Rinnai tankless

[autx790]

I recently received an outdoor Rinnai unit. The website I ordered it from said it was new, however, upon receipt, it appeared to be a repackaged box, no user manual, the tape on the accessory bag was broken and the bag open, the cold inlet not only had old teflon tape on it, and it still had water in it.

The company told me this is normal and that " Rinnai tests each and every unit before shipping to ensure 100% useability and quality ensurance because of the high value of the units. This explains the signs that it might look like it was perviously installed or that a small amount of water dripped out of the unit. It in no way affects the unit or warranty. Manuals are available for download on their website. They do not include manuals because they want the units installed by a qualified rinnai installer".

Has anyone had experience purchasing a Rinnai unit and found this type of condition when they received it? Is this company telling the truth?

 

[lordofthepipes]

i have installed a bunch of Rinnai tank less heaters and they come in original packaging with installation and owners manuals. yes the units will have some water in them but never have i seen one with old Teflon tape. sounds like they maybe pulling a fast one.dosent mean the unit is no good, just sounds like it has been installed already. i would call rinnai and voice your concerns about the heater and the seller.

 

[autx790]

Hey thanks for the reply! Very interesting that having water in them through shipping is common. I wouldn't have expected that. It all seemed strange to me, also that the box it came in didn't have Rinnai written on it anywhere. Maybe It's starting to make sense why the unit was only $650. I'm going to give Rinnai a call Monday, but seeing as how I purchased it online and they told me they do not support online retailers, I don't expected them to care to much. Maybe i'll get an "i told you so".

 

[autx790]

Here are some photos...
https://picasaweb.google.com/115228922760574019578/Jun52011?authkey=Gv1sRgCM3x86bJr4SrogE#

 

[Caduceus]

The key thing here is that you said "The website I ordered it from". Was this Rennai's website or somebody else? Have the info ready for Rennai when you call them is it is not an approved Rennai retailer. They may want to know if their product is being sold second hand and giving them a bad rep.

 

[autx790]

Rinnai does not sell their units online from their website and they don't support online sales either. They told me the warranty is still valid as long as it is installed properly, but they do not want to sell their units directly to the end user.

Just spoke to Rinnai. They said the unit should not have been received in this condition and they've not heard of the place I bought it and were surprised I only paid $650 for it. He also said the units are tested in Japan before they US office gets them and they will blow them out to insure there isn't any water left in them. So i'm not sure why that's been common for others to find them like that. Anyway, like Rinnai said...all the bags should be sealed and nothing on the threads. The place I bought it claims to have received it directly from Rinnai but this doesn't not appear to be the case. I guess I got a lemon and will send it back. Thanks for the input.

 

[plumbernyc]

Is the website willing to issue a refund?

 

[autx790]

Yeah, fortunately they'll take it back, but I also did make sure they would according to their return policy before i purchased it. I was suspicious to start. I purchased another unit from another company on amazon and it was a completely different package, and the new unit even had different connections on it and even said rinnai on the unit.