Cold water return for a hot water line

[Tekkie®]

Bob posted for all of us... I don't top post - see either inline or at bottom.

It is: so google it groups.google.com

You are welcome!

[C & M]

Probably a dead thread, as fast as this group moves on, but nevertheless I'll drop this one, Bob. A couple of years ago we were into a two year drought and water restrictions were in effect, though you wouldn't know it by the number of 'boobs' who washed their precious car on a weekly basis. We placed a basin in our kitchen sink and a 5 gal bucket in the corner. The pr-hot water was caught and ladled out for various light duty rinsings or just washing our hands. After it was contaminated it was put into the 5 gal bucket and used to flush. You have to use your head, of course and not have a bunch of food and grease laying about becoming rancid and potentially poisoning someone due to cross contamination. We cut our monthly useage nearly in half. Of course, most of this was probably the miserly use of the shower. We got ourselves wet, turned it off, scrubbed down and then rinsed quickly. No more lazy, luxurious showers. Then the rains came and we were back to our normally wasteful ways!

[Rick]

Grundfos

has recently introduced a retrofit that doesn't need a return line, but it's $$$. Essentially a small pump on a timer at the hot water heater and a thermostatic valve installed across the fixture supply lines...

[Info]

Hot Water Savings

The key to hot water savings... eliminate the waiting.

Every second a person spends waiting for hot water at their faucet / shower, your water heater is taking in "cold" city water. In addition to the lighting energy used while the person stands there waiting. A family of four waiting 1 minute for hot water spends around 97.3 hours every year "waiting". (Four people waiting 4 times per day, 365 days in a year, divided by 60 for total hrs) Include a lifestyle fudge factor and reduce it to 72 hours of "very cold" city water filling up your water heater needlessly. Let's pause for a moment and imagine having to stand and watch a faucet waste water down the drain for 72 hrs. . . . Or consider a home which waits only 30 seconds.... that's still 36 hours of watching water run down the drain.

Install a RedyTemp Hot Water Recirculator, no dedicated return line required, idiot proof 10 minute "self-install".

Behind the timer is a standard 3-prong wall outlet. Simply replace the timer with "The Clapper" set the clapper to the "away" mode. Now when the clapper hear's someone in the bathroom it will auto start the circulation process.

Or consider using the RedyTemp in the On-Demand mode using a wireless push-button. Simply replace the timer with a "wireless outlet control" similar to those used by the elderly when they don't want to get up to turn on/off lamps. Press the wireless remote control from anywhere in your house (range 100-150ft) for no-wait hot water throughout your home.

Return on investment estimated at two years for a family of four which waits an average of one minute for hot water.