New (to me) home. Two water heaters in line in the basement (photo attached), master bathroom on upper floor in the opposite corner of a long house. Takes 3-4 minutes for hot water to get there...
Looking at the heaters, I see what seems to be a loop of a smaller size pipe coming into the drain outlet of the first (cold side) heater. I'm attaching the picture. There is also a patch made with PEX, which made me think maybe something like a valve or a pump was there and got removed.
Could that be a passive recirculation loop? Naturally, I opened the valve and waited overnight. I didn't take any time or temperature measurements, but it seemed like hot water got there faster BUT it wasn't as hot as it should be! Thinking about it while standing in the lukewarm shower, I figured it's pulling cold water from the bottom of the first heater in parallel to the hot water from the second heater. Unacceptable! Went downstairs wrapped in a towel, shut the valve off, back to the shower - the water is hot again!
So, am I correct in the assumption that it is a passive recirculation loop put in by the previous owners (and eventually abandoned for some reason)? And if so, how do I solve the cold water mixing issue? I was thinking about a check valve of some sort, but would the regular spring loaded valves open by the thermosiphon pressure? Is there a swing valve of some sort that could be used? How do I make the system work?
I hate wasting so much water and energy waiting for the hot water to show up.
Thanks for the advice.
Looking at the heaters, I see what seems to be a loop of a smaller size pipe coming into the drain outlet of the first (cold side) heater. I'm attaching the picture. There is also a patch made with PEX, which made me think maybe something like a valve or a pump was there and got removed.
Could that be a passive recirculation loop? Naturally, I opened the valve and waited overnight. I didn't take any time or temperature measurements, but it seemed like hot water got there faster BUT it wasn't as hot as it should be! Thinking about it while standing in the lukewarm shower, I figured it's pulling cold water from the bottom of the first heater in parallel to the hot water from the second heater. Unacceptable! Went downstairs wrapped in a towel, shut the valve off, back to the shower - the water is hot again!
So, am I correct in the assumption that it is a passive recirculation loop put in by the previous owners (and eventually abandoned for some reason)? And if so, how do I solve the cold water mixing issue? I was thinking about a check valve of some sort, but would the regular spring loaded valves open by the thermosiphon pressure? Is there a swing valve of some sort that could be used? How do I make the system work?
I hate wasting so much water and energy waiting for the hot water to show up.
Thanks for the advice.