WOW - I don't think I can wait that long. :)

Seriously, I think the builder or the warranty should have covered this expense as it is a newly built home. IMHO

The recirculating pump is on a timer, so it's available when I'm ready and not "on demand" all day long. The pressure is fine. Either I'm wasting, and paying, for water by having it run for quite a while before it gets tepid, or I pay for electricity to run the pump to get hot water when I need it. 6 of one, half-a dozen of the other. It's just another instance of not knowing - up front - that this is an issue. As for setting the water heater temperature 10 degrees higher and hoping for a better result, that, too, IMHO, adds additional expense for something that should NOT be an issue in the first place. Don't even get me started about gutters.... We love our house and are working to make it our home. Have no regrets in the least, just wish we had been made aware - or were more "on the ball" - regarding some things we just took for granted.

We had a tankless water heater when we lived on the NJ coast, great product. Tankless water heaters need natural gas or propane, since you live in St James you have electric only so I think you are out of luck.

The ones that were shown at the craft show were not gas, but electric.

My dear applesoft, you are having a lot of bad luck, with your windows and your water and your gutters too? What is wrong with your gutters?

In our old house in Cincinnati we had to wait a bit for the hot water to get to our master bath and it is the same here, but we had a problem with the water not quite being warm or hot enough and we called warranty and they sent a plumber to reset the shower settings. He said too that there are some non scald restrictions and he showed us how to adjust the shower. We too have a new home and we live in a brand new neighborhood and I kinda think that the statement that everyone was installing a recirculation pump is not accurate.

Now...If I am mimalizing your experience I am sorry, but I too am a new homeowner and I am not having the same experiences at all nor did I have them in our new home in Hadley three years ago. The reason I am making this statement is to keep those who are new to the villages or who have bought land and haven't built from worrying unnecessarily. I think your experiences are unusual.

I hope I haven't made you angry or hurt your feelings, Applesoft.

And what is wrong with your gutters?

I agree with you Gracie.
BTW we are in our second Villages home and I have had to wait for the hot water in both of them. I guess I never realized it was such a big deal!

Thanks!
 

I'm going to take your word for it! :icon_wink:

Think they would insulate the hot water pipes in the ground to conserve energy,I think it would cost about $20.00 worth of pipe insulation.build to spec,s there spec,s.

Hot Water
 

I am curious, we moved in this past December and have not had a problem with the water temp. It does take a little time to heat up (less than 2 minutes at the longest point), but the temp is fine.

I am a builder. I am still building in the northeast. We have never installed a recirculation loop in any house, nor have we ever had a problem with hot water.

Without a recirculation loop to keep the water moving from the hotwater heater to a point near the spigot (shower head, etc.) you are doing nothing but turning the water over in the tank.

The problem sounds more with the type of tank and its design spec's. You might try calling the hot water heater maker. Most of these companies have help lines.

The person who said that the shower heads restrict flow is correct. However, that is a code requirement (I am going by NY State Building Codes) and may not an option for the builder.

I am generally happy with what we purchased, but there are items which I would do different. However, we knew what the specs were before we decided to move.

Finally, jumping to the windows, I would go to the manufacuter and again take to there customer service line. You may be able to get some info which could help you with dealing with the warrenty dept.

Good luck!

No offense taken. My original post was to see if this was a common problem. If it had been, I'd say it was a design problem. Some people are having an issue, others aren't. We did what we felt was right for our situation.
We have absolutely no regrets about our house, the property, or TV. We moved down here for a better retirement and we aren't disappointed. We encourage our friends and family to visit, in the hopes that they consider a move here, also.
There are things that we hadn't anticipated in a new construction...that that we just assumed would not be an issue at all. This continues to be a learning process for us. For the thousands of Villagers who have never had a problem with new construction, that is probably the norm. I didn't question anything about our house until I began speaking to other people who couldn't understand why I wasn't going to Warranty with my concerns.

Glad that you are posting here with your concerns. I hope the Warranty Dept. helps you.

I hope that you get your money back for the recirculating pump. The plumbing in a brand new house should provide hot water to the whole house.

recirculating pump
 

Recirculating hot water intrigued me so I googled it.

Found

FAQ page for the Green Plumbling Product that saves water - The Chilipepper CP6000 - Cure Slow Hot Water!

This pump can be self installed probably for about $200 - $250. The key is you need an outlet under the sink. For newbies building that should not be a problem.

You may notice it uses X-10, which I have in my current house although my wife refers to it as F-10 and told me we can't have it in TV. We'll have to see about that now!

So what do you think?

It seems like "applesoffh" needed the recirculating pump in order to get hot water to her shower.

But..........the BUILDER should be responsible for the installation and cost of the pump.

I installed a recirculating pump in North Carolina and it worked well. But I was able to insulate both the supply and return lines as they ran through the attic.

My concern in The Villages is that we cannot insulate the existing supply line which runs underground. I also notice that after a shower it only takes a few minutes before the water coming out of the hot water tap is cool again - that suggests that the heat in the water line is being quickly absorbed by the ground. So hot water recirculation in a Villages house would really be better described as underfloor heating which would probably add a lot to your hot water heating bill.

recirculating pump
 

Take a look at my post. It's a pump but it really does not recirculate.
You press a button and teh pucmp activates and very quickly you get hot water. It boasts that say you wake up in the morning press a remote and by the time you get to the bathroom the water is hot. I'm going to check reviews of the product as it may be worth while