Plumbing question

[Jeff423]

My kitchen faucet is located at the furthest point from my water heater so it takes a long time for hot water to get to the sink. I attribute this to the distance and low flow faucet. I'm looking for a kit that will recirculate the water through a return line and pump, or gravity, back to the heater. I can't seem to find one. All I see are these kits that recirculate through the existing cold water line. I tried one of these a few years ago and it kept the hot water line hot but it moved the problem to the cold water line so that it took a long time to get cold water.
Or is there another way? Maybe I can find an NOS old faucet that is high flow. (We have no water shortages here)

 

[brick]

Several years ago, there was a "Ask This Old House" episode where a homeowner had the same problem. The plumber rigged up a system to recirculate the hot water using what appeared to be standard components. I don't remember the episode or year.

 

[raisedin99]

Jeff

I would suggest you contact a reputable local plumber
who will more than likely know of the plumbing
procedure of a thermal gravity system.

Here is a breakdown of how it is constructed and works
Gravity Hot Water System - No Pump Required | AsktheBuilder.com

terry

 

[Jim R]

When we built our house 14 years ago we put in a pump with it's own return line to the kitchen and both bathrooms. We also installed a Insta-hot at the kitchen sink. Total cost was under $1000.00 and now we have hot water on demand at all taps and also have boiling water on demand at the kitchen sink.
Total yearly cost is under $50.00, well worth it for what you get.

 

[2tall79]

A small point of use water heater for your kitchen sink could be an option.

 

[mtgianni]

Make sure that you not only insulate the lines well but insulate the floors above the lines. My uncles system in South Texas really added to the electrical with warm floors to cool down.

 

[delcrossv]

You could just pull the flow restrictor from your kitchen faucet.

 

[gasaman]

Call a local licensed plumber.
He will probably suggest adding a h.w. return line, from your furthest point of use, and a bronze circulator pump tied into an aquastat to control it.

 

[4barrel]

In my shop I was able to install a small electric water heater under my sink. I am not a plumber but I did it myself. Shark bite fittings and a small tubing cutter are easy to use if copper. <Don.t forget to turn the water off.> Install a water shut off if you do that.

 

[LVSteve]

I have the exact same issue at this house. It also afflicts the master bath shower upstairs.

 

[eveled]

Install a stainless taco 006 pump to return the water. The best way I can think of is on a switch. Turn it on then wait 30 seconds then shut it off. In commercial settings they run continuously which saves water but wastes energy. Constantly cooling the tank.


If for a bathroom you can attach it to the light switch. Turn the light on. By the time you are done you hot water at the sink.

An electric water heater under the sink will work too. Feed it with the hot water from the main tank.

 

[delcrossv]

Install a stainless taco 006 pump to return the water. The best way I can think of is on a switch. Turn it on then wait 30 seconds then shut it off. In commercial settings they run continuously which saves water but wastes energy. Constantly cooling the tank.


If for a bathroom you can attach it to the light switch. Turn the light on. By the time you are done you hot water at the sink.

An electric water heater under the sink will work too. Feed it with the hot water from the main tank.

Supplemental electric HWH under the sink as above is probably the easiest for "instant" HW. Circulating HW with a Taco pump requires a return line.Doable, but more work.

 

[Farmer17]

Our master bath is farthest from the hw tank and takes about 50 seconds to get hw at the sink on a cold day. If I need it faster I'll also turn on the hw at the bathtub and then the sink water will be hot in only about 20 seconds. If I turned on the hw also at the shower the sink hw would probably be hot in 15 seconds.

 

[eveled]

The time isn't the problem it's the wasted water. I've seen people who keep a gallon jug handy to put that water into then use it for cooking or watering the plants the dogs dish etc.

 

[steelslaver]

Wife didn't like the cold water in the Bidet. I purchased a small 6 liter electric hot water heater and installed it. ess than $100. If you took one of those and placed it in your hot water line right before the kitchen sink it would supply hot water at first, the cold water already in the line from your big heater would flow into the small heater mix with the hot water in it and keep your water fairly hot until hot water got there from hot water tank.

 

[Ivan the Butcher]

The return line does not have to be the same size as your regular hot water line (which is 1/2 or 3/4" and probably copper). A retro fit return line can be 3/8 PEX or 1/4" copper. The PEX can be run in the same manner as a retro fit electric line, it just has to get back to the HW tank's supply side. Then you could use that kit that doesn't use a pump. But most likely you can only install on one sink per small line.

Ivan

 

[ggibson511960]

Failed Pump Seals = Bad News

Any pump will eventually wear out its seal. In a pressurized domestic hot water system, this means it will dump water out until you notice the flooding and turn off the leaking hot water line. Might not be a big deal if it's in a basement with sloping floors to a drain. Personally, I would never put a water pump in my house. Some plumbers are so fastidious that they will not put any kind of compression fitting in house water lines for fear it will fail or drip. Good practice. As others have noted you will waste a lot of water before equalling the cost of a few plumbing fittings, let alone a pump. If the time really matters to you, first replace the silly EPA mandated low flow faucet so you control water use rate, not a bureaucrat, then if that doesn't solve the problem, a small tankless heater is a far better option. It will require an electrical connection, 220V if it's a big one, but there are no moving parts to fail and potentially do major damage.

 

[Jeff423]

You could just pull the flow restrictor from your kitchen faucet.

Thanks,
I've done that on the other faucets but the kitchen one won't come out.

 

[Jeff423]

Call a local licensed plumber.
He will probably suggest adding a h.w. return line, from your furthest point of use, and a bronze circulator pump tied into an aquastat to control it.

Thanks,
I think this is the best bet. I've read about using a 1/4" return line but I don't know well that would work since there is only about 9' of elevation between the two.

 

[delcrossv]

Thanks,
I've done that on the other faucets but the kitchen one won't come out.

Hmm. Usually comes out with the aerator. You could always drill it out, if it's really stuck