I am managing a 8 story building and several owner are complaining that it takes 10-15 minutes to get hot water in their units (mostly the units higher up, but even some on the lower floors). I had plumber, mechanical engineers, etc. everyone is telling me something else. Some say bigger circulating pumps, others say that wouldn't help at all, the way our piping system is. One suggested a system called ACT water on demand - has anyone every installed this system and did it work? Anyway, if anyone who reads this, has any idea or has dealt with an issue like that, I would appreciate some info.

Hi TheKainalu2801

Has anybody checked to see if there is a CROSS CONNECTION happening anywhere...you know, cold water crossing over into the hot water supply?? Here, I'm guessing that this is a NEW ISSUE...in other words, the problem didn't always exists, so what is it that has changed, right?

If no pipes have changed, and check valves (if present) are working and/or have been eliminated from the equation then that would suggest that there is a problem with a MIXING VALVE or some other type of cross connection that is messing with the system.

Has anyone thought to investigate things from this perspective or does everyone just want to start adding valves to the system. Here, this almost always leads to problems when the valve(s) are installed, but the problem still remains, you know?

Finally, finding the culprit (if there even is one) will NOT be easy in an 8 story building, but if you start in the mechanical room and work your way up from there you should be able to find the problem (heck, it could even be a single handle shower valve with a bad balancing spool...just never know)!

Back to you...

Mark