Trunk line to Water heater problem

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Ledgewood

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Hey, this is my first post after years of reviewing the forum for help. Thanks to everyone for all the helpful posts, and thanks for any help in advance of this post.

So my main cold water trunk(3/4" copper) from the street travels 30 feet through the basement before reaching my water heater. It branches off Twice to 1 bathroom and 1 outside spigot before reaching the water heater.

When it reaches the hot water heater, it reduces from 3/4 down to 1/2, then sizes back up to 3/4 (as seen in attached photos) before entering the water heater. This appears to have happened years before I purchased the house when they replaced the WH, and the old WH must of had an inlet of 1/2 size. Is this possibly effecting my hot water supply? We run out after 1.5 showers.
 

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Reach4

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When it reaches the hot water heater, it reduces from 3/4 down to 1/2, then sizes back up to 3/4 (as seen in attached photos) before entering the water heater. This appears to have happened years before I purchased the house when they replaced the WH, and the old WH must of had an inlet of 1/2 size. Is this possibly effecting my hot water supply? We run out after 1.5 showers.
No.

It can affect the flow rate, but it will not cut down on the amount of hot water.

You could turn up the temperature on your WH, so that you are mixing in more cold, or you could get a bigger WH.
 

Jadnashua

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If you decide to raise the WH aquastat, most places require, and it's a good idea anytime, to also install a tempering valve. Depending on the length of the 1/2" section, if it's short enough, it won't affect the volume much - the water will speed up going into it, then slow down to maintain the flow rate. But, this will only work if that section is pretty short, and then, it can create some noise and turbulence, that could quite literally, wear a hole(s) on the inside of the pipe. It would be better if the pipe was not necked down, but you may not notice. FWIW, a 3/4" pipe can safely carry 2x the volume at a safe velocity as a 1/2" pipe. Friction on a pipe of the water flowing starts to restrict the pressure and volume available.
 

Terry

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The easiest thing to check is the shower head. A low flow head gives you more time in the shower.
It's easy to change a shower head.
If you need more stored water, then a tempering valve allows you to up the temperature without scalding people. Mixing hot water and blending down with cold works nice.
 

Ledgewood

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T
If you decide to raise the WH aquastat, most places require, and it's a good idea anytime, to also install a tempering valve. Depending on the length of the 1/2" section, if it's short enough, it won't affect the volume much - the water will speed up going into it, then slow down to maintain the flow rate. But, this will only work if that section is pretty short, and then, it can create some noise and turbulence, that could quite literally, wear a hole(s) on the inside of the pipe. It would be better if the pipe was not necked down, but you may not notice. FWIW, a 3/4" pipe can safely carry 2x the volume at a safe velocity as a 1/2" pipe. Friction on a pipe of the water flowing starts to restrict the pressure and volume available.
thanks, I will definitely go with a tempering valve. And I am considering swapping out the section with 3/4
 

Ledgewood

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The easiest thing to check is the shower head. A low flow head gives you more time in the shower.
It's easy to change a shower head.
If you need more stored water, then a tempering valve allows you to up the temperature without scalding people. Mixing hot water and blending down with cold works nice.
Thanks, I am definitely going to install a new low flow head in the main bathroom along with a tempering valve
 
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