Hi,

I have just moved into a new construction home and am already looking to improve upon the plumbing system and I have a question (well I have several, but one at a time!). I want to increase the hot water volume available in the house, as well as decrease the amount of time it takes to get hot water to the master bath and the other upstairs bath.

The current system is an oil on-demand system located in the one end of my basement. The powder room is directly above that system on the main floor, and the upstairs bath and master share a wall and are plumbed in series, on the opposite side of the house. So there are 2 floors and about 60 horizontal ft separating the delivery system from the 2 main baths.

The master gets far more use then the other bathroom, so I could add a recirculation pump in the master bath to eliminate wait for hot water, or I could add an electric hot water heater in the basement to increase total volume.

What other options do I have? Would adding a hot water heater directly under the bathrooms in the basement (eliminating the 60ft of horizontal travel) kill two birds with one stone? Could I install a small water heater under the sink in one of the upstairs baths? What are your thoughts?

The company that installed my system offered to install an in-line hot water tank into my existing system for $2500.00, but I declined as that is far too much, and only deals with the volume issue.

Thanks!

There are systems that can fix your long wait for hot water to arrive but they usually are not used in conjunction with an on demand heater. You volume is determined by your water pressure and the sizes of your pipes. You could install a small heater upstairs but you will be opening walls and repiping to get cold to the heater and hot from the heater. I would suggest calling 3 licensed plumbers and get their ideas and bids on the job. This is no easy fix

By volume I do not mean pressure, after about half of a tub-full, or two showers, the oil-heater can't keep up with the demand and hot water goes luke warm.

For the small tank I was thinking of tapping into the cold as it goes into one of the sinks, all my pipe is pex so I don't have to worry about sweating pipes while confined in a small space.

I suppose I'd have to tap the hot water into the line before it separates into the 2 lines for the bathrooms... hmmm

Your water heater is not sized properly, or it may not be working properly. On demand water heaters are rated for a certain temp increase and a certain volume of water. The on demand heater I installed will deliver 5.2 gpm with a 70 degree rise. What brand/model do you have and do you know your water pressure?