surfix007
New Member
First of all a 'Happy New Year' to everyone!
I am new to this forum and as far as I can see, not the only one with this problem. However, some of the postings that almost perfectly fit my scenario are almost 2 years old and perhaps technology has some more options available to solve my problem. Although coming from (cold) Germany where all water lines are insulated by law, our contractor felt that this was not necessary over here in the Mid New Jersey area ;-( (should have done it anyway)...
Here is our problem: It takes at least a minute or more for the water to get warm and even more to become hot. The amount of water wasted is just terrible. Here is our setup:
We have a Navien NR240 tankless heater in the basement. The heater has no internal buffer (the contractor bought the cheaper model). The bathrooms are on the 2nd floor. We have almost everywhere pedestal sinks and a bathtub/jaccuzi in the master bathroom.
I thought about several options but I am not sure what would be best and would appreciate to get some feedback:
Option 1: External buffer tank.
Because the Navien does not have an internal buffer tank, a small external one could help to have hot water available (at least at certain times) and we would only waste the water in the pipes? I looked around but have not really found anything and putting a 40 gallon tank there would probably defeat the purpose of a tankless heater ..
Option 2: Circulation pump (e.g. Grundfos UP15-18SUF)
This looks like an interesting option because the e.g. Grundfos pump runs with a timer and we only would need it a couple hours during the day. I guess, the UP15-18SUF should be fine it has around 11 feet of head range which should be enough from the basement to the 2nd floor (am I right here???).
Further more, the installation seems to be minimal - no need to rip open walls etc.
Option 3: Hot water delivery system (e.g. CP600 or similar)
This also sounds like a feasible solution. I like that this solution because it only runs when needed, however, the problem is that I don't really have space under the sinks to install a unit. The only place this would work is to put this in the enclosure of the jaccuzzi which is not too far from shower and sinks, but I am not sure if this would still work. How would it sense the hot water if it is installed in a different branch of the pipe???
Anybody knows of some better ideas, other options or how to optimize one of the listed options?
Thank you so much for your help!
And once again, all the best for the new year!
Regards
Rainer
I am new to this forum and as far as I can see, not the only one with this problem. However, some of the postings that almost perfectly fit my scenario are almost 2 years old and perhaps technology has some more options available to solve my problem. Although coming from (cold) Germany where all water lines are insulated by law, our contractor felt that this was not necessary over here in the Mid New Jersey area ;-( (should have done it anyway)...
Here is our problem: It takes at least a minute or more for the water to get warm and even more to become hot. The amount of water wasted is just terrible. Here is our setup:
We have a Navien NR240 tankless heater in the basement. The heater has no internal buffer (the contractor bought the cheaper model). The bathrooms are on the 2nd floor. We have almost everywhere pedestal sinks and a bathtub/jaccuzi in the master bathroom.
I thought about several options but I am not sure what would be best and would appreciate to get some feedback:
Option 1: External buffer tank.
Because the Navien does not have an internal buffer tank, a small external one could help to have hot water available (at least at certain times) and we would only waste the water in the pipes? I looked around but have not really found anything and putting a 40 gallon tank there would probably defeat the purpose of a tankless heater ..
Option 2: Circulation pump (e.g. Grundfos UP15-18SUF)
This looks like an interesting option because the e.g. Grundfos pump runs with a timer and we only would need it a couple hours during the day. I guess, the UP15-18SUF should be fine it has around 11 feet of head range which should be enough from the basement to the 2nd floor (am I right here???).
Further more, the installation seems to be minimal - no need to rip open walls etc.
Option 3: Hot water delivery system (e.g. CP600 or similar)
This also sounds like a feasible solution. I like that this solution because it only runs when needed, however, the problem is that I don't really have space under the sinks to install a unit. The only place this would work is to put this in the enclosure of the jaccuzzi which is not too far from shower and sinks, but I am not sure if this would still work. How would it sense the hot water if it is installed in a different branch of the pipe???
Anybody knows of some better ideas, other options or how to optimize one of the listed options?
Thank you so much for your help!
And once again, all the best for the new year!
Regards
Rainer
Last edited: