Aquatech Rapid X6 Review

Powrhouse has conducted extensive research of the heat pump hot water market. We have mapped just about every unit on the market, comparing them across a variety of factors like capacity, power, tank recovery, place of manufacture, reviews, refrigerant, warranty and cost. Please see our “Compare Heat Pump Hot Water Units” live spreadsheet to see our research. Armed with the knowledge from this research, we think we are well placed to review the Aquatech Rapid X6.

In our article and video “How to Choose a Heat Pump Hot Water Unit“, we set out a framework of four key factors in analysing heat pump hot water units:

Cost
Reliability/Warranty
Refrigerant
Maintenance

After running the Aquatech Rapid X6 through our framework, we think it is one of the best value heat pump hot water units on the market. But, like everything in life, it’s not perfect, it has drawbacks.

1. Cost

An Aquatech Rapid X6 through Powrhouse costs around $1,500 fully installed with the Solar Victoria $1,000 rebate. This price includes a plumber to disconnect and remove the existing unit, an electrician to wire the unit to the switchboard and Powrhouse to coordinate the installation and claim rebates and incentives on a customer’s behalf. Installation may cost higher if the unit will be in a new location, if wiring costs extra or if there is no more room on the switchboard.

A fully installed heat pump hot water unit for $1,500 is a low-medium price. It’s more than low quality (junk?) units like Ecogenica, Enviroheat or Chromagen (Midea), but it’s considerably lower than top of the range units like Reclaim and Sanden which can go for upwards of $5,000.

2. Reliability and Warranty

When analysing reliability, we recommend people research reviews and online forums. It’s one thing to take our word, or a plumber’s word, but a multitude of reviews are very helpful. We also place greater value on reviews of units that have been operating for a long time. A review of a unit that has been operating for 5 plus years is more valuable than a review of a unit installed 3 months ago. We like Product Review and the Facebook Group My Electric Efficient Home.

The Rapid X6 currently rates as 4.7 on Product Review from 468 reviews. That’s an impressive result. You can’t please everyone and things will go wrong. The Rolls Royce of heat pump hot water units is the Reclaim Unit, which receives 4.9. There are other units that are reviewed slightly better than they Rapid X6, but they either fall down on cost or refrigerant.

The warranty of the Rapid X6 is 5 years on the heat pump and tank, 2 years on labour. We can view the warranty both positively and negatively. On one hand, a warranty on a product is only as good as the company backing it. Aquatech has been around since 2009, introducing its first heat pump hot water unit to the market in 2011. This is a good sign – it suggests Aquatech will be around for a long time to come, honouring any warranty claims. On the other hand, we’d like to see a longer warranty. Heat pump hot water units are incredibly efficient, but it’s only so helpful if they need to be replaced every 5 years. Both Aquatech and other manufacturers suggest the units should last 10 to 15 years – we’d like to see them back up those claims with a longer warranty.

3. Refrigerant

The Rapid X6 uses Propane (R290) as a refrigerant. Propane is one of the best refrigerants on the market with a global warming potential (GWPs) of 3. Carbon Dioxide is the only better refrigerant in the market with a global warming potential of 1 (how ironic that Carbon Dioxide is the best refrigerant?!).

Unfortunately, the bulk of the market uses terrible refrigerants with GWPs in the thousands. Powrhouse will never deal in these units. Manufacturers claim that units will be disposed of correctly and there are incentives for people to capture these refrigerants, but Powrhouse takes a more realistic view: people will be people. Some trades will take the easiest and cheapest method of disposal, meaning these gases can and will escape with terrible consequences for the environment.

The Australian government has banned the import and manufacture of refrigerants with a GWP of higher than 700. From 1 July 2024, many other units in the mid range price point will need to use new refrigerants. New inputs in manufacturing will possibly lead to performance and reliability issues. We will continue recommending units that have been operating in the market for a suitable length of time.

4. Maintenance

Aquatech’s heat pump hot water units are very easy to maintain. Owners are required to open the PTR valve and check the unit every six months, as well as a major service every five years. This is consistent with the better quality units on the market. Some poorer quality units even require a plumber to maintain the unit every six months, which is a pain and will drive up running costs over the long run.

At the risk of being too technical, one of the reasons why Aquatech’s units are so easy to maintain is they use an impressed current anode to protect the tank. Most units on the market use a sacrificial anode – a long rod of magnesium or other reactive metal that sacrifices itself instead of the tank. These are effective but they degrade, leading to a build up of residue which needs to be flushed, and they need to be checked and replaced. An impressed current anode on the other hand uses an electric current to protect the tank, resulting in less maintenance for owners.

Other Factors

Other factors when considering the Rapid X6:

Noise – the Rapid X6 operates at 43dB, at the lower end of the market
Tank Recovery time – at around 210 mins (or 3.5 hours), this is consistent with the rest of the market.
Place of Manufacture – the units are manufactured in China, which is arguably another drawback. This has occasionally led to stock issues as we await deliveries to Australia. We would prefer to support local manufacturing. Unfortunately there only appears to be one or two units fully manufactured in Australia (Rheem and Rinnai), but they fall down in terms of reliability and refrigerant.