we recently did a remodel/addition on a 100 yr old home. we expanded the kitchen and added two bathrooms. we paid a plumber to replumb the entire house and install a recirc pump.
when we finally got around to turning it on (once the weather turned cold enough) we were disappointed to find that the hot water still takes about 20 seconds to reach the kitchen tap. we also found that the hot water at two of the bathrooms is very rapid weather the pump is on or not.
so it seems we dont really need the thing for several of our fixtures and it doesnt work very well for the others.
so my question is. how long is acceptable for the water to become hot with a properly installed recirc loop/pump?
when we complained, our plumber said up to 30 seconds is normal, even with a recirc loop. this seems long to me and would seem to defeat the purpose of even having the thing as you would still be wasting a fair amount of water.
Replies
I'm not a plumber, but I don't think your expectations for a recirc pump are accurate.
I thought they were used just to save water.
If a bathroom is 50' away from the water heater, you still have all of that room temp water in the pipes to get through the system before you see hot water no matter how your pipes are run.
am I missing something?
Yep.
God is REAL, unless explicitly declared INTEGER
Are you agreeing to my description or answering my question about if I'm missing something? (I already knew the latter and didn't need confirmation, that was my Dad's job growing up, but I digress)
A recirculating pump is generally either on a thermostat only or a timer AND thermostat. If on a thermostat only, there is, in theory, always "instant" hot water at the most distant faucet in the loop. A timer may be used to turn the system off at night, or simply to turn it on and off at intervals, but there should still be "instant" hot water when the timer has recently activated the system.
God is REAL, unless explicitly declared INTEGER
Edited 1/13/2009 10:18 am by DanH
You should not have to wait.
I installed one for a client that feeds their two kitchen sinks, their first floor bath, their two second floor baths, and their attic bath. Instant hot water at all locations. I planned my piping arrangement ahead since I knew I would be redoing all of these areas for them.
They may not have plumbed the pipes the optimal way.
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