Timeline for It takes a long time before I get hot water upstairs. could this be due to hard water?
Current License: CC BY-SA 4.0
7 events
| when toggle format | what | by | license | comment | |
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| Sep 22, 2021 at 10:28 | comment | added | Chris H | Do note though that recirculation pumps waste heat: the hot water in the pipes heats the rooms they pass through all the time, causing your heater to run more (and your air conditioning if you have it ). Good insulation helps, and is a requirement in many places, but perfect insulation isn't possible in practice (or in theory). | |
| Sep 21, 2021 at 19:19 | vote | accept | Brian C | ||
| Sep 21, 2021 at 19:18 | comment | added | Brian C | Thanks, everyone for your comments! I think I can live with it (was just curious if this was normal). | |
| Sep 21, 2021 at 16:03 | comment | added | Stephen Daddona | I have recirculation pump installed at the point farthest from the on-demand water heater. It is triggered by a push-button and it runs until it detects hot water in the pipe. No water has to be wasted because it simply recirculates the cold water back to the heater. It required running a low-voltage wire from the pump to a button on the wall and a return line for the cold water to go back to the heater. Don't use the existing cold water line for the return line or you will get warm water from your cold faucet. | |
| Sep 21, 2021 at 11:47 | comment | added | jay613 | Another way to solve your stated problem is with patience. Above suggestions will help and a water softener will not solve this problem. However if you have hard water, a softener will increase the life and reduce maintenance of your water heater, as well as other things like your tea kettle, iron, etc. | |
| Sep 21, 2021 at 11:32 | comment | added | FreeMan | Another option would be to put a small instant heater in each bathroom on the upper floors. This would heat the cool water in the hot water pipes just before the point of use, giving you "instant" hot water. Once the hot water from the main heater reaches the small heaters, they turn off because the inlet temp is already at or above their set point. | |
| Sep 21, 2021 at 9:47 | history | answered | statueuphemism | CC BY-SA 4.0 |