Last month, our condo had pipe repairs - we have no idea what they were, but the water was turned off and then back on about 3 times over the course of a week I think.
Since then, a lot of us have had to run the hot water tap for 3 or more minutes to get hot water. Supposedly an engineer checked that all the valves were on, and the recirc. Pump is working. Anyone have any suggestions as to what might be the problem, or what should be looked at or checked? Up until then, I have always had hot water immediately. The bldg only has four floors.

Thanks for any help.

I don't have a solid answer. However, I can tell you a story that may give you some insight into the matter:

Over the past couple of days, an apartment building where a friend of mine lives had major pipe surgery. It seems that all the water was going through one big water meter, and they wanted to split the incoming main into two branches, each with its own meter. Just like by you, they've had the water turned on and off a couple of times in the last few days. When the work was done, although there didn't seem to be any adverse effects like in your case, I observed that a few of the main pipe runs had been reconfigured.

So I'm thinking: maybe it's possible that the surgery they did resulted in a longer pipe run? For example, they may have re-routed some pipes to make a detour around new construction. Or perhaps to install a major building-wide appliance, such as a water softener or filter , and the appliance was located in such a way that the pipes were required to make a detour to get to it (unlikely, but I'm grabbing at straws here). Remember: longer pipe runs = more cold water to flush out of the line before it gets hot.

And finally, even if the length of the run has not changed, maybe a large section of pipe was removed during the "surgery", and replaced with a pipe of a different diameter?

In summary:

In my humble opinion, your first step should be to find out exactly WHAT was done during the repairs, and post that information back here so we can get a better idea of what's going on. Then, if it turns out that none of the hot water pipes have been reconfigured to take a longer route, check any sections of pipes that have been replaced to see if they're the same size as the rest of the run.

Keep us in the loop on this one. We'd love to help.
Moishe

Thanks for the info. I am going to see if I can get an anwer as to what was "repaired."

Good. Let us know what you find out.

BTW, I had one more idea after my last post: Did you notice any drop in the water pressure/volume since the "repairs"? If all else fails (i.e. everything else is in order), there is always the possibility that the plumber did a lousy job when reconnecting the hot water pipes, and somehow got a big glob of solder or some other obstruction inside one of the pipes.

Moishe gave such a good answer that I hesitate to add to it. I'm with him in wondering exactly what changes and if any pipes were rerouted.
If I were there , the first area I would be looking hard at would be the recirculating system. If, for any reason, the recirculating system was not operating or left out of the system this would give you the symptoms you are complaining about. Regards, Tom

Well Tom, it's definitely operating; look at his original post:

The only question is if it's actually doing anything, or if just appears to be on but is not connected or something.

Moishe

Bingo! I did read that the pump was checked but I've been in the business long enough to not to take anyone's word for anything. While the pump may be running I didn't hear anyone say that the recirculating system was operating. If the recirculating line wasn't connectred back it would give the same same symptoms that they're complaining about. Get the plumber back and go over the work that he had reconfigured. Something's not right. Regards, tom

Well, trying to get answers is like pulling teeth. Supposedly someone told me they replaced the pump, as there was a new pump with a Nov. 05 date on it, and an old one was laying around. Still trying to get more answers. Thanks for everyone's help! Going to throw some of the possibilities you all gave at the people in charge, and see what they say.

Let us know how it turns out. Regards, Tom