Shut off hot water getting cold water coming out of all faucets in house

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will3

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Hi Everyone,

I'm having an issue with hot water in my house and was hoping for some advice. The water is hot for the first couple of minutes and then it turns luke warm afterwards for all taps, etc. The hot water was fine up until a couple of weeks ago.

I suspected that the problem was the mixing valve above the hot water tank but the pipes above the valve are very hot even when luke warm water is pouring out of the faucet. In order to diagnose the problem I shut off the hot water above the tank (just above the mixing valve) and to my surprise the hot water kept running at full force but it was cold water instead. I proceeded to systematically shut down the hot and cold faucets throughout the house to see if cold water was being flowed back through them. Unfortunately, the cold water kept flowing through the hot water pipes and this did not identify the problem.

Here are a few additional details:
- When the water initially comes out it is very hot, that lasts for approximately 2 minutes, it takes maybe half an hour before the water that comes out is hot again
- Recently, I felt warm water with pulsing spurts of cold water coming out of my taps
- When working on my shower last summer, I used the same hot water shutoff valve and it shut off all water flow through the hot water pipes

I would really appreciate any advice.

Thanks!
 

will3

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Hot Water Tank Connection.jpeg

Mixing Valve.jpeg

Here are the pictures.
Yes, there is a recirc pump for the outer tank of the boiler.
 
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hj

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THE picture does not show what we would need to know to make a diagnosis. However, unless you have a rare house, you could not shut off the water to the tub/shower valves, and they are the usual cause of symptoms like yours.
 

will3

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Thanks for the information. Appreciate the advice, unfortunately I cannot shut off the water to the tub/shower valves.
 
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