Hot Water rising up cold supply line--fix?

[zimmee66]

Hi All!

I have a water heater put in by the Previous Owner. Pretty new, installed very sloppily by somebody better known for, umm--getting hair out of sewers.

Installers ran a rigid 3/4 copper supply line dropped straight from overhead to the heater.

I feel hot water in that cold line extending up and accross probably 6 feet. Rising by convection I guess.

What do you think of add-on heat traps? They look unreliable to me somehow.

(The heater is too old/cheap for built-in heat traps.)

The problem is not saving money by the way, it is that the hot water "contaminates" the cold water tap on the sink above. So you get lukewarm instead of cold. That faucet line tees off the horizontal in the "warm zone".

I thought the old fashioned fix was a loop?

thanks!

[master plumber mark]

if tis really a problem, go buy a spring loaded brass
check valve snd tie it into the cold line going into
the heater, preferrably below the shut off valve...

cost about 5 bucks..

[Cass]

.......then install an expansion tank to go along with that check valve.

[plumber1]

If you have a washing machine, go over and close those valves at the hose that fills your washer and see if that stops it.....

[hj]

A "loop", or dip, in the riser so the water has to go down before it can continue to rise should break the convection problem.