Hot Water Problems

[Bosoxfan]

I'm having a problem with the time it takes for the water in my fixtures(kitchen faucet,shower valves,bathroom faucets) to get hot.I've been living in my newly built cottage(at ease floorplan) since early september.I complained to the warranty office who had the builder call.He said that's the way they build the houses and if I wanted I could call a plumber and get it fixed but it would be costly.I also addressed this problem at an event where water conservation was a topic.They basically said that's the way it is also. Anyone else having this problem?

[ceejay]

We have this problem as well. It takes forever for hot water in my kitchen and even longer for it to reach the master shower. I assumed it was because the shower is the farthest room from the water heater in the garage...I am very naive when it comes to this stuff!
We had the same problem in our house in Jersey (again, I assumed everyone had the same problem, but you know what they say about assuming!) so I have just accepted the long wait, but hate to waste all that water going down the drain:cry:

[Talk Host]

In each of your faucets is a "flow restrictor." It limits the amount of water that can be delivered to the faucet discharge. In most cases it reduces the flow to about 2.5 gallons per minute. That also reduces the flow of hot water to the faucet.

Usually that restrictor is a "washer" or screen threaded into the pipe nipple somewhere in the faucet. Most handy homeowners can remove them themselves. A plumber certainly can or a handyman can.

There is no law against removing them, it's a water conservation thing. But, if you have to let the faucet run for three minutes to get hot water, where's the conservation there.

Once the flow restrictors are removed, your water pressure will increase and the hot water will arrive at the faucet considerably faster. In our master shower, it was nearly 3 minutes with the restrictor and 45 seconds without it.

All faucets now come from the factory with the restrictor installed. It takes 30 seconds to remove them. You will use more energy without the restrictor.

Click here: How to remove a flow restrictor (http://www.ehow.com/how_5189790_remove-flow-restrictor-shower-head.html)

[drdodge]

You can buy a device that will give quick hot water to the fatherest fgacuet away from the hot water heater . It usees the existing water lines. The unit itself cost arount $200.00 Plus installation. They can be bought at Lowes or Home Depot. Henson Home Services has installed a number of theses devices.Phone # is 352.347.8043.
drd

[Carla B]

What is the name of the device, how big is it, and where are they installed? It takes 3 gallons of water to reach our master shower before we get hot water...I know because last summer my husband ran the water in a bucket. He then carried the bucket outside to water the grass, but that is a BIG hassle, especially when some spills on the way.

[OpusX1]

Talk Host, is the flow restricter located in the shower valve or shower head?

For almost instant hot water have a plumber install a circulating pump on your hot water line. We have two pumps up north because of the size of our home and the number of baths, 6 1/2. You get hot water fast but it cost about $15-$20 a month to run the pump. We put our pump on a timer to cut down on the electric cost.

[golfnut]

The farther you are from the hot water the longer it is going to take to get there it's not complicated. If it takes 3 minutes for it to get to the master bath, then turn on the shower first, brush your teeth and when you are done the hot water will be there. removing the restrictor in my opinion is just an unecessary waste of resources, both water and gas or electric....gn

[SteveFromNY]

I'm with golf nut. The pipes are filled with cold water. Say there is fifty feet of pipe between the heater and the faucet. If you turn on the hot water, all fifty feet of cold water has to empty out of the pipe before the hot can arrive at the faucet. If you remove the restrictor the hot will arrive sooner, but only because the pipes empty faster with the restrictor out of the way.
Anything that puts a heat source closer to the faucet will speed it up, but you have to keep the water hot and that will cost some energy $'s.

Our Gardenia master bath shower is on the other side of the wall from the water heater. Water in the shower is ready in seconds. The guest bath is on the other side of the house, and guess what? It takes time to get hot water there.

[l2ridehd]

The same pipe that brings hot water to your shower brings it to your sink. I go to the sink, turn on the hot water and brush my teeth while it is cold. Once it goes hot, I move it to cold, finish brushing, turn on the shower, now hot in a couple seconds and take a shower. No wasted water, no added pumps, no restrictors removed, no new gadgets, and life is good.

[Bosoxfan]

I'm with golf nut. The pipes are filled with cold water. Say there is fifty feet of pipe between the heater and the faucet. If you turn on the hot water, all fifty feet of cold water has to empty out of the pipe before the hot can arrive at the faucet. If you remove the restrictor the hot will arrive sooner, but only because the pipes empty faster with the restrictor out of the way.
Anything that puts a heat source closer to the faucet will speed it up, but you have to keep the water hot and that will cost some energy $'s.

Our Gardenia master bath shower is on the other side of the wall from the water heater. Water in the shower is ready in seconds. The guest bath is on the other side of the house, and guess what? It takes time to get hot water there.
My closest fixture is the slop sink in the garage and although it takes less time than the furthest fixture away it still takes a minute or more to heat up:ohdear:

[SteveFromNY]

My closest fixture is the slop sink in the garage and although it takes less time than the furthest fixture away it still takes a minute or more to heat up:ohdear:

Bosox - I never actually timed it. But it sounds like we agree in principle at least. Maybe not about baseball teams though!

:laugh:

[Bosoxfan]

Bosox - I never actually timed it. But it sounds like we agree in principle at least. Maybe not about baseball teams though!

:laugh:

What I'm trying to say is even at the clpssest fixture it takes too long. Go Sox!!:D

[SteveFromNY]

What I'm trying to say is even at the clpssest fixture it takes too long. Go Sox!!:D

I get it. I'm just saying the short time - I really think it's less than a minute - was OK for me.

Figured you'd have more patience all those years waiting for a title. :beer3:
I couln't resist - sorry!

[drdodge]

The unit that goes on the hot water line from the hot Water heater is made by WATTS. They make a lot of stuff for the plumbing trade. Plug in Watts on your search engine and it will show you a page and you can read all about it

drd

[faithfulfrank]

There are at least 4 different makes of these recirculating pumps....Watts, Grundfos, Laing, etc. They work by circulating your hot water line so there is always hot water closer to your faucet(s).

This is solved a number of ways. You would not have this problem if the plumber who did the initial plumbing just added a return loop....would have cost next to nothing at the time. Sad.

You can also do this without a pump. There are thermostatic valves that just easily install without a plumber underneath the farthest sink from your faucet. "Hot water lobster" is one such type. There are also less expensive ones. They may not work quite as well as the pump type, but it is an easy DIY install without needing a $200 pump. I do believe the pump type is better.

In my Florida home, I noticed that my kitchen faucet seemed to take a long time, but the other ones seemed fine. I got a great deal, ($50) for a new 4 gallon superinsulated electric water heater that plugged into a 110 outlet. I installed it underneath the kitchen sink. We have a big corner sink base, so there was plenty of room. We now have instant hot water for the kitchen, and the wife is quite happy. Our master bath is pretty close to the hot water tank, so that is fine, and the guest bath is hardly ever used, so for me it was not worth installing a recirculating pump.

A return loop or a recirculating pump is definately one of the things folks that are building a new home should insist on. Sadly, many folks do not do their homework before having a house built.

Frank.

[Bosoxfan]

I want to thank everyone for their responses (not the yankee fan tho lol).I wish there were a simple fix.Guess not.

[SteveFromNY]

I want to thank everyone for their responses (not the yankee fan tho lol).I wish there were a simple fix.Guess not.

:a20:

Thanks Bosoxfan - you really made me laugh and I could use it right now!

[Bosoxfan]

Happy New Year Steve!!

[SteveFromNY]

Happy New Year Steve!!

Right back at you!!!!

[Russ_Boston]

good reply Frank - I wasn't aware of those options.

I guess it comes down to what resource you wish to waste. The energy for the recirculating pump or the cold water that runs out before the hot water arrives.

I like the idea of brushing my teeth in the sink with the 'cold' hot water. This is what I practice as well.

[faithfulfrank]

Russ,
I'm told that the energy for those pumps is less than a 25 watt light bulb.. You can set them to come on a few times a day, prior to your regular water usage.(like a shower, etc.)

Some of it is just bad habits. How many of us wash our hands at the bathroom sink with "hot" water, when there is no way that water is going to get hot by the time you are done. All one is doing then is putting hot water in those pipes, where it will sit and cool off. Is it now smarter to wash your hands in "Cold" water, especially in Florida, when "cold" is never "cold"...?

For me, I don't understand why my water cost is so much higher in Florida as it is in New York......Isn't there water like everywhere in Florida, like a couple of feet underground? The small tank heater I installed should not cost very much at all. It is super insulated, and is fed by the hot water line already, and is only 4 gallons....basically a holding tank more then a heater.

Frank...(freezing in NY)

[GeorgeIII]

Fascinating discussion. I hadn't known about the recirc pumps. Of course, here in NJ we don't have a water heater that stores hot water. Our oil burner has a coil in it for domestic hot water, and it heats the water on demand. So we not only have to wait for the hot water to make its way through the pipe, we have to wait for it to heat up, too. So we, too, brush our teeth while waiting for the hot water to arrive. We simply brush more slooowly. :-)

[Bosoxfan]

good reply Frank - I wasn't aware of those options.

I guess it comes down to what resource you wish to waste. The energy for the recirculating pump or the cold water that runs out before the hot water arrives.

I like the idea of brushing my teeth in the sink with the 'cold' hot water. This is what I practice as well.
I want to thank everyone for their input.Brushing my teeth with "cold" hot water seems the easiest solution.HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!:a040:

[Bosoxfan]

Where do these threads go after people stop replying to them?

[mulligan]

They languish in the forum list until someone adds something, which makes it new again. By the way, you're not missing anything in WORC. It' really depressing.

[tony]

And they make a great base of information for those who search for the topic of their choice.

[MaryEllen]

i believe that the real problem is > The Distance. The hot water has to travel too far from the heater> Solution > in the attic> go to the furthest hot water fixture and cut a tee in the hot water pipe > return that pipe back to the bottom of the water heater > you have to remove the drain valve> install a 3/4 short(brass) nipple ,Tee> Purchase a very small recirculating pump and install it so that it returns the water to the heater. BETTER CALL A PLUMBER.:MOJE_whot:

[GatbTester]

And isn't a shame that in this day and age we must choose which resource to waste? Shame on the builders and developer for delivering such a thoughtless and non-cost efficient way of providing hot water for everyday needs efficiently.

[slcaud]

It comes down to POOR design. I cannot believe in an area suffering from chronic drought that the pipes under the slabs are not insulated. That's all it would really take. So to the village designers or maybe county building inspectors. The code should be upgraded to require insulation of all under slab water piping. Cripes it would cost less that $100 (probably less than $50) to insulate all the pipes.

[Zass38]

i have installed "point of use" water heaters at my faucets....this leaves only the shower. these units cost about $175 each, run on a 110VAC outlet and are really easy to install, provided there is an outlet nearby, such as in the bathrooms. The response for host water is "instant" and you only pay for electricity used to heat the amount of water you use at the faucet.