@Jake The Wonderdog That is what I am afraid of.

It is a one-person, less than an hour job. Most people could probably have it done in 40 minutes or less.

@Jake The Wonderdog Any idea what it should cost? An average. The plumber that Rinnai sent was from Rotor Rooter and they were expensive so we will not be using them. Even Rinnai complained about them being expensive and advised to find someone else. It is a PITA to find good people out where we live. There was a guy who had great reviews and was versed in Rinnai . He was from a company that we had used before who went out on his own. He just recently got in a motorcycle accident and is in the ICU so we are back to the drawing board to find someone.

Thank you for this information. It will help when dealing with these people. At least we have an idea that this should be a simple install.

And I am Clyde Kalvin. For some reason when they send a notification to my email and I go through the link it comes up as my old username.

Let me know what the quote is just out of curiosity.

@Jake The Wonderdog Here is an estimate we just got. We are going to get more estimates. If they all come back at that much I don't know if it is just better to go with a new Navien. We got quote for a little over $3500.

Here is the estimate for swapping out with new Rinnai. Rinnai is giving us the unit so that is not a cost included in the estimate.

Here is the estimate we got from the plumber who came to look at the Rinnai. It is for installing a Navien. Is the Navien unit that is included in this estimate comparable to the Rinnai unit.

I think they both have lost their minds - particularly the first quote.

If I were doing this job I'd carefully evaluate if the existing vent and gas supply meets the installation requirements in the manual.

This is a 200k BTU heater, the gas supply is critical. A vent that's too long and/or has too many elbows can be problematic also.

If those are good, I would assume that the issue is with the unit itself. There's no reason in the world to convert CPVC to PEX. I don't ever use CPVC for supply lines, but if its' there - I sure wouldn't patch in some PEX.

If they are swapping out the vent (first quote) I'd ask why. This is a 7 year old install - unless the stainless steel venting was done improperly or has some other indication that it needed to be replaced it should be fine.

Why do you have a tankless heater? Is it for continuous hot water? Space savings? Energy savings?

Propane is one of the most expensive fuels. Consider a hybrid electric tank - particularly if you have the space, are in a warmer climate, and electricity isn't crazy expensive. It can be one of the least expensive ways to heat water.

@Jake The Wonderdog Thanks for your thoughts. Trust me we are frustrated. My husband is going to get more quotes.

The venting we already have should be fine. The old and the new Rinnai units

use the same venting. It is Rinnai venting. There is only one turn. It goes up from the unit and then turns out where it exits the house. In the picture you can see the black wire and the vent turns right above it and goes out of the house.

We have the unit for continuous hot water. We prefer to keep it propane as we have the propane tank already and it is used for the tankless and our range.

The gas supply is fine. It was checked this current time and once before. No issues there.

It just seems to me that not much should really need to be done other then a few minor piping things. Replacing all the pipe seems ridiculous.

Yes, this is a handyman job. Seriously.

The CPVC pipe and fittings is dirt cheap and glues (solvent welds) together.

The gas line is already flex line.

I see no reason why this isn't a "drop in" replacement.