We are looking at moving our washer and dryer from the basement to a closet on the mainfloor. Currently the washer is about 10′ from the hot water heater. Where we plan to move the washer to will be about 45-50′ away. Currently none of the piping is insulated.
My question is will the new location be too far for the washer to get enough hot/warm water on the fill cycle, based on the volume of water sitting in the pipe that has cooled down. How much does pipe insulation help and what kind should be used? Also how much of the distance should be 3/4″ pipe and how much 1/2″ pipe. Currently 3/4″ pipe comes out of the water heater.
I am a carpenter by trade with good soldering experience, but I’m not familiar with figuring pipe size and distance runs. Thanks for any help!
Replies
I know plenty of house runs up to 60' with no complaints about heat for showers or for washers. I do add the foam wrap for longer runs like that.
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Can you add a 5 gal water heater adjacent to the new washer location? We had to put one under our kitchen sink because it took too long for the hot water to get to the dirty dishers :)
As long as you don't use straight hot water, 5 gals should be enough for a load, and it will recover by the time it finishes spinning.
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This site as a chart of copper pipe sizes (page down about 3/4 of the page). Taking Type L as an average, 50 feet of 1/2" pipe holds about 0.6 gallons. 50 feet of 3/4" pipe holds about 1.3 gallons. So from the point of view of maximizing hot water, you're better off with 1/2". The washer doesn't care how long it takes to fill, so the lower flow of the 1/2", relative to 3/4" is no reason not to go with the 1/2".
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You could put in a recirculating loop or a dedicated tank as others have suggested and get instant hot water, but my guess is that 0.6 gal. of cold water, mixed with however much hot water it takes to fill your washer, isn't going to significantly affect the cleanliness of your clothes.
If you insulate the hot water line carefully, the second and subsequent batches will do even better.
I think Uncle Dunc hit on the best solution - A recirculating loop.
If you have to re-pluymb anyway it wouldn't take much to put one in.
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For a washing machine, the volume of water used is so great, that the amount in the pipe is not significant. Plus, no one is standing there waiting for it to heat up.
A. Pipe size won't affect fill time. The I.D. of the hoses from the valves to the washer is only 1/4" or 3/8". Any pipe feed diameter more than that. is "extra."
B. It's not as important to know the length of the run from the heater to the washer as it is to know how far away the washer is from the trunk line and what that line also feeds, meaning how often it's used. Does the hot water have time to cool down all the way back to the heater?
C. Having stated the above, there is relatively little water in the line regardless. The filled washer will still have hot enough water.
D. You don't need a recirculating pump. That will only allow more water to cool when the line is not in use. They are intended for VERY long runs.
Hope this helps.
F.