Rinnai split system installation in Melbourne, backed by a seven-year warranty

Rinnai is a heating name in this city. Rinnai Australia’s head office is in Braeside, and its gas heaters – and the Brivis ducted heaters it now sells under the Rinnai umbrella – are a familiar sight in Melbourne homes. That is why Rinnai splits come up so often: a household already has a Rinnai or Brivis heater, it is looking for cooling, and the brand it trusts for winter also sells reverse cycle.

That familiarity is worth something, but it is not the reason to buy. The reasons are on Rinnai’s own site: a published seven-year parts and labour warranty on its residential refrigerated air conditioning, effective from the date the installation is completed; a wall-split line-up that runs from 2.5 kW to 9 kW across several series; energy ratings of up to 9 stars on selected series; and multi split outdoor units that run up to six indoor units.

The gas-heater connection has a second edge. If you are replacing a gas wall heater with a reverse cycle split, the Victorian Energy Upgrades program may apply an upfront discount – provided the specific model is on the VEU product register and the old heater is properly decommissioned, with the gas line capped by a licensed gasfitter. FreshDuct arranges that discount through our accredited installation partners, and the office checks the model against the register before it quotes. If the discount does not apply to your situation, we say so. Our VEU discount page explains the scenarios.

Rinnai publishes several wall-mounted series, and the differences are real rather than cosmetic. Here is what the official site says about each, and who it suits.

PX Series (2.5 to 8 kW): up to 7 star energy efficiency, Wi-Fi and voice control, an ECO+ mode that picks the operating mode for you, a human sensor and a turbo mode. The all-rounder for a living room that gets used all day.

TX Series (2.5 to 9 kW): quiet operation, HEPA air filtration, humidity control, Wi-Fi and voice control, and the largest wall-split capacity Rinnai lists. The pick for open-plan areas and for anyone with dust or hay-fever complaints.

VX Series (2.5 to 7 kW): up to 6.5 stars, long-distance airflow up to 12 metres, a self-cleaning function and quiet operation. Suits long rooms where the unit has to throw air the length of the space.

PB Series (2.6 to 8 kW): up to 6.5 stars, Wi-Fi control, demand-response function and quiet operation. The straightforward bedroom and study unit.

JX, J and T Series (2.5 to 8 kW): Rinnai’s up-to-9-star units with airflow to 10 metres. The T has Wi-Fi, voice control and a demand-response function; the JX and J are listed as exclusive to one retail chain, so we install those when you have bought one.

Which series we can supply on the day changes with stock, so the office confirms availability with your quote. Rinnai also sells cooling-only units for the Northern Territory, northern Queensland and Western Australia – not for Melbourne. Every unit we install here heats as well as cools.

Rinnai’s air conditioning warranty booklet sets the residential refrigerated warranty at seven years parts and seven years labour, running from the date of completion of installation, not the date of purchase. Several conditions in that booklet decide whether it holds, and two of them are about installation.

First, the product must be installed by a qualified installer in line with the applicable regulations. Damage or failure resulting from improper installation is excluded. Second, pipe work, control wiring and any added components are the installer’s responsibility, not Rinnai’s – so the standard of the pipe run, the brazing, the vacuum and the electrical connection is what you are relying on for the next seven years.

That is why the install matters more on a Rinnai than the badge does. Our crews run the refrigerant lines in a duct cover, pressure test and vacuum them before the valves are opened, connect the unit through a licensed electrician on a circuit rated for it, and run the unit in both heating and cooling before they leave. You get photos of the indoor unit, the outdoor unit and the pipe run. Keep those with your tax invoice – the booklet names the tax invoice or receipt as your proof of purchase, and asks for proof of the date the install was completed – and a claim in year six starts with the paperwork in order. Rinnai also offers an extended-warranty option on selected products through its Service Advantage program; that one needs online registration within the first twelve months of installation and scheduled servicing by Rinnai, and the booklet lists the products it covers.

Rinnai sells multi split systems as well as single wall splits – one outdoor unit running up to six indoor units – which raises the question we get asked most on this brand: three bedrooms and a study – three outdoor units, one multi, or ducted?

Singles are the simplest install per room, run independently, and if one fails the others keep going. In a weatherboard or brick veneer with rooms on external walls, three back-to-back singles are often the right answer.

A multi split puts one outdoor unit on the wall or the slab and runs pipe to several indoor units. It suits a narrow block, an apartment balcony or a townhouse where there is only one sensible place for a condenser. The rule is that the indoor units are sized so they are not all running flat out on the same afternoon, and that the outdoor unit is positioned where its noise bothers nobody. Our single versus multi-head guide works through the trade-offs.

Ducted reverse cycle is the answer when the whole house needs conditioning and there is roof space to run it – especially where a Brivis ducted gas heater is coming out. That is a different job; see our ducted reverse cycle page.

Tell the office how many rooms, which walls are external and where the outdoor unit could go, and it will suggest the layout before the quote. Long after the install, we service and clean Rinnai splits too – cleaning and filter work, not warranty repairs, which the booklet reserves for Rinnai’s authorised service representatives. See split system cleaning.