Is it feasible to connect two hot water heaters to one fixture?

[jeff_bathroom]

Hi,
I've torn everything out of my second bath and when
I connect up the new tub, I'll be using hot water from a different
water heater so that this bath doesn't share the same hw heater
as the master bath.
I wondered though if it is possible to connect both the original
hot water line and the new one into a T, then into the tub hot water
line? The idea of course being that there'd be almost twice the
available hot water. Seems logical, but I guess I'm expecting a pro
to tell me about some backpressure issues. What say ye?

[jadnashua]

Possible, but maybe problematical. If the lines don't present similar resistance/restrictions, you might not get the benefit of the second source. There have been some recent discussions about running them in series vs parallel. You might want to search on that for some enlightenment!

[jeff_bathroom]

Thanks Jim,
I didn't know to search for "in series" or "in parallel", but after researching, I see lots of contraversy. Eeeegads, I'm not touching that one! One hot water heater it is. Although it would seem there should be some nifty little inline device that makes parallel heaters work without trashing them.

[leejosepho]

... it would seem there should be some nifty little inline device that makes parallel heaters work without trashing them.

Yes, somewhere there just has to be some kind of flow-control device (similar to a mixing valve) that will combine the two sources together in parallel, and likely with an adjustment for drawing more flow from one source than from the other, if desired.

[geniescience]

hi jeff !!

instead of plumbing them as separate systems, you can get the benefit of having more HW available in both baths and throughout the house, if you do a series installation. Series is a no-brainer. It is true that almost-simultaneous demand in both tubs might drain the last one of the series, which is the one likely to be set to the highest HW temperature. Not a big concern, imho.

david

[jeff_bathroom]

Sorry David,
no in-series for me. Yours is one of the "pro" opinions of
"in series" and there are plenty of folks who think in series is
a bad idea along with those who think in parallel is bad or worse.
Like Jim is agreeing above, there must be a pressure control device
of some kind out there to run heaters properly in parallel. It either doesn't
exist, doesn't work if it exists or we simply don't know about it.
Anyway, in series seems to make more sense for new installations
or cases when you're adding a second hot water heater rather
than two that probably exist on opposite sides of the house like mine.
Thanks for the opinion though; I'm always interested.

[Randyj]

I'm with David.... no way except in series... the second one holds the hot water and doesn't even have to come on to heat water until the first is depleted... you're getting twice the capacity and twice the capability without necessarily cranking up the second one. You have already begun recovery before the second one even begins to get cold.

[geniescience]

jeff

thank you for telling me that the 2 HW heaters are 50 feet apart.

There may be a few ways to get some connection that makes sense.

Here is one idea: put a connector pipe -- and a valve -- between the new and the old HW heaters' output pipes, so that you can still have some flow to either tub when you need it. This is a manual override. You'd need a valve on each HW heater too. This is a parallel connection not series, and you control the flow by opening the valve when needed, instead of leaving it open all the time. Another advantage is that your house can operate on either tank whenever one of the two is out of operation.

Another idea: this one needs a lot of valves. You connect to the input and outlets of one of the HW heaters, enough pipe and valves in an array so that you can have either parallel (as above) or series, depending on which valves you close.

More ideas, that depend on existing "friction losses" (due to distances and elbows mostly) that will make more water go one way or another, if you connect the two. Depends on the layout in the rest of the house, and where your water enters your house.

However, if you never run out of HW all this is unnecessary.

david

p.s. so far i haven't read anything against series connected HW heaters that i can recall that was serious.

[leejosepho]

so far i haven't read anything against series connected HW heaters that i can recall that was serious.

Prior to this thread, I had never heard of connecting two water heaters together ... and while I can see the balance problem in a parallel connection, I have also been pondering the effect of turbulence reducing the overall (combined) volume of hot water in a series connection. But, it just now strikes me that would probably not be an issue.

[jeff_bathroom]

It's been awhile since I posted this.
While plumbing my second bathroom, I realized that it's really just the showers that I wanted additional hot water for. So, I ended up installing two shower fixtures in the second bath...one connected to one hot water heater and the other connected to the second. Worked out just fine.
Attached are some finished photos of the job. I really like having the two shower heads. My original plan was that it would be nice to have a second one in case I ran out of hot water on the first water heater. Turns out I just like to shower with both going. I don't shower at the same time as my wife so it's not an issue.

[hj]

It is a "no brainer" feed the second heater at the bathroom with the hot water from the first heater.

[jeff_bathroom]

Well, I didn't mix them at the bathroom if that's what you're suggesting. The hot water feeds from each heater are still completely separate.
I just ran the hot water from each heater to a separate fixture.
And for me, it was a "brainer".

[hj]

I just ran the hot water from each heater to a separate fixture.

More complicated and you did not really increase the amount of water available at any one fixture, which would have been the only reason to do it in the first place.

[jeff_bathroom]

More complicated, yes; but not very complicated.
The way I see it, the advantages are:
* I get dual shower heads which is in the category of a "luxury shower" if I want one.
* The original reason for doing this was so that I wouldn't run out of hot water. So, using the mixing method; if one water heater's hot water were used up or if the heater were broken, then it's going to mix its cold water with the other's hot water; defeating the original purpose.
* I don't want to use hot water from the "secondary" hot water heater that supplies my wife's shower unless I want to. Using the mixing method, if we were to take showers at the same time; I would be using her hot water whether I wanted to or not. This scenario wouldn't happen very often unless we both take showers prior to going out to dinner or something. In that case, if I ate up her hot water, I'd be in deep doodoo.
Guess the method depends on what you're trying to achieve.
Thanks.
-- Jeff

[alyka]

i just read this thread and found some information that would help me in pimping my bathroom.... i will be installing a bathroom ceiling heater and im so excited about it.