Water heaters
Rinnai RX160iN Condensing Tankless Water Heater
Prices are the equipment only — the appliance, before install labour. Every product in this catalogue currently has at least one real, seller-observed equipment price (see the SKU verification and price observation notes on each product). Get contractor quotes for the install itself, especially for anything needing new electrical circuits or condensate drainage.
Condensing gas tankless water heater, UEF 0.93, endless hot water with no standby loss.
Our take
Tankless is often sold on efficiency and is really about two other things: you never run out, and it takes up a fraction of the space. Where it disappoints is cold-groundwater states, where the headline flow rating is measured at a temperature rise you won't get. In Minnesota in January the incoming water is near 40°F and the same unit delivers meaningfully less simultaneous flow than the box says.
Best for
Gas homes wanting to reclaim floor space, and households whose complaint is running out of hot water rather than the bill.
Watch out for
Sizing must be done on your winter groundwater temperature, not the national rating. Annual descaling is not optional in hard water.
What sellers are actually charging
Real listings, read on the date shown. Prices change — click through to check before you act on any of them.
| Seller | What you get | Price | Seen |
|---|---|---|---|
| SupplyHouse.com
online retailer |
Rinnai RX160iN tankless gas
RX160IN |
$1,298 | 2026-08-16 |
Equipment price is not installed price. The listings above are what the hardware costs. Installation — labour, electrical, refrigerant lines, permits, removing the old system — is typically a similar amount again, and varies more between contractors than between brands. Where we have an installed figure it is labelled as such and comes from someone who actually installs.
What owners and installers report
Collected from trade forums, owner communities and video reviews. Every report links to the original. We synthesise and quote briefly — we don't republish other people's writing.
Every report below traces back to a single source. The sections are broken out by topic because that's how they read, but treat this as one data point, not independent corroboration across topics — a second source agreeing (or disagreeing) would change that.
Sizing and capacity in practice
Whether the unit as installed matches the load, including short-cycling and temperature overshoot from oversizing.
Verified purchaser reports the unit faults out under simultaneous heavy draw — a bath plus a shower, or a shower plus the washing machine.
“Can't even draw a hot bath without it faulting out, nor take a shower while the washing machine is running.” — UnhappyRinnaiCustomer homeowner, 2026-07-27
Rinnai RX160iN — Lowe's verified-purchaser reviews · Lowe's ratings · 2026-07-01 · read it in context
Counter-report: whole-house sizing works well without a recirculation pump for at least one large household.
“6200 sq ft 3 level house and no issues, no recirculating pump is needed.” — Brian homeowner, 2026-07-09
Rinnai RX160iN — Lowe's verified-purchaser reviews · Lowe's ratings · 2026-07-01 · read it in context
Controls and compatibility
Thermostat integration, communicating-system lock-in, firmware, and whether the equipment achieves its rated staging in practice. On tankless water heaters this also covers ignition delay and the 'cold water sandwich' effect.
Two separate verified reviewers cite long wait times at the fixture before hot water arrives — a generic tankless/no-recirculation characteristic, not necessarily unique to this model, but what owners of this specific unit report.
“Takes 3 to 5 minutes of wasting water before it delivers as heated” — Dontwasteyourtime8561 homeowner, 2026-06-05
Rinnai RX160iN — Lowe's verified-purchaser reviews · Lowe's ratings · 2026-07-01 · read it in context
Warranty and manufacturer support
What actually happens when owners make a claim.
Verified purchaser reports a fast full-unit warranty replacement.
“Rinnai replaced the complete unit with a brand new one and they did it fast.” — SonnyJames3341 homeowner, 2026-06-06
Rinnai RX160iN — Lowe's verified-purchaser reviews · Lowe's ratings · 2026-07-01 · read it in context
Sources are linked so you can verify any of this yourself. We don't mirror content — Amazon in particular permits no republication of review text, so where we use retailer data we show the aggregate rating and link out. How we collect and weight this →
Compare against
Rheem ProTerra Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 50 gal
The default heat pump water heater for most US households: 50 gallons, UEF 3.75, widely stocked and widely serviced.
Rheem ProTerra Hybrid Heat Pump Water Heater, 80 gal
80-gallon version of the ProTerra, UEF 4.0 — the highest efficiency in the mainstream heat pump water heater market.
A. O. Smith ProLine XE Voltex AL (HPTS-66) Heat Pump Water Heater, 66 gal
66-gallon heat pump water heater with a UEF of 4.02, the highest figure in our water heater set. Sold under A. O. Smith's 'ProLine XE Voltex AL / Smart Hybrid' line — a different, retail-exclusive 'Signature Series' name is used for a different model-number family at Lowe's, so don't cross-shop the names.
A. O. Smith ProLine XE Voltex AL (HPTS-80) Heat Pump Water Heater, 80 gal
80-gallon version of the same ProLine XE Voltex AL 'Smart Hybrid' platform as the HPTS-66 — same compressor and control architecture, larger tank.
Before you buy this
Ask for the first-hour rating, not just tank size, and check it against your household's simultaneous demand — showers and laundry at the same time — rather than headcount alone. If it's a heat pump water heater, confirm the room has enough air volume (or a duct kit) that it won't spend winter on resistance backup, and that there's a real route for condensate, not just a nearby floor drain. Confirm the panel has spare 240V capacity. And if you're removing a gas unit that shared a flue with a furnace, ask what happens to that flue once your water heater's draft is gone — an orphaned flue can backdraft.