New tank water heater slow delivery

[Master Plumber Mark]

If you do not have a checkvalve, when you open the hot line for water, it will pull from both the top and the bottom of the WH...not a good situation. Not all checkvalves will work in this instance, and their location can make a difference between success and failure.

You cannot have a check valve in the line if you wish it to naturally flow with gravity..
I know this from having to take them out of lines many times before.......

we have made this
mistake 2 times over the past 45 years... you remove the check valve and the system
corrects itself and works like a champ......

 

[Jadnashua]

WHere, how, and what type of checkvalve you use makes all of the difference. Without one, there is no way to prevent water from flowing from both the bottom and the top of the WH when you open up a hot valve somewhere. AT the beginning of hot water use, the whole tank is hot and you may not notice...but, after a short while, the bottom of the tank is filling with cold and it does.

 

[Sponsor]

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

It does not matter what kind of check valve you use
.... the check valve will not open on its own without help from a pump...
if you are not using a pump it will simply stop the gravity flow through the lines..
....The pump pushes it open...it will not flow

you will simply have to try it and see for yourself......

 

[Jadnashua]

You cannot use a spring-loaded check valve as the convective loop will not have enough force to open it, but if you don't have one in there, you will be drawing water through the path of least resistance, and that may just be from the bottom of the tank, or a significant mix of both the hot at the top and the eventually cold at the bottom. This article describes what's needed.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/gravity-hot-water-recirculating-loops/

 

[Master Plumber Mark]

[QUOTE="jadnashua, post: 480758, member: 24"]You cannot use a spring-loaded check valve as the convective loop will not have enough force to open it, but if you don't have one in there, you will be drawing water through the path of least resistance, and that may just be from the bottom of the tank, or a significant mix of both the hot at the top and the eventually cold at the bottom. This article describes what's needed.

http://www.askthebuilder.com/gravity-hot-water-recirculating-loops/[/QUOTE]




I totally agree with you ..... you cannot use a check valve on a convective loop...
you do not need to do anything and normally it will draw off the closer outlet
which is normally off the top of the heater........

if you are going to lose sleep worrying over this not drawing correctly,
you can also install a loop on the bottom of the heater maybe using a 24 inch SS
flex connector and making a circle with it....
I will name this fitting a "inverted heat trap"
or how about you call it an "ass-backwards convective loop trap "....

The SS ribs inside the flex connector would create resistance and it would certainly draw off the top ..

Therefore.......Its Ribbed for your pleasure........

and then I know that you would sleep better..........