26 replies to this topic

[Bliss]

We have a problem getting hot water in a timely manner to ANY part of our
house. Is this the same for you as well? I'm use to living in cold
climates and waiting for the hot water to get to the faucet but in this
house, the time it takes is as long as 2-3 minutes no matter where I am. Other neighbors on my block have the same issue. It could be the hot water heater although it seems to be working great. One of the neighbors suggested water pressure however our pressure is great outside and in, cold or hot. Is this a pipe insulation problem? Has anyone investigated this and found and answer? Dying, in the cold, to know.

[folsom500]

We have a problem getting hot water in a timely manner to ANY part of our
house. Is this the same for you as well? I'm use to living in cold
climates and waiting for the hot water to get to the faucet but in this
house, the time it takes is as long as 2-3 minutes no matter where I am.  Other neighbors on my block have the same issue.  It could be the hot water heater although it seems to be working great.  One of the neighbors suggested water pressure however our pressure is great outside and in, cold or hot.  Is this a pipe insulation problem?  Has anyone investigated this and found and answer?  Dying, in the cold, to know.

A lot of it is houw your house was plumbed. Many newer homes are using plastic lines that go up through the attic and ceiling to supply water from the main and from the water heater. These type of installations will take longer to get the hot water to the location you want it.
The only real way you can improve it is to get a 'point of use' instant hot water unit" that will heat the water as it flows into a location- Not cheap but effective...

Cheers
F500

[doug72]

Very normal, at least for me...just had a new water heater put in by Domco...it works great, but there is a delay in getting hot water, which I knew there would be, unless you turn on 2 or 3 other faucets at the same time, which I do before I take a shower to get the hot water faster...

[Farley]

I think it generally depends on how far away the sinks are from the hot water heater. The further away the longer it takes to get the hot water.

The previous owners of our home had speed up copper pipe line installed from the hot water heater through the attic to the kitchen. The kitchen was the furtherest from the hot water heater. We get hot water without much wait.

Our waits are not bad now to anywhere in the house; however, the washing machine in the laundry room, which is very close to the hot water heater in the garage, has instant hot water.

[folsom500]

Very normal, at least for me...just had a new water heater put in by Domco...it works great, but there is a delay in getting hot water, which I knew there would be, unless you turn on 2 or 3 other faucets at the same time, which I do before I take a shower to get the hot water faster...

What is the RUSH ??

[kanda]

This is what you need:
http://www.rewci.com/whhohotwaci.html

Let me re-phrase that. It's what you want, not what you need.

It will give you "instant" hot water, but at the price of some energy. It keeps the hot water circulating throughout a house's pipes, thus no wait. I think it's known as a "hot water recirculator".

We had one in a previous home. It works well, but it does definitely add a bit to your energy bill (the hot water cools down as it travels through the pipes, and has to be re-heated.

[bishmasterb]

This is what you need:
http://www.rewci.com/whhohotwaci.html

Let me re-phrase that.  It's what you want, not what you need.

It will give you "instant" hot water, but at the price of some energy.  It keeps the hot water circulating throughout a house's pipes, thus no wait.  I think it's known as a "hot water recirculator".

We had one in a previous home.  It works well, but it does definitely add a bit to your energy bill (the hot water cools down as it travels through the pipes, and has to be re-heated.

I've seen those on television before. Do they require a return line be installed for the circulating water?

[kanda]

I've seen those on television before. Do they require a return line be installed for the circulating water?

For the kind that we had on a previous home, yes. But apparently there's a new kind that doesn't require additional piping:
http://www.clarkpubl...es2003/03_09_14

Of course, saving water in Folsom doesn't save most homeowners any money, so there's less incentive to add something like this right now. Once we're all on metered water, saving 10,000 gallons per year could make it easier to justify.

[CoachWeise]

Most homes in Willow Springs (at least the Forecast homes like mine) came with a hot water recirculator. They have a timer on them so you can specify if you want it recirculating all of the time (always having hot water, but also the most expensive, energy-wise) or you can have it on at a fraction of an hour (I think either 10 or 15 minute intervals, I forget).

I have mine on in the morning and then off and on throughout the day, on a bit in the evening and then off overnight.

When it's off it takes several minutes to get hot water in my kitchen (the last stop for the hot water), when on it's instant.

The only drawback I've noticed is that if it's on all of the time sometimes the water is not as hot as it could be or should be. When the recirculator is off the water seems hotter.

Coach Weise.

[aztransplant]

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[sat]

I live in the Broadstone area, and have similar problems. My kitchen faucet takes awhile to warm up, but my washer is instanteoulsy. Sometimes my shower will only reach a luke-warm level, even if I am the first and only one to use any hot water in the morning. We have had Elliott (our builder) look at our water heater, and they say there is no problem. We have been here now five years, so it is just something we put up with.

[FamilyMan]

Has anyone evaluated their faucet components?
Perhaps the faucets are not mixing hot with cold correctly, or at all?
It shouldn't be too hard of an issue to diagnose.

Water Pressue coming to home.
Hot water heater.
Pipes.
Faucet.
Operator.

Best of luck.
Did no one's home inspector catch any of this?

Best of luck.

[aztransplant]

. . .

[FamilyMan]

Nope. And I didn't either. I turned on all the faucets and flushed all the toilets in each of the houses we looked at before buying. Didn't try the showers though. And there's the problem. The SINKS in both bathrooms produce hot water and adequate water pressure. It's the darned showers. Lukewarm water (after minimum 5 minute wait) and the water pressure is annoyingly low. This morning I took a 30 sec. shower to wash the bod and then washed my hair in the kitchen sink. No sticky residue in the hair and my fingernails weren't m the cold) either. Guess I'll have to do this 'til we find another solution . . .

If you have a standard shower head, try removing the plastic piece that reduces the water flow and see how performance improves.

Perhaps Elliott selected a crappy shower diverter for those homes.

[aztransplant]

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