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Tankless Buyers Guide

Because so many people buy tankless water heater online anyway, we will help you avoid 3 of the most common mistakes here.  
 
1. The biggest MISTAKE made when buying online is NOT knowing who is going to intall it for you.  GET THAT FIGURED OUT FIRST! Always have these appliances installed by trained, licensed and insured installation contractors.
2. Make sure you buy ALL of the things you will need to install the water heater!  Getting a great deal online for a heater and finding out you can't locate the proper venting, or valve kit creates a nightmare.  If you are going to buy it online buy ALL OF IT online. This buyers guide will help you get most of what you need, that is hard to find locally for major brand heaters.  We will be adding brands and an items.
3. ORDER THE CORRECT GAS TYPE!  Items shown below are for NATURAL GAS and Propane, Click the Correct one! 
 
Notice: We are not selling these products here, but providing links to the proper equipment on Amazon as they are a trusted secure place to do business and they have good pricing and policies.  Proper installation of these products is your responsibility.  Improper installation of gas fired equipment can cause injury or DEATH!  Follow all installation instructions.
 
The below guide is simple.  Choose your heater, choose the venting you need for your installation, choose the valve set if the unit you pick does not come with one. 
  

Rinnai Tankless Water Heaters

The Rinnai RUR98I (N for Natural gas, P for Propane) is in indoor, high efficiency unit capable of 9.8 GPM of hot water and comes with a circulation pump built in for instant hot water in larger homes with or without a return loop.  It comes with most of what you need including installation valve set, crossover device for the circulation system, and built in controls.  It does not come with venting.  Vent can be PVC or Rinnai's vent kit (Recommended) below.  In climates where ground water temperatures AVERAGE around 55-60* and in homes with "Normal" shower heads of 2.5GPM, this unit can handle up to 5 standard bathrooms being able to run 3 - 4 STANDARD showers at the same time most of the year and possibly 5 in the summer.  More if in a warmer climate or less if in a colder climate.  See the Full Tankless 101 article or manufactures website for more details.

The Rinnai RUC98i (N for Natural P for Propane) is an indoor, high efficiency unit that can produce up to 9.8GPM of hot water. It comes with the plumbing valve set for water pipe installation.  It does not come with venting.  Venting can be PVC or Rinnai vent kit (Recommended) below.  In climates where groundwater tempertures are 55* -60* AVERAGE this unit can handle 3 - 4 STANDARD 2.5GPM shower heads most of the year and up to 5 in the summer.  More for warmer climates and less for colder.  See full Tankless 101 article or manufacturer website for more details.

The Rinnai RL94i (N for Natural P for Propane) is an indoor standard efficiency model.  It comes with the water service valve set but does not come with venting.  It CAN NOT use PVC!  The proper Rinnai vent kit listed below should be purchased with this heater.  In climates where ground water temperatures AVERAGE 55* - 60* this unit is capable of running 3 standard showers most of the year and up to 4 in the summer.  More in warmer climates and less in colder.  See the full Tankless 101 article or manufacturer's website for more details.

The Rinnai RL75i (N for Natural, P for Propane) is in indoor, standard efficiency unit capable of 7.5 GPM of hot water and comes with installation valve set. It does not come with venting. Vent CAN NOT be PVC!  The proper Rinnai vent kit (below) must be used.  In climates where ground water temperatures AVERAGE around 55-60* and in homes with "Normal" shower heads of 2.5GPM, this unit can handle up to 3 standard bathrooms being able to run 2 STANDARD showers at the same time in the winter easily and 3 in the summer. More if in a warmer climate or less if in a colder climate. See the Full Tankless 101 article or manufactures website for more details

The Rinnai V65i (N for Natural P for Propane) is in indoor, standard efficiency unit capable of 6.5 GPM of hot water. It DOES NOT come with a valve set! (See below to order) set. It does not come with venting. Vent CAN NOT be PVC! The proper Rinnai vent kit (below) must be used. In climates where ground water temperatures AVERAGE around 55-60* and in homes with "Normal" shower heads of 2.5GPM, this unit can handle up to 2 standard bathrooms being able to run 2 STANDARD showers year-round. More if in a warmer climate or less if in a colder climate. See the Full Tankless 101 article or manufactures website for more details

For condensing units RU series heater use this vent kit for side wall termination. Extra piping may be required for longer vent runs.  For condensing units you MUST get the piping with the PP at the end of the part number! (Stands for Polypropelene)  This is the only Rinnai piping that will work on these units.  PVC may also be used but this piping is easier to install and requires only one hole in your house.

If you have to vent your Rinnai RU series unit through the roof, you need this termination.  Choose a flashing kit for the proper roof pitch to go with it.

Roof Flashing 1/12 to 6/12 pitch roof used with all Rinnai roof terminations

8/12 to 16/12 pitch roof flashing for all Rinnai roof terminations.

39" condensing pipe extension for longer vent runs on RU series units.

90* elbow for condensing RU series units.

This is the standard vent kit for RL or V series Rinnai units for side wall terminations.  PVC CAN NOT be used on these models!  This is the ONLY approved way to vent these heaters.  Using improper venting is very dangerous adn can cause fires, or death by CO poisoning.  Extra venting may be required for loger vent runs.

This is the roof termination for non-condensing Rinnai units including the RL and V series units.  Use one of the roof flashings above.

This is the 39" vent piping extension for Rinnai non-condensing (Standard efficiency) units for longer runs

90* elbow for non condensing (Stadard) Rinnai units

This is the plumbing valve set required for Rinnai V series units.  This kit is lead free and meets all local codes.  You must have this valve set to properly service your Rinnai. The V series is the only Rinnai that does not come with the valve set at this time.

Noritz Tankless Water Heaters

Comming soon!

 
Navien Tankless Water Heaters

The Navien NPE240S-NG (or LP for propane) is the "bread and butter" of the Navien Line up.   This unit has many "installer friendly" features such as the negative pressure gas valve that makes gas pressure issues a little easier to deal with and also vents up to 60' with 2" PVC pipe. (ALWAYS USE SOLID CORE PVC FOR VENT AND SEE INSTRUCTIONS FOR LONGER RUNS AND PROPER INSTALLATION!)  

 

Gas pipe sizing is still important and you don't want you water heater sucking the gas from your furnace in the winter, however the negative pressure valve insures the proper gas input by utilizing the induction fan speed to control (suck) the proper amount of gas into the burner.  They also feature a dual stainless steel heat exchangers that has proven to be very durable even with challenging water conditions.  These features make the Navien one of the most advanced units you can own.  Don't forget your tankless service valve set below!

 

In areas with average ground water temperatures of around 60* this unit is capable of running up to about a 5 bath home being about to run 3-4 showers at tthe same time year round and posibly 5 showers at the same time in the summer.  See the full "Tankless 101" article for more details on sizing.

The Navien NR210 is a great unit for larger homes that are also trying to eliminate the lag time or wait for hot water.  It features a built-in circulation pump and buffer tank and can provide instant hot water to the entire home when properly installed with a recirculation loop.  This unit has all of the features of the NPE240 also.

With similar features of the NPE240, the NPE180 is a great unit for smaller homes or those with only a couple a bathrooms.  This unit is great for 2.5 or even 3 bath homes in southern climates or 2.5 bath or smaller homes in northern areas.  again, see the full "Tankless 101 artice" for sizing details.   
 
 
 

The Navien NR180 is a smaller capacity version of the NR210 and also has a built-in circulator and buffer tank.  It is best used for long homes with only a couple of bathrooms.  It can run 2.5 - 3 bath home in warmer clamate areas and 2.5 baths or less in colder areas.  The built-in ciculating system will provide instant hot water when piped properly into a circulation loop.

 

 

 

This is the LEAD FREE plumbing installation kit you will NEED with any of the Navien units, and the smaller Rinnai units as well as ANY other manufacturere's tankless water heaters.  It allows you to fully service and test the unit and makes future replacements a snap.  This kit should be installed on ANY tankless water heater.  "Lead free" kits cost a little more but are required by many plumbing codes in the USA now.

 

 

 

 

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