Long waits for hot water - what are my options

[theedudenator]

We can wait for up to 5 minutes to get hot water to our sinks and showers.

It seems there are lots of different options to help this.

Are there any preferred methods?

[Bob F]

Remove any flow restrictors. Run water full to get heat, then turn it down to conserve.

[theedudenator]

We do run it at full to get heat, it still takes minutes.

[Ed Pawlowski]

There are recirculating pumps that will keep the hot water in the line. They can be set to run only at certain hours when you're likely to need hot water. Check out the Taco web site for information.

You can add a second water heater closer tot he point of use.

It may be smart to downsize the line size if they are 3/4" and you don't need it

If you have a low flow shower heat, turn the hot water faucet in the sink on to move out the cold water faster.

[bob haller]

what kind of tank, fuel source how long of run from tank to fixtures?

need more info to help

[fftt]

How about a few more details...

distance from point of use to water heater hot water pipe size & material flow capacity at "full on" of shower & sink

I had a house where it took ~120+ secs to get water to the farthest bathroom....1960's galvanized steel pipe: 3/4" & 1/2" in the hot water run

The pipes were so old & filled with hard water deposits that a 2' section would not pass light..........

I used to turn on the hot water & go do something until the hot water arrived.

I would suggest a

on a timer (if possible) or a demand switch (normal operating mode)

I sold the house & moved before I dealt with the problem.

cheers Bob

[Bob F]

Did you remove restrictors? How big and long are the pipes?

You could add a recirculati> We do run it at full to get heat, it still takes minutes.

[theedudenator]

I don't have exact measurements

2,000 sqft house gas hot water heater in basement 3/4dia copper pipes up to second floor bath room Water pressure is not good upstairs Weld pump is 40-60psi

[theedudenator]

The pipes are mostly 3/4 dia copper I am not seeing any restrictions except for some inline ball valves.

[theedudenator]

I looked at

is probably something I want to do upstairs. But I don't understand how the hot water will go back through the cool lines to my hot water heater. Won't this just fill my cold water lines with luke warm water?

I like the X-10 system also, something I already have in my house.

[theedudenator]

I guess I should ask what is the optimal method to transfer hot water. I do have low pressure issues so I am not sure if reducing pipe size will fix my upstairs issue. But I think by running direct lines to my kitchen and laundry room will help

[Ed Pawlowski]

***********************************************

Pressure and volume are different things. Your pressure is about average, but 3/4" pipe holds a lot more water than 1/2" and it all has to be emptied before the hot water will reach the shower. With a low flow shower head it can take a long time. Is it faster if you open the tub or sink? The tub usually has no restrictions.

[Bill]

The main problem is that most homes were designed when energy was cheap and water prices low. And now they are designed the same way because they have always done it that way!

What should be done is to have a cluster of the hot water users around the hot water heater. So kitchen sink, and bathrooms back to back surrounding the hot water heater.

A two story house with basement would be ideal. Water heater in basement,

1st floor over water heater... kitchen and a bathroom back to back. Then upstairs above this, two bathrooms back to back. Heat rises, so you would always have instant warm water.

Actually for sinks and hand washing, you only need warm water, so a better design would be the two story house with basement and two hot water heaters. One with warm water for the sinks, and the other with hot water for the baths/showers and dishwasher. Then the kitchen sink could have two faucets - one with warm water and the other with hot for dishes.

[trader4]

Yes, and that's one of the downsides to these pumps. They use the existing cold water line to send the water back into the system. Whcih means if you use it in say an upstairs bedroom bathroom, and you want a drink of cold water, you may wind up with tepid water unless you let it run for long enough first. Or if it's a kitchen, you could draw cold water to make coffee and get water that's been in the hot water tank instead of fresh water. It's something you should be aware of upfront. You could install a recirculating pump system with a seperate return line, but of course how easy that is depends on access to route the new pipe.

Regarding reducing the piping from 3/4 to 1/2, I probably wouldn't do that. They use 3/4 for a reason, which is it can maintain a higher pressure at the endpoint while drawing more water volume. If you have two bathrooms, that is important. If you are considering doing that, first measure how much water is drawn before it warms up. Then do the math to figure out how much difference reducing the pipe diameter will make.

[Bubba]

Doesnt get much simpler than this:

[sligoNoSPAMjoe]

On Tue, 14 Apr 2009 22:53:35 -0700 (PDT), theedudenator wrote: .

You would do far better with smaller pipes. In order to get hot water to your fixture, you have to run all the cold water in the pipe before you get any hot. A 3/4" pipe holds a lot of cold water. You don't need 3/4" pipe to supply any single outlet. You are also wasting heat, especially in the summer.

Other choices include any of several re circulation pumps or you could try a point source heater. It may be a good use for a small thankless water heater.

[fftt]

[trader4]

Depends entirely on how the hot water is getting there now. If it takes some long path and you can shorten it significantly, sure it will cut down the time. But if the kitchen and laundry room are already routed reasonably and just happen to be off the same line that continues upstairs, then making it direct obviously won't help. In fact, it could make it worse, because if the line serves multiple locations, then any usage on that line will get hot water into at least part of the pipe run. For example, if the line goes past the kitchen, then continues upstairs, drawing hot water upstairs will mean the kitchen will have it available fast too. Or drawing from the kitchen will cut down the time to get it upstairs, etc.

[theedudenator]

e quoted text -

I don't think I would have a drinking water problem. We have a separate and direct water filter for all drinking water. I have a direct 3/4" copper line from the hot water heater to the 2nd floor bathroom. There is nothing else connected to it. The bad thing is these would be difficult to replace. I think if I put a recirc unit on this it would solve 80% of my problems The remaining bathroom, kitchen and laundry room are all tied together with 3/4" to bathroom then 3/4" kitchen, then 1/2" to laundry. All in series. I think if I isolate and run a direct 3/4" to the laundry it will solve the downstairs issues with low pressure and long waits for hot.

[Bob F]

Restrictors are often washer like things on the aerator or shower head that restrict the water flow. Removing them allows water to replace that in the pipe faster. Turning on multiple faucets to get hot water faster may help. 3/4" pipe for hot water is probably your problem. 1/2" probably holds half the water, and thus, hot water would get there twice as fast.