Ask Experts Questions for FREE Help !
Ask
    shoes's Avatar
    shoes Posts: 1, Reputation: 1
    New Member
    		  
    #1

    Feb 13, 2007, 03:01 PM
    Hot water takes a long time to reach faucets
    On some bad advice I had a new hot water heater installed and have the same problem.
    2100sq.ft.house with 2 1/2 baths. Three people in the house. It takes 2 to 3 minutes
    To get hot water at a faucet or any other outlet. Now I'm told that I need a thermal expansion tank between the main water line and the hot water heater. The cold water line to the hot water tank is very warm to the touch.
    doug238's Avatar
    doug238 Posts: 1,560, Reputation: 62
    Ultra Member
    		  
    #2

    Feb 14, 2007, 09:07 PM
    I hope you got a 50 gallon water heater. You said bad advice? How old was the previous heater? What size? Gas or electric?
    If you are concerned about getting ripped off, call the bbb.

    1- wait long time for hot water... home depot sells a recirculating system for $199.95. It is easy to install and solves that problem.
    2- cold inlet pipe warm... heat rises
    3- thermal expansion tank... a code revision not long ago required that an expansion device be installed on a closed system. Do you have a check valve after your water meter? If so, a device is required by code, it also protects your plumbing. The choices are a] thermal expansion tank, b] thermal expansion valve [my favorite] c] thermal expansion toilet fill valve.
    labman's Avatar
    labman Posts: 10,580, Reputation: 551
    Uber Member
    		  
    #3

    Feb 14, 2007, 09:23 PM
    Expanding on what Doug said. The recalculating system is the only real answer to long runs. I managed to relocate my water heater last summer and rearrange some to the piping to reduce the lengths of the runs.

    When you add cold water to the tank, it expands as it heats and the excess has to go somewhere, either back out the cold water line or out the T&P valve. An expansion tank still allows it to back the cold water line if you have a check valve or back flow preventer.
    doug238's Avatar
    doug238 Posts: 1,560, Reputation: 62
    Ultra Member
    		  
    #4

    Feb 14, 2007, 09:25 PM
    Are you a plumber?
Not your question? Ask your question View similar questions
 

Question Tools Search this Question
Search this Question:

Advanced Search

Add your answer here.


Check out some similar questions!

Hot Water Takes Too Long To Flow [ 8 Answers ]

Can anyone help me with this problem? I and my suite downstairs have a problem of having to run the water for a really long time before the hot water flows out. We are wasting so much water while waiting for hot water. Sometimes it even starts luke warm then goes cold and then finally hot. We...

Dryer Takes Long Time to Dry [ 0 Answers ]

Hi I have a Frigidaire washer/dryer. The dryer can take upwards to 2+ hours to dry in automatic mode. There is heat coming from the dryer. I tried turning on the dryer and checking the vent in the dryer (where the lint trap is located). I noticed that while there is suction I do feel a...

Hot water in cold faucets [ 1 Answers ]

Suddenly I now have hot water coming out of the cold faucet side of my bath and powder rooms. My shower has the kind of diverter that has anti scald and has always worked great. Now if someone flushes the toilet it gets cold. Is the diverter the problem? Brett

Temporary loss of hot water pressure in all faucets [ 1 Answers ]

I actually have two plumbing problems. We moved into a 9 year old home about 1 year ago. In March, we had a water softener installed. The previous owners never installed a softener. I'm not sure if the softener installation has anthing to do with this, but we've been experiencing temporary loss...

Toilet takes long time to fill up after flushing [ 4 Answers ]

When I flush my toilet the water in the cistern is taking all day to fill up, any help out there

View more questions Search