# Is a Hot Water Recirculator worth it????



## steppinthrax (Nov 29, 2010)

So here's the deal. I'm on a well with a 220V submersible pump. I just this weekend installed a Hybrid Heat Pump Hot Water Heater!!!!!! It's working great. I also just last night insulated my hot water pipes in the basement with R-3.3 Rubber insulation (even the elbows and Tees).

A major issue that I've been having is the water faucets upstairs (furthest away) take a few minutes to bring hot water upstairs. 

I found a WATTS Hot water recirculator pump for real cheap (40 bucks). I'm thinking of installing this on the hot water heater and running a it at some time span. My concern is that the cost to run the pump v.s. the benefit. Since I have a well running additional water will put a strain on my pump and well/septic versus the additional electrical cost to pump cold water back to my hot water heater.

In other words is it worth it or a negative ROI?


----------



## Yodaman (Mar 9, 2015)

Of course it is going to generate a negative ROI. You will be heating more water for your convenience at the tap. Heating water is about the most expensive thing you do in your home. You may want to evaluate how your plumbing is set up. Often people run many feet of 3/4" pipe out of the hot water source which can take several seconds to change over. Insulation may help, but will have minimal affect on overall performance.

If you try to recirc cold water back into the small tank on a hybrid unit, it is going to run continually. 

And lastly, at a $40 price tag, doesn't sound like a potable water recirc. pump. 
Sounds more like the price of a very low end boiler circ pump.

.


----------



## steppinthrax (Nov 29, 2010)

Yodaman said:


> Of course it is going to generate a negative ROI. You will be heating more water for your convenience at the tap. Heating water is about the most expensive thing you do in your home. You may want to evaluate how your plumbing is set up. Often people run many feet of 3/4" pipe out of the hot water source which can take several seconds to change over. Insulation may help, but will have minimal affect on overall performance.
> 
> If you try to recirc cold water back into the small tank on a hybrid unit, it is going to run continually.
> 
> ...


It's a used watts regulator recirculator pump on ebay for $40.00. Yes I know they are more expensive in HD. But you are saying that the cost to pump that extra cold water will not outweigh the expense to heat it, considering I'm using a heat pump hw heater.


----------



## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

I remember a device that was on TOH. You added the recirculator pump under the bathroom sink that was initiated by pushing a button. The cold water in the hot water lines recirculates back through the cold water lines until it hits a certain temperature and then shuts off. I seemed like a good idea because you're only running the pump long enough so that you don't have wait for the hot water.


----------



## Clutchcargo (Mar 31, 2007)

Here's the link of the TOH episode that I was referring to.
https://www.thisoldhouse.com/how-to/how-to-install-hot-water-recirculation-pump


----------



## steppinthrax (Nov 29, 2010)

Based on what everyone was saying here I decided to leave it alone. 

Sent from my SM-J700P using Tapatalk


----------

