Install both the pump and a 30min. timer near the heater, and save yourself a trip.

Soonyb, Do you see an issue with the pump and timer near the laundry 60' + from heater? The issue I have is the need to run switch wire all that distance when it is already near the laundry.

As mentioned, the recirc pump on our system is located at the heater. It is plumbed into the drain at the bottom of the tank and pulls water through the hot water loop to the tank thus drawing water from the top of the tank through the hot water line (which is the way the hot supply normally works without a pump). The bonus here is that they replaced the cheap plastic drain with a brass one.

While the pump has a timer on it, I control it with an X-10 appliance module, i.e. turn it on when hot water is needed; turn off when no longer needed. I timed how long it takes to get hot water to the various faucets. The trade off is some inconvenience versus not pulling hot water through the pipes when not needed. X-10 communicates using the electrical wiring in the house so no need to run a separate wire fo it.. X-10 stuff has some reliability problems every once in a while, but is relatively cheap. Other "remote control" approaches such as Insteon or Z-wave are available and maybe more reliable.

"as that end of the house is seldom used"

Implies that you spend more time at the other end, nearer the HW heater.

Hopefully, you have 120v near the area of the HW heater.

The hot water heater (actually a boiler as we have hydronic heat) is in a mechanical room. As mentioned I have a spare unused water line going to the other end of the house (laundry). I would really like to install the pump at the laundry end. I can do whatever plumbing necessary in the mechanical room. Is there an issue with the pump being so far from the heater?

It's your house.

Pumps push better than they pull. Best to install at the WH.

That is a closed loop circa. It is not a pump in that it is not lifting anything. You can put it wherever you need it. If you intend to operate this manually, which I would recommend, you could put it on a wall switch. To control the circulators "off" operation, from a cold start, turn on the circ and see how long it takes to get the hot water to the laundry area. Depending upon the circ you choose, it may only be seconds. Find a timer that corresponds to your system and install it. There is no sense in running hot water around the system when you don't need it.

Thanks Jackfire, that was my plan. I had intended to put the pump on a timer switch. As for the not having it recirculate all of the time, you are right on. As mentioned earlier, that end of the house gets used very seldom and there is no reason to have the water recirculating all of the time.