I've been following you for several years. I appreciate you sharing your knowledge!

Wow, what an amazing video, thank you soooo much, it was so easy to follow, I'm not a plumber, but a building maintenance fitter & love to know how to fix stuff..Australia...

I tried servicing my own unit and unfortunately, no matter what I tried, I couldn’t get the filter out. It was locked in due to years of neglect. I wound up breaking the housing to the point where even the tool Mike sells wouldn’t work to remove it. I gave Mike a call and an hour later he was at my house and got me back up and running within minutes. I can’t say enough about this guy. He’s the real deal. Thanks again Mike, I really appreciate it.

Mike - I visit here every 6 months to execute the descaling procedure on my Rinnai. Your detailed guide is exceptionally comprehensive and thorough, and I am grateful for the clarity it provides each time. Thank you for all the teachings!

Sir, let me say this first, please! I appreciate your vocabulary. You did not use very dirty language. A few off-the-cuff words; but other than that...Sir, you kept the language very clean. I thank you for that. Okay...I used alot of your advice. The advice made a lot of sence (and many cents as well). I'm a house owner. You have taught me many ideas that I didn't know before listening to you. Thank You, again. ✝Howard✝

This saved me. I could not get the retun flow to run. After I saw the "trick" to cut the power off while the relief valve was open and the unit "working" it flowed like I needed.

Great videos and he helped walk me through the process around a recirculation line with a PEX manabloc system! I will be absorbing the other content as I install the system as well as maintain. Thanks Mike for your support.

Very helpful video. I just followed it to descale mine and the system works like a champ. Thanks!!

I have listened to Mike’s series on the tankless and actually hired his company to replace my current system installed by the builder. Mike provided solid advice, a fair price and an excellent team who installed my system today. I highly recommend Mike’s company for Rinnai expertise and professionalism

Great Video! Very accurate and clear explanation. Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to do these videos. We can always learn something new from people like you that have the experience. From New York Thank you!

As usual, thank you Mike. This video came just as I had a little time to descale my thwh for the first time after approximately a year and a half usage. I live in New York and you helped me via phone with my install. It has been working great ever since. I have vacation this week and intend on descaling. I did not think of the possibilities of the various problems described in the video. I thank educating me.

You are amazing Mike! Thank you for another great and very helpful video.

Thanks buddy for the video. You are such a great guy and you have the heart of a teacher!! God bless you!!

Thank you. I have been using your videos to troubleshoot and flush on my water heater.

Very cool, I sure learned a lot on this one Residential hvac tech of 4 years here

I appreciate you! Thank you for your knowledge and, just as important , your instructional technique or “style “. You are “THE RINNAI GUY”

Greatly appreciate the info. helps make the job easy. Thx Mike!

Thank you so much for this amazing video You are very thorough and your knowledge, presentation and education was so helpful

I am a GC and have benefitted greatly from your insight. Thank you so much. I have 2 Rinnai’s in a duplex in SW Michigan. They have been working flawlessly but your video has prompted me to do some preventative maintenance. Anyone watching your videos should be sure to watch entirely so they do not miss the little incidental tips you include.

I really appreciate your sincere and honest explanation - man you are very good human.

Tysm for the excellent narrative on maintenance of Rinnai tankless water-heater. I am energized to DIY

Thanks for the clear & straightforward explanations!! I'm just a homeowner, but I've had my ru199in almost 2 years ago and having an expert resource that shows us how all aspects of how machines work is invaluable!

Mike, you save me about $1000. Thanks so much. Mike asked me to call him on a Saturday in mid January when I am sure he had better things to do. I was getting the recirc pump error code. He told me to try flushing the valves. Nothing worked so he narrowed it down to pump. He then said to try banging the pump while flushing out the pump valve. I took it a step further and flushed it out pump valve while I was doing a vinegar flush and tapping on the pump with rubber hammer. Well, something did it because now I have recirc back after having it down for a year while everyone else wanted to sell me new heater or new pump. Thanks so much, Mike. If you are ever in Austin, drop me a note and I will buy you lunch.

Thank you for all of your videos. Very helpful on installing and maintaining my V75i. Your the best!

I'm in Broward and we have just over 600 of them in my community. Proud to not be on the HOA. :) I'm 1.5 years in this house and flushed mine twice. Second time with the filter out. Missed that detail the first time and also bought the tool from Mike. Works great.

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

Glad this helped

Awesome how-to video. Thanks for all you do!

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Your welcome

Another fantastic and informative video. You always include the things you never think of until you've fought the project for hours figuring out what went wrong. I've ordered up my Flow-aid flush kit and filter. Wishing you a safe and healthy 2022.

@delmo1474

2 жыл бұрын

BTW, when my heat exchanger starts leaking after the flush, where do you recommend I buy replacement parts?

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

Thank you very much for the comment

Thanks for all the info. I have a R75 LSI I recently had a loud vibration at the fan motor , After removing the fan I found and removed a Bat from the fan. I added a 1/4" mesh screen at the exhaust /intake. Bats can fit in very small places. jm

This is awesome information for me. We have 157 houses with this water heater in our subdivision in Fernandina beach Florida. Im a member of the HOA and will be bring up your channel for the residents to follow who want to do their own systems. Most don’t know there is maintenance required on the water heater. Thanks for all the info.

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

Glad this helped

I've been flushing mine since I bought this house a I didn't even know my unit had an intake filter until I watched this! I'm 6' 1" and had to squat down to see it as it's about 7" above the clean out valve 🤦‍♂. Thanks for the help,

Super helpful Video. Great job Mike keep it up!

Thank You Sir for taking you very valuable time and giving the best and clearest advise on taking care of these units. I am having to figure out this procedures because of the property management has 4 properties with units in them. And until yesterday I had no idea what or even an idea as to where to start. So You have me as a new subscriber, and looking forward to learning more from your teaching. db

Thanks for the video its great info .its my 1st tankless which came with house we bought less than a year ago. The dates on the permits are dated late 2018. Hopefully previous owner was faithful with servicing the unit. There's not any issues at the rinnai runs flawlessly right now. Thanks again for a detailed video !

Very helpful and informative. Thank you for thorough i structions

This is great information and well presented Mike. Just had my Ru180iP installed today so will be doing my own maintenance on this next year. Thank You

Another great video. Thank you.

Great video. Very comprehensive. Thx

Excellent video thanks for sharing

With a small dairy farm and the need to fix things myself, We've switched to Rinnai tankless units. I need to maintain these, but put it off - once having to buy a new unit. These videos tell how to do it, and reinforce the message with why you want to, and what will happen if you don't. I've experience with the don't part - but hope to not repeat my mistakes. Be smarter than me...

Very complete instructions. I am doing the first service on mine an RU 199in and when I first turned on the pump I got no flow. SO I cycled the power for a few seconds and then I got plenty of flow. Mine was put in Feb 22 and it required I cycle the power to get the internal valve to open up. All of you should be aware of this.

Excellent video. Thank you so much.

Thank you Mark appreciate the information

Thank you very informative Best video out there 👍🏻

Great video quite helpful

Great informative video

Great video. Thanks!

Good explanatory video.

Thanks for sharing! Just subbed!

Thanks, very helpful!

Thanks Mike!

This is helpful!

Excellent video Mike. Your videos helped me install my ru199 properly and now flushing properly as well. A quick question, can I install the recirculating valve with my Ru199? I’d like to get hot water faster at the faucets.

Your the Best Thanks

love you videos you should have been a teacher ... but you are ,,,great guy

Mike, thanks so much. Great series on tankless. I've watched quite a few of them, and yours is the best - providing great insight. I particularly like the "watch-out" commentary. Having not flushed my system for 5-6 years (ashamed to say), I'm thinking I should just wait and install a new unit whenever I get the error messages. I am hoping to have a back-up unit handy to install; I'll keep the older one for scrape. I just ordered the filter removal tool. I'm kind of surprised Rinnai hasn't done a better design job on that piece: It seems both critical and under-engineered at the same time. I have a Jacuzzi J-SN180F2, which Rinnai tells me is the equivalent of an RL-75. I hope that is correct. Quick question: any issue using flexible braided hoses in the configuration? Thank you !

hi I have to say that you are very thorough and really like the explanations and reasons of why to do the work the correct way. A lot of people just tell you how to do the work and does not explain the reasons and issues that could come up by not doing it in the right manor. I really appreciate you and your knowledge. I do have a question, can there be multiple cross over valves at different faucet locations? I do have a closed system and 3 runs are about 30 to 40 feet from the water heater. Also it is one of the older units although it was installed new back in November of 2020. is tat possible or should I run a dedicated return because the house does have a crawl space and access to the plumbing. Any information or recommendations would be greatly appreciated. Thank you, Russ

Good evening: Please could you tell me were buy these removal filter Thanks for these excellent tutorial

Thanks

I have an older V series heater. It works but recently it's either too hot or totally cold at the shower outlet depending on the shower mixer position. I've cleaned the inlet filter and descaled the shower fittings, and replaced the shower mixer cartridge. What are the next things to look at? Descaling the heater?

Great video Mike. I am in a new home and unfortunately they did not plumb my house for recirculation and so I spend many minutes waiting for hot water. What options do I have to eliminate this issue. It seems that a new line run from my master bath back to the Rinnai might work. Any suggestions would be appreciated and if you are looking for another job I would appreciate it if you would get in touch. I am in St. Johns county.

Mike, I received the removal tool, thank you. I wanted to ask; it is coming up on 2 years since I installed my rinnai tankless hw heater, due to both laziness and surgery, I have NEVER descaled it. It is still running well and I have a new filter on standby, but I wanted to know what are some of the additional things I may need need to look out for when I descale the HW heater? As always, thank in advance for your help. I will also post this question on your informative KZread channel.

Thanks 🙏

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

No problem

Thanks.

Great video. had a stuck hot water isolation valve recently on a 10 year tankless never flushed that I could not open and am afraid of breaking it. Do you recommend wd-40 or another lubricant that will not into the tankless and pipes?

When following Rinnai’s suggested procedure, they do not say “flush without filter”. They also tell you to only use distilled vinegar.

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

There wrong if you leave the filter in all you do is move the dirt around and you don’t get the proper flow. You can use both vinegar or the descaler

Grreat video. I emailed you on 1/5/23 w/ complete name and address with questions and about purchasing the removal tool. What is the length of the aluminum tool? I only have 3” to 3.5” between the end of the filter and the gas line. The filter on my RU199iN faces to the right pointing directly towards the gas line. I wanted to make sure the tool was not too long for me to get it inside the filter housing.

Another tip for those of us who use a vinegar flush is to flush the pump and hoses with fresh water before storing the equipment…

i have the rinnai v65en and when i go to do the flush water just keeps spewing out of the hot side and doesn't stop? I'm not sure what i'm doing wrong.

Hello, I have an unrelated question for you. I have a Rinnai tankless that has been working very good for me. I flush it every year since new, 6 years old now. Recently lightning struck close by and blew the fuse on my tankless and many other things in my house. I replaced the fuse but they just kept blowing. I found that the lightning actually was strong enough that it went beyond the fuse and destroyed a component on the board right after the fuse. I searched the internet for a new board and found a new original exact replacement on eBay. I swapped it out and now error code 70 is what I get. I tried the reset buttons but I just cannot get it to work. All the dip switch’s are in proper positions, all connections are right. Did I buy a bad board and need to try another? Any help would be greatly appreciated! Thanks

Mike, I have a question about an older Rinnai (have to fake out the servo valve), but this is about the recirculation modes. We have a Controller-R and two buttons. We understood that when pushing these buttons it would send a signal to the tankless to start heating the water. This, we understood, without using the parameter 4b along with parameter 5a or 5b (economy or comfort modes). So, we have parameter 4a, no recirculation. Thus no parameter 5. Are we correct that the Controller-R should tell the tankless to fire? Thanks for all you do. Planning to descale tomorrow.

hey there ttg, i have a question, in aus for some reason not one plumber- gas fitter have any of the tools required to flush a tank, also no new water heater has ever be3en fitted with service ports. question i have, to get the job done (out on a station) can i take unit off the wall turn it upside down and fill water inlet with a citric acid and water mikx and let sit for 8 hrs or so then reconnect and flush out?

mike, i need to change my water inlet valve- threads are messed up-tools needed?

Hi Mike is there a way to flush an older 2003 (2532 - C85iPLUS (2532FFUCD) ) unit that doesn't have the flush valves? and would it make sense to put the flush valves on a unit this old that's never been flushed before or is it past the point of no return? or is there maybe a way to flush this unit even if it doesn't have those flush valves? thanks Mike!

Our Rinnai isn't going to after 3 years of working great Temp set at 120 gets to 95 degrees. Plumber came out descaled unit said it was fixed same thing. He came back out said we need a new one no explanation as to why. There are no codes. I set the temp to 140 and now it gets to 105 degrees. Any idea where to start

I’m curious why 4 gallons of vinegar are needed? I used 2.5 gallons and it seems like plenty to circulate through.

Hi. I bought a Superior Pump Descaling kit from Amazon. It included a 1/6 HP pump. The chart in their manual shows at 5', is 29 GPM. I used that with the Flow-Aide (1 qt w/1 gal of water for ~90 minutes). The solution turned from orange-ish color, to clear with a bit of green tint. I asked a Rep at Rinnai who said there is not a max GPM to not exceed, and gave me a link to a kit they recommend to use. That kit has a pump that is rated at 20 GPM. My concern is that the Rinnai manual says: "Operate the pump and allow the vinegar to circulate through the water heater for at least 1 hour at a rate of 4 GPM" If I have a greater flow rate, can I simply just run it longer to allow the solution to work, or... is there a concern that the greater flow rate can cause harm to the unit?

Hello, my tankless water heater only has 2 valves rather than 4. The company who installed it 13 years ago said that was the standard at that time. Now they install it with 4 valves. I would like to flush it myself and save some money but don't know how to with only 2 valves. Can you help? Thank you.

Anyone have the power vent kick on when a cold water faucet is opened? 199btu NG Rinnia.

Mike what's your thoughts on a filter before the water heater inlet? Also what about a expantion tank I'm on city water.

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

A filter will help we always install one on well water an expansion tank is ok but some codes require it but they help greatly on a tank type heater

Thanks for the video Mike. I have a ru160ip and doing my first flush. Followed the instructions in the manual with a small 1/5 hp pump. Once the pump starts there is good flow on the output hose and then slows to a trickle. I confirmed the pump is working properly so for some reason the solution is not being allowed into the unit and back out. I didn’t touch the relief valve that you mentioned in your video or try to ‘trick’ the unit you mentioned in the video (not even sure I would have to do that with my model) as it wasn’t one of the steps in the manual. Any thoughts?

@vickicerruti

Жыл бұрын

Did you solve for this issue? We are having the same problem with ours.

@bwallace5692

Жыл бұрын

@@vickicerruti I ended up taking the intake filter out after I ordered an extra just in case it broke when taking it out or it needed replacement (which it didn’t in either case). With filter cartridge out and filter holder screwed back in I started pump with heater on, then unplugged heater (or maybe just turned off, I can’t recall) and it flowed perfectly.

@1kosherdill

5 ай бұрын

Thanks for the great video and advice!

What doesn’t the hot water side circulate. Vinegar and water is going in but no water is coming out. Well only at the beginning for a minute or so then water stops coming out of the output

Hi! Can you tell pump's model? thank you.

Problems after flushing are often caused by using too much paper. You might consider a bidet. If not too much paper, maybe too much fiber in your diet. 😉 Great tutorial. Do you recommend a water softener with tankless heaters to avoid that bad calcium build up? What about polyphosphate or siliphos (like aquapure) doping? Thanks Mike!

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

LOL that’s a good one. A softener will help but you still need to flush 😳😳

Love videos. I decided to buy the unit i Bought based on your info. Had my RUR98in since 2018. sent you a question on instagram. would love to get your advice on 1 issue i see on my unit if you have the time sir.

Awesome video from a pro. Question for you. I moved into a newly built house and installed a water filter and water softener (both Pentair systems). I descale my Rinnai every 3 years. I've heard that descaling too often can wear down the pipes within the system prematurely but it was from some other youtuber so I don't know if it's true or not. How often homeowners should descale/flush without damaging the system? Another question if you don't mind. My Rinnai works great but lately, water temp is not as hot as it used to be. It's set at 120 F I have to turn the shower handle little more toward Hot side than before. What could cause this? Thanks for your help!!!

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

The others are wrong, you need to do it once a year. I do mine twice a year. The Pentair which is pro belly the same we install will help but you need to descale the unit. My e mail me at Economypbg@aol.com snd I will send you my cell number snd we can talk about it. Mike

@ride-it-outtimandtoni232

Жыл бұрын

Doing my yearly today. Thank you for the outstanding refesher

Mike, thank you so much, but a question. I get that some say fire the unit while descaling, and you vehemently refute that. I get it. My manufacturer manual doesn't say to do that. My unit is only about 3-4 years old. When I went to flush it, there was only a trickle of water coming through the hot service valve. Indicates to me the flush solution (I was using manu. recommendation of vinegar) was not going through heat exchanger. You are telling me I need to "fake out the water servo valve" by running hot water through it to keep the servo valve open and then unplug the unit, then flush. That is correct? I will give it another go later this week. The question is where is that pump pumping the water? Is it just backflowing through the cold water hose? I am just curious and will update after servicing the unit again. Thanks for all of your input. I might need to get a new inline filter as I don't have your tool and one of the plastic tabs inside the cap snapped a bit. Can still use pliers to get it out, though. Cheers. My unit may be one of the two: RUR199i (REU-NP3237FF-US) RUR160i (REU-NP2530FF-US).

@garymbushsr.7723

Жыл бұрын

Update. Mike, you da' man. I went in again to flush the tank. Removed the filter (manufacturer instructions don't say to do it), and tricked the servo valve by firing the system and unplugging it. Worked like a charm. No codes are observed. I must have done it right. I did flush the unit with cold water before buttoning it up by running cold, house water in and out of hot water service valve. I do notice, though, that the water doesn't seem as hot in my usual spot on the handle on the shower in the morning as it used to. Meaning, I have to put the lever "more hot" to get same level of hot water than I used to. Did I screw up? Any thoughts? Cheers!

Hi Mike, hoping you might be able to help me out with an issue that I'm having with my rinnai RU180iN tankless heater. I just finished my annual maintenance with vinegar descaling. But after finishing and getting everything up and running, I'm noticing that the fan runs for about 3 minutes after the demand for hot water stops. I'm almost certain that this wasn't the case before and that the fan would only run about 10 seconds after I shut off the hot water faucet at the sink. Any any input would be appreciated!

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

The descaling has nothing to do with the fan. You do unplug the unit when you do the maintenance. The fan does run for a while after the burner shuts off to purge the chamber of any gas. I hope this helped Mike

Hi Mike, on a RUR199iN with the bypass filter installed on the hot side for recirculating, do I need to remove that filter and put the plug in when flushing or is it ok to leave the filter in on the hot side? Thanks in advance

@marcoaiello6364

Жыл бұрын

Anyone know the answer to this?

What about a Halo 5 water system in Florida?

Hey Mike, can ya use flowaide to descale a kerig coffee machine

@TheBuddylab

Жыл бұрын

Lol I wouldn’t

if you take filter off all the copper from h-e debris get stuck inside water in let valve causing poor water pressure

@TheBuddylab

2 жыл бұрын

No it doesn’t filter needs to be removed in order to have the prober flow through the heat exchanger the solution or vinegar will flush everything out

14:50 ? Help. That was fast. Any videos on how to trick the unit to keep water servo open?

@TheBuddylab

Жыл бұрын

Leave power on the unit open a faucet to let the unit fire then unplug or turn the power off the unit. It’s ready to service.

Mike, I have a Rinnai RUR199iN, I noticed that it was displaying a code 55, after googling it I see that I needed flush the system, It had just been flushed about 8 months ago by the installer but I flushed it again as my shower kept cycling from hot to cold back to hot. After the flush and turning it back on the code 55 is still displaying Is there a way to reset the system to get rid of the code 55 from displaying. I found one video that said to hold in the two buttons for 5 to 8 seconds on the board, I tried that but the code was not reset. Thanks for any advice you can provide.

@xzaclee4067

Жыл бұрын

You need to press the on/off button 5 times to reset.

Excuse me, the manual recommends flushing 4 gallons per minute . Not 7.3 gallons per minute.

I flushed recently and only removed filter to clean AFTER the flush. Are you saying that was feckless and i should do it again ?

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

No you don’t but next you do it that way Mike

i have an RUR199IN, is that considered the "old R series"?!?!

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

No that’s there brand new series

You never said what hose goes where on the pump.

Do you not find the relief valves leak if you pop them?

@ThatTanklessGuy

2 жыл бұрын

No only if you use it to occasionally test them. The ones Rinnai use are very good.

@mattschulz558

2 жыл бұрын

Yes in my experience if it's old don't even look at it, nevermind touch it lol

You missed one important step! Need to power up the heater after you start the flush...ensure the water solution coming out starts to warm up....then UNPLUG the heater....otherwise the bypass valve is only allowing you to flush the bypass circuit.

Can you tell me how much you charge for the tankless flushing

@PtBm2975

Жыл бұрын

Mike says in the video, between $175 and $225 depending on the condition of the heater and the number of fixtures in your house…