Jadnashua
Retired Defense Industry Engineer xxx
Of the available insulation products, closed cell is up there in quality...better than fiberglass and many other items, at least in R-factor/installed inch.
Of the available insulation products, closed cell is up there in quality...better than fiberglass and many other items, at least in R-factor/installed inch.
Depending on where the lines are run, adding more insulation may not buy you much. Ideally, they're above the insulation next to the subflooring, and while a foam jacket would help, it may not be worth the effort to tear things apart to add it. Adding insulation between the heated area and the pipe could be counter productive, as it might keep heat from the house from the pipes, but your floor probably never gets cold enough to freeze things! Not sure you'll ever get a definitive answer. If you decide to add a hot water recirculation system, compare your utility costs before and after. If they rise more than you want, then, consider adding insulation. The electrical cost of actually pumping the water is small, most of the pumps are in the order of 1/28th HP, maybe 30W, and depending on how hooked up, may not run much. The unit I have turns the pump on/off as needed. Some run it continuously. Mine tends to only run about 45-seconds 3-4x per hour when the timer allows it (it gets shut off at night). The first time it turns on in the morning, it might run twice that long or so.
Melissa2007B
If you really need warm water for the humidifier, install a 2.5 gallon point of use water heater. They run on 120v's so it makes the install easy. That eliminates your temp fluctuation problem. The few months that you need the humidifier the cost of an electric water heater would be hardly noticeable. When your heating season ends, switch off the water heater.
As far as getting hot water to that distant shower take Jadnashua's advice.
Actually, in South Florida, the groundwater is the average mean air temperature for one year, 75 degrees. It also picks up heat from the ground since the water meters are at ground level near the sidewalks.
The reason for testing for residual chlorine far from the water plant is to make sure there is some to prevent bacteria from growing at the outer reaches.I had the city water people come over yesterday but they're only concerned with the main water line and cold drinking water, and said that because this is the hot water only, they don't test it. They only test city water for chlorine, which is odd.
I lost track of what you are testing for, but it is probably in Kit-90 at http://www.karlabs.com/watertestkit/ If you are just testing for hardness, it would be better to get the Hach 5-B test... the lab test is not that much more expensive after considering shipping, but the Hach 5-B gives you repeat DIY tests. You could help your friends. Plus it will be useful to test your new softener output.But I'm checking with independent test labs and the cost is over $200. Ouch.
The reason for testing for residual chlorine far from the water plant is to make sure there is some to prevent bacteria from growing at the outer reaches.
I lost track of what you are testing for, but it is probably in Kit-90 at http://www.karlabs.com/watertestkit/ If you are just testing for hardness, it would be better to get the Hach 5-B test... the lab test is not that much more expensive after considering shipping, but the Hach 5-B gives you repeat DIY tests. You could help your friends. Plus it will be useful to test your new softener output.
Gotcha. That could be a sulfur-iron compound or other sulfur item. It could be sediment. Ask your neighbors if they see such black clouds.
I would still flush your water heater. That can be pretty easy.
Floor drain? If your WH is not in the basement, you could run a hose out the back or front door.
Tub is probably too high.
One other thing to consider...unless the humidifier is very close to the WH, even feeding it with hot water, it may not get much hot water there. The thing uses a maximum of 0.5g/hour...that's barely a trickle, and is likely what is enabling the stacking effect in the WH. IF the flow was higher, there'd be enough turbulence to prevent that. It shouldn't be too hard to swap the inlet to cold water, and just see how it works. My guess is, you'll not notice any difference and save yourself lots of grief and money in the process.
You can put hoses in series. It can be useful to put the connections above a shallow pan/skillet to catch any light leak. You can also replace the hose gaskets with new soft ones.Way far from any door. And the tub actually is higher than the floor, by a few inches.
This is awkward, but...
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