Rinnai tankless - Make sure your switches are set correctly (Code 10)

by Code 10 Expert Now
(NC)

I have had a Rinnai tankless waterheater for 3 years in a vacation home (yes I said 3 years) and after 3 years of random code 10 errors and cold showers,innumerable Google searches and numerous repair person visits I finally figured out the problem. There is a little set of switches inside the cabinet on the lower right side that have to be set correctly by the installer. My home is over 4k feet in elevation...

That was one switch that wasn't flipped. The estimated lineal footage of vent pipe (elbow counts for several ft.) so they didn't have the second switch flipped for the amount of vent pipe I have. Both of these things impact airflow, therefore the unit wasn't working properly. The incompetence of the installer and repair folks is incredible... But finally my problem is solved.

I didn't want anyone else to experience the extreme level of failure by Rinnai and the repair folks I did so I wanted to share. Hope this helps.

Comments for Rinnai tankless - Make sure your switches are set correctly (Code 10)

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Jan 16, 2022
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Should be the top article when you Google fault 10
by: Delaware

After countless arguments with my wife explaining that the water heater wasn't broken, I finally found this article. We only experienced the problem while running baths for the kids on the far end of the house while washing dishes, doing laundry, or showering in another bathroom at the same time. After plumbers claimed they had fixed it by cleaning the drain etc I flipped that stupid little dip switch 3 to on and voila, problem solved.

Nov 02, 2021
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Thank you!!!
by: D Mann

Thank you so much for this post! We bought a house with a tankless and it was getting cold when we would run baths for our kids. It was really frustrating. We considered removing the tankless completely and going back to a traditional.
After checking the manual and dip switches they were set wrong (pipe length and elevation). Switched them to the correct positions and now everything is working great!
Can't thank you enough.

Jul 19, 2020
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Rinnai code 10
by: Greg

Installed the Rinnai 5 years ago in my cabin. Operated great for 3 years. Then code 10 was happening. Cleaned out the squirrel cage fan ( YouTube video was my tutorial). It ran great for year then code 10 again. Cleaned the cage and still no luck. Inspected the venting and all was good. More google searching and lots of comments about the dip switches. Checked the manual and we are at 2300’ so moved switch 3 to the on position and problem fixed. At least the first shower of the day worked with no codes. I have been sitting by the heater every time someone showered so I could turn it on and off every couple of minutes. Happy wife happy life.

Dec 12, 2019
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Rinnai Tankless - Code 10
by: Anonymous

We had this Code 10 error happen last night. We moved into a new construction 5 months ago and had no previous problems with lost hot water until last night. After a visit from a plumber, it turns out that when the outside part of the unit was installed, the drain plug was not removed! It took this long for this to cause problems and alert for drain blockage. The plumber simply removed the plug and the problem was solved.

Jan 06, 2017
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Not Rinnai's fault
by: Anonymous

Don't blame Rinnai. All of the information you described with altitude and vent pipe length is right in the installation manual. Your installer should have known better. BTW the instruction manual also tells the installer to review the manual with the owner! Hmmm

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