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Tankless Hot Water Heaters, Efficient, Effective, Endless.
INFO
Information
Rinnai R75i Specifications
Jan 26th
Rinnai R75i Specs
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- Natural Gas or Propane Gas Models
- 15,000 to 180,000 Btu
- 0.7 to 6.0 GPM (55 F rise) / 0.7 to 7.5 GPM (35 F rise)
- 98-140 Degree Settings or 98 – 185° F with (MCC-91 controller)
- Height 26″ Width 14″ Depth 10″
- No Pilot Light – Direct Electronic Ignition
- Maximum Hot Water Capacity – 7.5 GPM (multiple points of use)
- Newly Designed Commercial-Grade Heat Exchanger
- New Integrated Condensate Collector
- On-Board Diagnostics and Safety Monitoring
- EZ Connect (connects 2 units together without use of a control board
- High-Altitude Operation Up To 10,000 Feet Without Additional Parts
Rinnai R85 Tankless Water Heater
Jan 26th
Rinnai R85 Specs
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Tankless Specs
Specifications
Hot water capacity - Minimum flow – 0.5 gpm (gallons per minute)
- Maximum flow – 5.3 gpm
Anticipated maximum – at 75°F temperature rise (input 45°, output 120°) 4.2 gpm
There should be no single water fixture requiring more than 3.5 gpm
Sized right for our Ontario climate
Input BTU rating: Minimum 15,000 Maximum 180,000
Efficiency rating: 82%
Installation requirements
• Water lines – minimum ¾” required (inlet & outlet) – R-Ready Valve Set included
• Gas lines – sized for 180,000 BTU rating (3/4” minimum, larger with long runs)
• Gas pressure – minimum 6” W.C. (watch low pressure areas)
• Water pressure – target 30 – 80 psi (minimum 15 psi, maximum 150 psi)
• No anti-scald mixing valve required (check with your local municipality)
• Venting – 5” concentric venting (proprietary to Rinnai)
• Outside wall location is recommended – Standard Vent Kit included
Application guidelines
Hard water areas
• Unit is approved for use in areas where the water hardness is less than 12 grains
• Typically, GTA, Ottawa and Niagara municipal water sources qualify
• North (Barrie) and southwestern Ontario likely not eligible
• For hard water areas above 12 grains, please discuss with installation crew. A water softener may be required.
Configuration
• No re- circulating systems permitted (holding tanks, plumbing re-circ, etc.)
Tankless Rental
Jan 23rd
Renting a Tankless System
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Is a tankless rental the right option?
I hate to get in to this and fuel the recession right now but if money is tight then renting a tankless water heater might be the right thing to do.
A tankless rental works out to be a cheap investment for your home as as the cost for the unit is fixed every
month and the amount of natural gas, propane or even electricity consumed is reduced significantly. On top of that a rental system has the installation cost, and the venting kit built into the rental price. Currently systems are renting from around 35 to 50 dollars per month. The price does vary according to the size of the unit required for the house. If you live in a 4000 sq foot home you will need a larger tankless than a 2000 sq foot duplex. Is renting a tankless the right option for you? This is really up to your financial situation, the cost of outright purchasing a system is between $1500 and $3500, renting might work out more cost effective in many cases.
If you are interested in finding out more about a tankless rental systems please fill out the form and we will have someone contact you within 1 business day to discuss your options.
Frequently Asked Questions
Jan 20th
A Few FAQ
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Can a home owner install a tankless hot water heater?
We would not recommend a home owner to install their own tankless hot water heater. Tankless water 
heaters have strict venting codes that really need to be installed by a professional H.V.A.C company with certified technicians. Most of these units require direct (through the wall) venting with clearance regulations. Unit efficiency can greatly be decreased by insufficient/improper venting. With on demand gas units, gas piping and water pipes may need to be upgraded as well.
Should I buy my tankless hot water heater, then call an installer?
If you decide to purchase a hot water heater from a source other than your installer, you may be faced with warranty issues. Also, all required parts for a full installation, sufficient venting, pipe upgrading and safeties are not usually included when purchasing a unit. Most installers insist on supplying dealer brand units with their installations. This will benefit you, the homeowner, as installers are specifically trained for the brand they install and if required, there will be no warranty issues with parts under manufacturers’ warranty.
Venting a Tankless
Jan 14th
Tankless Venting
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There is a plethora of information regarding tankless systems and which is right for you. This can be an intimidating experience for any consumer, today we are going to deal with venting and choosing the right method for your application. There really is no right or wrong choice it’s that some situations will require different methods and we aim to help you choose the option that best suits your needs.
Use the information below to the best of your ability, but if you have a unique situation send us a quick email or give us a call and we would be more than happy to help out.
Tankless systems require oxygen or air to complete and maintain the combustion process. It is essential for tankless water heaters to precisely monitor and control both the incoming and exhaust gases to achieve peak efficiency. As time goes by natural and environmental occurrences build up reducing a tankless heaters ability to efficiently heat water. Different venting systems have different traits let’s look at some of the different characteristics.
Non Direct Vent Indoor (fan assisted)
- Uses a powered fan to push exhaust gases out of the house
- Pulls the air or oxygen needed from the inside of the house
- Fan powered tankless systems allow for increased flexibility in venting (vertical or horizontal)
Direct Vent Indoor (fan assisted)
- Combustion oxygen is taken from outside the home, eliminating thermal drafting issues inside.
- The Tankless water heater is sealed and doesn’t consume any air form the inside of the house.
- Venting is done with two pipes or a single concentric pipe (a pipe inside another pipe).
- Can be used in locations where appliances may be competing for the same oxygen or in cold climates where air leakage reduces home energy efficiency.
- Vertical or horizontal venting
Outdoor
- This is restricted to warm weather climates only as subzero temperatures significantly reduce efficiency and there is a risk of the unit freezing
- Air for combustion is taken directly from the environment around the unit.
- Improves home energy efficiency as excess heat is thrown off outside and reduced A/C load.
Tankless Water Heater Facts
Jan 12th
Tankless Facts
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- 25% of every household energy dollar is spent making domestic hot water. Heating water with a conventional tank is the third largest energy consumer in your home (behind furnace and A/C).
- Electricity is the WORST way to heat hot water while natural gas and propane gas are much more efficient. Based on national fuel price averages of $1.46/ccf and $0.09/kwh, the cost/100,000 BTU’s is $1.46 for natural gas and $2.64 for electricity. Just under 60% of North American households have access to natural gas, and if you don’t, propane gas is available to almost everyone and is still a better value than electricity. In addition electric water heaters have only a small fraction of the capacity of gas water heaters. So if you like expensive, short showers, with cold water at the end, use electric; otherwise gas would be a better choice.
- Modern gas fired tankless water heaters are the best alternative available to today’s homeowners to reduce their residential energy consumption. A typical gas fired tankless water heater cost about 2-1/2 times as much as a standard tank water heater. However it will pay for itself in just a few years or less, and will last twice as long as a tank.
- If you are considering a tankless water heater Rinnai is likely the best choice. On average a new Rinnai is installed somewhere in North America every 3.75 minutes. Rinnai has shipped over 30 million tankless water heaters world wide.
Greatest Tankless Penetration
Jan 9th
Most Popular Areas
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2008 was a great year with many people switching over to tankless systems, it sure has keep us busy around here. Going over some of the results have yielded some surprising stats.
Most Popular Brand
Rinnai
This was not that surprising to us as we had a hard time maintain an adequate amount of stock for customer installations. Hands down the Rinnai tankless is the best unit out there.
Navian
This units efficiency rating was through the roof and thus made it an easy choice for a lot of consumers, we have stopped selling it due to system flaws. 2009 should be a much better year for the Navien.
Location
Toronto Core
This location has one of the highest densities of homes and so it is to be expected that it had the greatest density of tankless installs.
Mississauga
We didn’t expect this but Mississauga came in second with numerous installs of tankless systems.
Brampton
Brampton came in third for the city with the most tankless installs. They also had the highest penetration of Rinnai’s verses other brands, 94 percent were installed Rinnai’s. That topped all the other cities by a slight margin.
Oakville
There is really nothing too exciting about Oakville but they achieved the fourth highest number of tankless installs.
Markham
This city has achieved a fifth place ranking on total tankless installations but they also have the highest number of rented tankless systems.
Burlington
Not the greatest claim to fame but Burlington had the highest percentage of Navian’s installed, and the city with the sixth greatest tankless installations
Other
We installed tankless systems in many other location, nearly 50% were installed outside the six cities listed above. Here is a list of 9 more make this a list of 15 top tankless installs per city in Ontario.
- Hamilton
- Etobicoke
- Richmond Hill
- Scarborough
- Vaughan
- Kitchener
- Guelph
- Newmarket
- Whitby
I will try to publish some more interesting facts such as
- Average Tankless Cost
- Average Venting Cost
- Type of Home system installed in
- Average Home Age
- Average Home size
Find Out More
And as always if you are interested in a tankless water heating system follow the link below or click the “get a quote” at the top of the page.
Descaling Your Tankless Hot Water Heater
Jan 9th
Tankless De-Scaling
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Have a Tankless hot water heater? You should consider descaling the system. Each manufacturer recommends a different technique so it is best to look at you particular units manual before you do anything. You should be able to find instruction manuals for 99 percent of the tankless systems out there on this site (email me 
if your is not here).
Generally to preform the descaling process you would need to shut off the water and disconnect both the incoming and outgoing water pipes, also make sure to unplug the unit so that it doesnt fire and try to heat the cleaning agent. Then with a small pump push vinegar through the system and catch the fluid that comes out the opposite pipe. Personally we use a rubber hoses on both the input and out put pipes. The Rubber pipes are used so that two hose clamps can be used to trap the vinegar with in the system. Let the solution sit for about 20 minutes and then remove the clamps and turn the pump back on to flush out the buildup. Using the same pump flush the system with some pure water to clear out the cleaning solution. Simply reassemble everything and plug the unit back in and you will be back in business with a noticeable jump in heating efficiency.
Please read your systems manual before preforming this procedure, some units cant be flushed at all or it needs to be preformed by a specialist to retain warranty. If you have any doubts call your tankless manufacturer.
Which Tankless System Is The Most Efficient?
Jan 8th
Tankless Efficiency Ratings
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All current tankless units have different efficiency ratings. They can range anywhere from 60 to an amazing 
98 percent. This can of course come with some positives and Negatives. The highest rated efficiency of a tankless system is called the Navien which is 98% efficient. Since the unit uses the heat so effectively it can actually be vented with plastic pipe as the exhaust gases are at a very low temperatures. This unit is one of the first to utilize a condensing heat exchanger giving the unit its amazing efficiency rating.
It has been approved by CSA and thus can be used and sold in Canada and Ontario, which it has been for more than a year now. Before you settle on this unit there are some negatives of this hot water heater. This system has the highest failure rate of all other systems, motherboards are constantly failing causing no heat situations for customers. There has also been been reported a failure with a rubber gas hose off the valve which needs to be replaced. This in turn could possible remove the Ontario TSSA approval and the Canadian wide CSA stamp. 2009 should be an interesting year for Navien.
Currently the best tankless system is the Rinnai it doesn’t have the greatest efficiency rating but it still stands at 84%. If efficiency was a test and that was your mark you would be bringing home an A and that’s something I wish I received more often.
