My water is always cold!
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Vmi15756632
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I live in a ranch style home with an unfinished basement and my water is always cold or I must run the water for a long time for it to get warm. I was told that I could install a recirculatIng pump and would always have hot water. Is this true and if so, can I do it myself and how much would it cost?
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I would not use a circulating pump, your cost to heat that water 24/7 is very high if you have an electric water heater. What we did was install a small 4 gallon water heater right under the the sink, and for the sink only. The water to the tub/shower will still come from the main tank. Just pipe the cold from the sink into a tee, one side to the new heater and one to the present cold. Has worked fine for 12 years. We also use a water heater timer on both our main tank and the little one. The idea is to store cooler water. So set the timer to have it hot just before you need it and then shut off. We have two sets of on off trips for the am use and the pm use. Saves a ton of money on keeping it hot all the time, for the few times you actually need it.
It would also help if you wrap the water pipes with pipe insulation.
We put a timer on our electric water heater, Who cares if you have hot water at 3 in the morning. Our timer is only on twice a day and for one hour at a time. The water heater itself keeps water hot in between heatings. We have saved thousands over the 15 we used this. Got ours at Home Depot (a unit called a gray box). Maybe you should look into insulating the pipes that carry the water. Where is the water heater located in proximity to the rest of the house (outside, garage, kitchen, etc.)?
Only Shelley has a good suggestion. Insulating the hot water pipes would help a great deal. Here is what your looking for.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Hot-Water-Recirculating-System-with-Built-In-Timer-0955800/100426993
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hwbHs7KUCzE
I would ask someone at a hardware store, before considering this. Just to be careful, ok? Best wishes, J.
If your heater has any age to it the incoming water is supposed to go to the bottom of the tank via a fiberglass tube and pushes the hot water out the top, if the fiberglass tube has broken and disintegrated over time cold water is entering at the top (instead of going to the bottom)
where there is only supposed to be hot water
Do you have a water heater blanket on your heater? You may also have a long run of piping for the hot water to get to your furthest bathroom. You can buy a "instant hot water" heater that you install in your bathroom to give you instant hot water.