20 Most Recent Rinnai RHFE-431FAIII 16,700 BTU Direct Vent Furnace Energy Saver Heater - Natural Gas - Page 2 Questions & Answers

try national energy they are also on line

http://www.rinnaisales.co.nz/tradesmart/rinnai2/pdfs/service_info/550.pdf
above is a service manual, it will help toy troubleshoot and hopefully repair your unit. Be careful, if in doubt, call a certified gas fitter.
I would suspect, the thermostat, or some other sensor, as this is usually what's wrong.

Sounds like the thermocouple needs changing. This is the flame failure device, they can burn out after a few years. Recommend getting a technican to fix it but you could ask him to make sure he has a thermocouple for this model on his first visit to save paying for two calls.

What do you need? [email protected]

I bet you have an error code stored in the unit. Try this to retrieve it: Turn the heater off. Hold down on the Economy button as well as the up and down arrows all at the same time for about 3 seconds. Let go and in about 2 seconds a number of lights will light up. I find it easier to have an assistant write down the lights as I call them out. If 60 and LO is displayed, you may have a spider web inside the burner not allowing the unit to light. You will need to remove the front cover and start disassembling the burner. Not an easy task. You can try and shoot high pressure air down the center exhaust tube but that is a gamble that it will blow the web out of the burner. Good Luck.

Make sure the thermocouple is well into the flame. Remove the pilot assembly and clean out any debris in the pilot orifice. Tighten the connections to make sure there is no gas leak and lastly, replace the thermocouple again. You may have gotten a bad one.

type=oper&dum=1&z=&cat=space&subcat=energy&subcatname=Energy+Saver&i=&test=

try this link.

or www rinnai.co.nz
navigate to tradesmart, space heating, energysavers. the 431 is listed there.

http://www.rinnaisales.co.nz/tradesmart/products/show_sub_cats.asp?type=oper&dum=1&z=&cat=space&subcat=energy&subcatname=Energy+Saver&i=&test=

The above should take you to the link.
otherwise www.rinnai.co.nz naviagte to tradesmart, its in there

Wooden,

You have some problem with the spark. Either it didn't come on or it stayed on longer than it should. Try to start the heater and look into the burner you should see a spark in the pot.

Tom Hawkins
[email protected]

You could have something as simple as a blocked flue pipe. Check outside and make sure the pipe is clear of ice or snow. Check the circulating fan and filter for lint. Be sure the lovers on the front of the stove are open and clean of lint.

Tom Hawkins

Mel Pat,

Yes your unit is listed. Rinnai will replace a gasket in your unit, in your home. It takes about 30 minutes. Go to their site and register or call your local dealer for help.

Tom Hawkins
Bethel, Alaska

Remove the two screws on the side trim. Remove the two top screws from the filter panel. Reach behind the heater and pull the sock down on the vent pipe. unclip the two clamps holding the vent pipe together. Remove the plastic elbow off of the vent termination. Slide the heater to the left to slide the vent pipe off of the vent termination. Remove the gas line after shutting the gas off.

Hold down on the child lock button for 6 seconds.

vent blockage, bad fan, wrong DIP switch setting

bad thermastat

I am not a plumber, but I know that if you don't clean it annually you will get build up. The way that the pipes wind back and forth through the system lends to build up on the copper piping.You may want to make sure that you get it serviced.

gday nelson. if you check out the specs on the rinnai range you will find another one that will go straight in. if you buy new it will come with a new flue kit. as far as recomended installation heights most of them are quite flexible. i installed a second hand 403ft yesterday with the centre of the flue at 140mm from the floor. recomended in the instructions were 240mm. a mate gave me the heater and i just had to buy a flue kit as the old one was already too short. if you messure your flue from inside and send me the specs i can give you a more difinitive answer.

OK, sounds like a sensor problem to me. The temperature reading is done on the backside of this unit. Remove the top cover and with a flashlight in hand, look for a small black rubber probe with yellow wires attached. You will find it about 2 inches above the floor and on the right hand side (when viewing from the front). Make sure this probe is not being influenced by the venting system and showing a “false” reading. If the vent pipe (the one covered by cloth) is close to it, the probe is made that you can relocate it out of the way of the vent. You will need to get to both the backside of the heater and go inside the heater cabinet to do this properly. If the vent is a few inches away and not influencing the probe, place a cold cloth on the probe and see if the temperature drops. Then a warm clothe on it to see if it rises. You could have a bad probe. List your model number and I can get you a part number.

You may need a new display board. Can you live with it or do you want to spend a few hundred dollars for a new one?

Best Solution posted on May 06, 2008
soleman13au
Rank: Master
Rating: 90%, 19 votes
Hi lisarinnai
I am assuming it is a Natural Gas Heater. All it probably needs is a good blow out with compressed air. They tend to carbon up in the pilot light area. You will probably also find it is very dusty inside. Easiest way to clean the carbon out is to remove the hose at the heater and with compressed air blow through the fitting where you have removed the hose. Make sure you hold down the start button so the air can get through to the pilot light and jets. Don't connect the electricity for the fan when you do this. Hopefully this should solve the problem. You may want to clean the inside of the heater out as well which mean removing the covers. They tend to get a lot of dust and dirt inside them which doesn't help either. You will just need to follow the screws to establish how to get the panelling off to reveal the inside of the heater. Hope this helps. Regards Bryan