Time hot water takes to reach shower....

[Manicmechanic]

We recently purchased a home that was constructed in 1992, it's a 2 story home that has one water heater (50 gal.) located in the garage at the south end of the home. The master bath is on the north end of the home and requires the shower to run for about 1-3 min. before water is warm enough to enter and close to 4 before the temp is at its peak level. This varies due to outside temps and since we haven't been in the home during the winter season I'm afraid it will be worse. The showers water pipes are on an inside wall coming up from the slab, the tank shows to be about 7 years old as it is an Envirotemp running on NG. Does this sound like a failing WH or just too long a run from the heater to the Shower to expect hot water any sooner. Is there any way to boost the temp of the water to the shower until the water heater catches up? We seem to be using a lot of water to get it to a comfortable temp to allows one to enter and shower. I estimate the distance of the shower from the heater @ about 100' or more, since I don't know how the pipes are run in the slab.

Thanks

 

[Basement_Lurker]

If your piping is copper, then you should know that copper piping cools pretty fast, and 100' is a pretty long run to flush out all of the cold water that has been sitting in the pipes all night. And then all of the flowing hot water has to heat up the piping in order to stay at the supplied temp...that's why your hot water is taking so long to reach the shower. A recirculating pump would solve this issue, but it's probably too late for that now. You might want to think of an on-demand heater just for the shower if it bothers you that much.

Maybe someone else will will have an idea.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Jadnashua]

You can retro-fit a recirculation system; I have one in my home. There are lots of them around. While it is better to have a dedicated return line for this, the penalty for not having one can be mitigated somewhat. The retrofit versions put a cross-over valve (typically) under the sink and use the cold water line as a return. This means that while the cross-over valve is open and the pump running, the cold line will get warm. Some brands use a cross-over valve at each sink you wish to bring hot water to, but you can install as many as you wish.

The one I have is one made by RedyTemp. Instead of putting the pump in the utility room near the WH, it puts it under a sink. Since it requires power, that can be a hassle (I did mine while remodeling, so it was easy). It's the only one I know of that allows you to adjust the temp at which the pump shuts off (which is both good and bad - most run the pump continuously and open and close the valves - pump on/off cycles wear it out faster). I've got mine adjusted so it is warm, not hot (the shower takeoff is closer, and gets hot quicker). This gives me warm water there, and warm to hot everywhere else in the condo, since those are closer to the WH. If I flush the toilet, it purges most of the warm water on the cold side. Most others would have the return (cold line) hotter. From what I've read, the typical crossover valve shuts when the temp is 105-degrees or so (I've got mine maybe 10-degrees cooler because I can). I also have it run on a timer so it doesn't run when I'm in bed, but you could put a proximity sensor, or an on-demand switch so it would only run when you request it. You'd have to plan ahead a bit, as it will still take awhile to bring the hot water there, it's just that you won't be throwing water down the drain getting it there.

If you do a search, you'll see comments on various brands. Mine installed (other than the electric) without any plumbing...in reality, all of about 10-minutes with only a wrench. All of the others require some plumbing. If you can run a dedicated return line, you'd avoid the warm water in the cold supply line.

 

[Manicmechanic]

Thanks for the ideas, Jim how long have you had your redytemp system in use and any issues with it over time? looks like an easy solution for my problem and I can easily add an outlet under the counter to power it up.
Thanks

 

[Thatguy]

requires the shower to run for about 1-3 min. before water is warm enough to enter and close to 4 before the temp is at its peak level.
I estimate the distance of the shower from the heater @ about 100' or more, since I don't know how the pipes are run in the slab.

100' of half-inch pipe holds one gallon so with a 2 GPM showerhead you should have hot water in 30 seconds.

You could measure your shower flow rate with a clock, and a container of known volume or use your water meter, and measure your WH water temp. at its bottom drain faucet.

 

[Jadnashua]

I put it in when I remodeled the master bath about 10-years ago...works fine. It runs maybe 60-90 seconds, 3-5x an hour; more in the winter, less in the summer. It would run longer and maybe more often the higher you set the aquastat. The checkvalve is rated at something like 1M operations. The pump is nearly inaudible, but if anything, is slightly louder now than when new. No nasty sounds, though.

 

[Gary Swart]

My son has had one in his condo for a couple of years. Works great. I have a pump with a return line that I really like. If possible, the pump and return line are best, but on a retro fit, that's not always possible.