5 seconds of hot water then cold water afterwards. Then not long after within a day it's stopped delivering hot water after 2 weeks of settling. I've done a few checks that are listed in the troubleshooting of the manual (I view the online version as I wasn't given the original):

• Checked the gas mains and the lever is fully open (was half before, for whatever reason - noticed it made a compressed air sound when I opened it fully);
• Water mains is fully open;
• Gas lever to HWS is fully open;
• Water lever to HSW is fully open;
• Switched off electricity (tried from 1 min to a day); and turning it back on. After some noises similar to a PC reading a 5 1/4" floppy it would do nothing.

Now when a hot water tap is turned on in the house I can hear the ignitor attempt to light a flame 3 times before the system gives up.

This is my first experience with instantaneous/continuous flow HSW after living with gas storage for all my life. I'm guessing that it's just the pilot/ignitor that needs to be fixed an the system is worth keeping as long as no one in my house of 3-4 don't use the shower and kitchen hot war at the same time, am I right?

I just received a complimentary 12 months Emergency Home Assistance with 2 callouts with $300 coverage. Is this what everyone would use? How do I make sure that a plumber is giving a reasonable quote?

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  airal3rt on 21/09/2017 - 23:29

  +3

  I will advise you to spell 'advice' with a C.

  • 

    altomic on 22/09/2017 - 00:07

    why do people do that?

  • 

    Misterbumpy on 23/09/2017 - 15:51

    Shit, whoops, it was 11:50pm or, there abouts, when I typed this. I'm usually quite good with this (noticed how I didn't spell quite with quiet).

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  [Deactivated] on 22/09/2017 - 00:41

  Did you have the system installed or was it already there? Maybe it is just old and giving up the ghost? I had to replace my hot water system recently and I got a Rinnai Infinity 20.

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  mskeggs on 22/09/2017 - 07:36

  +1

  Check for any obstructions to the vents and flue of the box. It seems as though it was having trouble staying alight, so some debris or a spider web might be partially blocking airflow.
  If that fails, get a plumber to look at it, but be prepared that issues within the system don't appear to be cost effective to repair. The plumber that replaced our Rinnai, same model, said they typically last 10 years.
  The 26L flow of the model you have is the largest domestic model, I think, and should comfortably produce plenty of hot water when working properly.

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  JimmyF on 22/09/2017 - 08:02

  +1

  Gas lever to HWS is fully open;

  But is the gas connected? Do your other gas appliances work?

  I can hear the ignitor attempt to light a flame 3 times before the system gives up.

  Sounds like no gas, either there is no gas. Is the front gas meter turned on? :)

  • 

    altomic on 22/09/2017 - 08:56

    is the ignitor actually functional?

    • 

      JimmyF on 22/09/2017 - 09:06

      +1

      ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

      OP says its making the sound, so most likely is.

      Really sounds like the gas was turned off at the meter, hence why it worked for a bit before stopping. Used up the gas in the line.

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  ESEMCE on 22/09/2017 - 08:42

  Possibly just a thermostat needs replacement, or possibly the entire system needs replacement.

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  boo hoo on 22/09/2017 - 08:45

  I had an issue with a similar heater and it was a temp sensor.

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  Stewardo on 22/09/2017 - 11:14

  Does it come pre set temperature or does it have mixing valve

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    ESEMCE on 22/09/2017 - 11:18

    Instantaneous have a "pre-set" (plumber adjustable) temperature.
    It's only the storage units that have mixer valves.

    It's inefficient to overheat heat water and then cool it off with cold water. But for storage, you need to overheat so you still have hot water just before the next heat cycle.

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  Misterbumpy on 23/09/2017 - 16:13

  +1

  Cheers everyone for your suggestions, in particular @scubacoles @JimmyF and @mskeggs.

  I called Rinnai to see if there was any way to check the warranty on the unit even without a receipt and the answer was yes, based on the serial number on the label. Turns out my unit was made in Dec 2007, so I only had warranty on the heat exchanger, but it also means it's nearing its 10th birthday :(

  I ended up calling Allianz/NAB Emergency Home Assistance and got a plumber to come. He cleared the filter, and gas flue to no avail (close @mskeggs). Then he checked the gas pipe and partially dismantled the gas meter and… there was a plug! So @JimmyF, you nailed it on the head! No gas. Coincidently (or not) on that day we received a letter from Lumo addressed to "The occupier" and inside was a bill of $1.32 for electricity and $64.20 for 1MJ of gas within August. So the last tenant living in our house most likely had not advised (!) their retailer of them moving. The intermittent hot water issue was due to the HWS was using the remaining fumes in the pipes.

  Since it was out of business hours at the time I couldn't call my retailer (Simply Energy) since they are not a Tier 1 retailer (that's the price I pay for high discounts…). My conveyancer has told me to ignore the bill as it's not under my name and the distributor was nice enough to advise (!) that I talk to my retailer first thing on Monday. He also told me that the gas was capped by the retailer roughly 8 days ago, about 10 days after we had settled.

  Mystery solved!

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    ESEMCE on 25/09/2017 - 15:04

    +1

    FYI, our Bosh system is at least 20 years old..
    It has a "Next Service Due October 1998" sticker on the side of it!

    Of course now that I have advertised this, I'll get home tonight to find it has exploded and we're up for a replacement!

    • 

      [Deactivated] on 21/06/2018 - 14:49

      My mum recently replaced her solar hart that was installed around 1980. She had serviced every 10 years. I would be interested to see if the new one last as long, but if it does then it will outlive my mother so I probably wont know.

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  PlumPro on 21/06/2018 - 09:49

  Sounds like an ignition fault. Most common issues are:

  • Faulty Flame Rod (thermocouple).
  • Gas pressure issue (supply) - may be the meter binding.
  • 

    mskeggs on 24/07/2018 - 15:23

    This couldn't happen with the type of systems in use in Australia, and I'm not sure why you would claim it did?