Hi,
When I turn on a hot tap in any faucet in my house it takes up to 2 minutes for the temp. to get 'hot'.
My hot water heater (which is about 8 years old and I'm told '82% efficient') is out in the garage. I live in Seattle so it's not -that- cold but still.
Is there something -simple- I can do to improve this without moving the heater? Or is that a stupid request?
Aside from the water waste factor, I also wonder if it wastes a lot of -heat- ($$$).
The only thing -my- un-handy brain can think of is wrapping insulation on the hot pipe all the way from the heater, under the crawlspace to each tap. I wonder what the cost/benefit is?
TIA,
---JC
You can;
1- Insulate the pipes and the space around them.
2- Turn up the temperature of the water.
3- Swap the pipes out for CPVC or Pex type if your local code allows.
4- I'd start by flushing the HWH and checking the pipes for corrosion.
Yes, all of the above, plus:
Look into installing one of those recirculator pump, a small device that will bring hot water to your remote faucet faster.
Thanks.
1. Can you give me specifics on pipe insulation? I see this black foam stuff all over the place. Does it -really- help enough to justify all the work (crawling around under house)
---JC
How many feet of pipe from the garage to the house taps are we talking about????
It's inherently a bad strategy to have the HWH in the garage if room can be found for it as near as possible to the taps.
Pipe insulation & a recirculator would help a little, but with insulation you still would have standing water in that long length of pipe that would come out cold or lukewarm before the hot arrives; the recirculator would add extra expense to the hot water bill.
If you can, I say move the HWH to as near to the taps as possible.
Move the water heater inside the home?
No, the garage is the best place for a water heater. If you move it inside the home and you have a malfunctioning water heater while you're out of the house, you'll have damages in the ten thousands.
A recircling pump works well and it's the best answer for this guy's problem.
More like damage in the tens of millions! Oh Yeah!
C'mon dj, we haven't even established what the house looks like, the type of HWH and all those millions of homeowners who DO have a trouble-free HWH in a utility room/home.
I don't know about you, but I've seen defective, old water heater damages:
Floors, drywall, furniture, cabinets, mold - do I need to mention more?
I have 2 HWH's in my attic. The TMP valves are drained to the side yard, the pans underneath the heaters drain to the garage. One recently started leaking due to the accumulated rust of 19 years of faithful service. When the leak was spotted on the side yard, the HWH was replaced with zero damage to the interior of my home.
In the warmer seasons (which here in south Texas is 11 months a year) the attic is commonly 150ºF, so my hot water is mostly free.
Just sayin.....
Houston,
You were lucky to spot the leak before it had a chance to cause any damage. BUT...
1. What if you were away for extended time?
2. What if the leak happened in the supply lines or the shutoff valve and the pan didn't catch the water?
3. What if the leak was in the tank, the pan cought the water but the drain line was plugged up?
You see my point?
19 years of free hot water all summer long.
We have lots of pipes in the attic, walls and ceilings. Any one could break or leak. That's what home maintenance is for. By running the drain pipes to the outside where they can be seen is the point to catching the leaks early. The tank was probably leaking all day while I was at work. Made no difference as the drains did their job.
My point; HWH's in the attic aren't to be feared.
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