Hot water recirc systems

[ArcticGabe]

We have one of the Watts pumps at our house. Yes, it uses the cold water line as the return, and we've had to replace the cross over valve once.

I agree that it is a bit of a disadvantage of having the cold tap come out warm for a little while, but one toilet flush will take care of most of that. The other disadvantage is that we have the pump timer set to only come on for a couple hours in the morning for showers and again for about an hour before going to bed. If someone decides to take a shower during and "off" hour, it takes quite a while to get hot water.

I'd say that overall, the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

I wish we had the option to put in a dedicated return line so we wouldn't have to deal with warm cold water, but in our house it's not an option because the bedrooms are on a slab and the basement under the main section of the house is finished. It would be quite a tear-up just for a water line.

 

[pmiranda]

We have a plain, dumb recirc pump that I have plugged into a Wemo outlet. I have it come on automatically based on time, but also have a motion sensor so when we walk into the bathroom it kicks on for half an hour. Or we can force it on and off with the app.
Requires WiFi.

 

[Git]

That is basically how I got started with Z-wave back in 2003. I had some small remote controls that would turn on the pump and then the software was programmed to send a signal to turn off the pump every hour.

My current system, HomeSeer is smart enough to detect when the pump starts and then will automatically turn it off 4 minutes later which is plenty of time. We ditched the remotes and now use Echo's or Echo Dots - 'Alexa, water heater on'

 

[Rocky Rotella]

Anyone have experience with this brand?

https://autohotusa.com/product/water-heater-99-series-under-sink-kit/

 

[Git]

I never heard of it, but that pump looks like a re-branded Grundfos pump?

Grundfos pumps range in price from around $100 up to around $400, depending on the horsepower, number of speeds etc. Also, there are a number of ways to setup up a wireless on/off switch

 

[yeldogt]

Anyone have experience with this brand?

https://autohotusa.com/product/water-heater-99-series-under-sink-kit/

There are much cheaper alternatives .. that's the cold return type.

 

[yeldogt]

I never heard of it, but that pump looks like a re-branded Grundfos pump?

Grundfos pumps range in price from around $100 up to around $400, depending on the horsepower, number of speeds etc. Also, there are a number of ways to setup up a wireless on/off switch

Seems like you are paying for the controller -- and the Taco looks to be a better purchase price for an established brand.


IMO -- you have to have a temp sensor in the system. Just letting the pump run even if it's only 5 min ... is wasting heat. It seems that many of these systems are dumb and dumber. My timed unit would only run for a short time before the thermostat would turn the pump off .. the key is to have the thermostat in the correct place so it's not seeing heat after the pump stops longer then the coldest part of the loop. You need to keep the whole hot suppler part of the loop warm.

I have yet to find a perfect setup for the dedicated return. A timed pump w/ thermostat -- and then an override control that runs the pump for a set time -- say two minutes.

 

[Git]

I have yet to find a perfect setup for the dedicated return. A timed pump w/ thermostat -- and then an override control that runs the pump for a set time -- say two minutes.

Home Automation.

Z-Wave (HomeSeer) with voice control or remote control that shuts the pump off after 4 minutes.

'Node 5' is the z-wave outlet that the recirc pump plugs into

 

[dcg9381]

We have a plain, dumb recirc pump that I have plugged into a Wemo outlet.

This would be easy - thanks.