Rinnai RL94i Review
Today we had a chance to take a close look at the Rinnai RL94i tankless water heater. This is part of Rinnai’s Luxury Series. The Luxury Series is below their Ultra Series and above their Value Series, so it makes it the middle of the road. The street value of this unit is right around $1,200.
The Luxury Series has 4 models to choose from. The RL94i is a 199,000 BTU and designed for indoor installation. The RL94e is the same unit as just mentioned, but is for outdoor installation. The RL74i is an indoor 180,000 unit and the RL7e is an 180,000 outdoor unit.
What we liked about the RL94i
1. We really like the size of this unit. Weighing in under 50lbs means the unit can be installed by one person.
2.The anti scale detection helps save you money while keep the tankless unit running at peak performance. Most manufactures recommend having their units flushed once a year to have the lime build up flushed out. With this unit, you will get an error code telling you that the unit needs to be flushed. This helps because if you live in an area with softer water, you may not need to have the unit flushed every year. The inverse is you may need to have the unit flushed every 6 months. Scale build up left unchecked will shorten the life span of the unit and will cause the unit to work less efficiently.
3. You can hook up to 3 temperature controllers allowing you maximum flexibility in controlling water temperature at the source.
4. A recirculating pump be added to the plumbing system to help increase your comfort.
5. The unit has direct electronic ignition, so there is no standing pilot.
6. Uses 2 watts of electricity in standby mode.
What we didn’t like about the RL94i
1. Then energy factor is 0.82. Since this non condensing unit, we would like to see it closer to 0.84. Not that big of a deal, but we are just saying.
2. We would like to see a programmable recirculating pump feature. Right now you have to pull the cover off and change dip switches to adjust the time between when the pump runs. It would be nice to be able to adjust this from the front cover.
3. A 50˚ F temperature rise provides 6.5 GPM. While this is not bad, its just average for a 199,000 BTU model.
Safety Features
Flame failure
Boiling protection
Combustion fan rpm check
Over current fuse
Remaining flame
Thermal overload shut down
Automatic frost protection
Rinnai Gas Tankless Water Heater RL94i Specs:
- Min Gas Consumption Btu/h – 10,300
- Max Gas Consumption Btu/h – 199,000
- Water Capacity GPM Activation – .26
- Water Capacity GPM Max – 9.8
- TemperatureRange– 98 ° to 140 °
- Max Temperature (With Optional MCC-91-2 Controller) – 185 °
- Electrical Consumption (normal) – 97 Watts
- Electrical Consumption (stand-by) – 2 Watts
- Gas Supply Connection – 3/4 inch MNPT
- Cold Water Input Connection – 3/4 inch MNPT
- Hot Water Input Connection – 3/4 inch MNPT
- Weight – 46 lbs