Why does it take forever for the hot water to actually start coming out of the shower? I know the hot water heater is in the garage and the showers/bathrooms are on the other side of the house...but really!! I feel like I am wasting a ton of water waiting for it to come through. Surely the pipes dont contain THAT much cold water!
I have always wondered if there wasn't a way to capture that water and return it some how. Sometimes I put the drain in and when my bath is over I use that water to flush the toilet for a bit. But that's labor intensive. I hate letting the water run to get hot water too!
Quote:Yes, the pipes do contain that much water and it sucks the heat out of the incoming water till the lines warm up. You have a couple options here. You could install one of those instant heat propane water heaters next to the shower that only fires up when you use it. Or you could install a mini water line and pump next to the shower that recirculates the line continuously to keep hot water in the supply line-----not very cost effective, but it does work. Oh,,there is still a third option---just grit your teeth, man up, and jump in the shower till it heats up.
;With a long run to the shower, you are kinna stuck. any circulating line will rob you of energy. I have put in small installations of an electric water heater near the bath, that is only 5 gallon. When you run the sink or shower, you get near instant hot water from the little tank, and it is fed from the 'hot line' so it never loses its temperature when you shower. Once off, it is already warm, and just keeps that water, ready to use, while the rest of the heat is lost, to the house piping, until used again.
Depending on your set up, it may help to put foam tubes over your pipes and insulate them if they aren't. I have no basement and an open crawlspace and that is what I had to do. They usually run the pipes in-line. That meant here it got to the tub last because that was farthest. I reran it to have two lines from the main so it would get to the tub directly. You can also change your drain so the bathtub goes out into a small reservoir like a 50 gallon drum. A small inexpensive pump, or just gravity will give you a bit of water for the plants. I use vegetable glycerine soap so I know there is nothing bad going out.
just grit your teeth, man up, and jump in the shower till it heats up. You mean put my big girl panties on? I prefere not to wear clothes in the shower....since I got a bit arthritic I can't take the cold Abirdbrain...thats sounds like a good solution. I will look into that, Thanks
I keep a bucket under the sink and let the cold water go in there. Then I take it out and set it on the porch and use it to water with the next day or dump it in our rainwater barrel to use later.
