Hot water recirculation problem
Sun Dang
3 years ago
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formulaross20
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSun Dang
3 years agoRelated Discussions
Hot Water Recirculating System Anyone?
Comments (24)David_cary ~~ as dlm2000 points out, there is NO pump used on the convection-style recirculating system. You can probably get a better explanation by googling, but basically what happens is that all the hot water is piped consecutively (and yes, pipes must be insulated, but they shoud be anyhow), but instead of the pipe dead-ending at the last faucet, the pipe returns to the hot water heater. Convection causes a slow journey through the pipes, hot water goes up and cooler cometh down, which results in hot water always being at the tap. As with any other issue involving moving heat, insulation of the transmitting unit (whether water pipe or air duct) is required for the best energy efficiency. I have no doubt that there is a slight increase in the overall cost of heating hot water, but it should be a *very* slight increase since the water within well-insulted pipes does not drop a great deal of temperature ~~ and if one is truly concerned about energy efficiency, there would be a far better cost return by solar pre-heating the originating water before it goes into the water heater....See MoreHot Water Recirculating System Anyone?
Comments (4)trudy is there a basement - or just slab? do you have any idea how they plumbed over to the master suite? do you know the diameter of the pipe they used? did they run one large feeder (probably either 1 inch or 3/4 inch pipe) and then branch off of that with 1/2 inch pipe to feed the sinks and shower? how far away is the hot water tank from the master bath? this info would help in pump selection. I have pretty much the same problem. My house is 100 feet wide with master on main level. we put hot water tankless in basement under master suite side but kitchen and 3 other sinks are on the opposite side. having the basement made adding an additional reactrack recirc loop, small electric hot water tank, and pump not to difficult. if you are on a slab, then you will need to use existing pipes to circulate the water. During my research I found a nice little pump system that might work for you - but it depends on your plumbing. my thought is to put the pump under a vanity sink in the master suite - primarily so that it will be easy to provide a power switch or motion sensor switch to control the pump. the concept is that you provide a bridge between your hot and cold water supply tubes (they make a special fitting for this) feeding that sink. The pump sits in this bridge. When the pump is off, the hot water supply flows to hot output of faucet, cold supply flows to cold output of faucet. But when pump is on (faucets are off), the hot supply flows over to the cold water supply. Initially when you turn the pump on in the AM, you are essentially taking cold water (curreently in the hot water line) and moving that into the cold water supply for the sink. This process is drawing hot water up to that sink - no water is running out, just being moved around inside the pipes. this pump system has a built in thermostat you can adjust so the pump will automatically turn off when the hot water you darw up reaches the temp you want. The tstat is critical because it also keeps the hot water you draw up from constantly flowing into the cold water supply because then you would be heating your cold water supply and wasting money. As long as the hot water supply feeding the sink is being supplied via a main feeder AND your shower is also tied into that same feeder - then when you turn on the shower (after running the sink pump for 5 minutes or so) the delay for hot water out of the shower should be very short. you can test this right now by manually turning on that bathroom sink (do this in early AM when hot water is cold) and running it until hot water comes out of that sink. then go over to shower and turn on hot water - hot water should flow within a short period of time. if that test works - then this pump system I speak of will work for you. power for the pump would come from a nearby light switch close to the vanity - it could also come from an existing outlet on the wall above the vanity. i can design the pump circuit so you can use either a flip switch or use a motion sensor. do you see any issue with doing that? you would need (or have electrician add) a gang box somewhere near the light switch or outlet above the vanity, run a piece of 14-2 cable from that box to another gang box inside the vanity, and then put an outlet into that lower gang box. the switch or motion sensor goes into the new box above the vanity, the pump plugs into the outlet below the vanity, power is provided when you flip the switch or motion is detected. do you see any issues with adding the wire or these gang boxes? this type of pump system will not cost much to run and actually saves water. most people with this problem just run their shower for 5 minutes, dumping good water down the drain waiting for hot water to flow. This system just moves water around in the pipes, no water wasted. The delta cost is literally the cost to run the pump for 5-7 minutes per day (or eveythime you use the shower). If this can work for you, the cost to install is not too bad. I think the pump system ran around 175 dollars and then you need to pay an electrician to add the switched outlet - maybe another 200 or so. If DH is handy, then cost is less....See MoreHot water lobster-recirculating hot water
Comments (5)I have had a Hot Water Lobster valve for over 2-years now...and love it. My hot water tank is higher than my bathroom faucet (which is where I installed it). I get instant hot water at the faucet and hot water in my shower in about 8 to 10-seconds. With my family we are taking at least 4-showers daily, then laundry, dishes and etc. our energy cost seems to have gone down since we installed the Hot Water Lobster. I think its because we are circulating preheated water back to the hot water heater-rather than the cold ground-temperature water that would have otherwise replaced the water we were wasting (while we were waiting for hot water). What I like best is the Hot Water Lobster valve is thermostatically controlled and only operates when the hot water temperature at the HWL drops below the adjustable temperature setting (not like the pump systems-which work on a timer or button you must press first). Anyway I am not a skeptic anymore...no "snake oil" with the Hot water Lobster. Luke...See MoreHot Water heater recirculating pump
Comments (16)kachinee Check out this link http://www.lainginc.com/. If you click on Recirc Pumps, there is a document on how they work. I also bought mine at www.HVACquick.com/Laing and they have documents on their site for how to hook them up with various configs. The issue is not the tank - it is the plumbing pipes. There is a lot of water sitting in the feeder lines and it can take minutes for the hot water to push the cold water out of the way. I had a similar problem but I have tankess water generators. We put the tankless units under the master suite (yes finally - hot showers instantly) BUT the kitchen, utility room sink, butler pantry sink AND the feed to the second floor all run to the other side of the house 88 feet away! The first time I put ther hot water on in the kitchen sink it took 5 minutes for hot water to flow. DW said "unaccepatble" and so began my first project on the new home - and we hadn't even moved in yet! I ran a 1/2 inch return loop from my hot water genertators all the way to the other side of the house, and teed in just prior to where all the braches go. I insulated the main feeder and the return loop, used a 4 gallon hot water tank, and the Laing pump. It now takes 10 to 15 seconds to get hot water instead of 5 minutes - DW is happy. If you use Laing - make sure you get the pump that has the check valve integrated into the pump assembly. That will reduce the number of parts you need. ALso - the smallest Laing pump is rated for I think a 250 foot total loop, so you have to pick the right size pump for the loop design you have. Good Luck! ps - I do not work for Laing. I am just a Joe Blow homeowner who saved his bacon when the DW turned on the hot water faucet and COLD came out....See MoreSun Dang
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSun Dang
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoformulaross20
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSun Dang
3 years agoformulaross20
3 years agolast modified: 3 years agoSun Dang
3 years ago
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