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No hot water in some areas - new house, recirc loop

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Posted by david_cary (My Page) on
Mon, Oct 18, 10 at 17:29

So I have called my plumber but his turn around time is slow.

I have a new house (1 year old) with a recirc loop for hot water and 80 gal tank with solar and electric back up.

The tank is hot (the solar portion has a display of tank temp). Hot water works downstairs. Upstairs in one room in particular, the water starts hot and then cools down. I tried it this am and I could take a shower for about 60 sec and then it was too cold to continue. I moved to the master bedroom and the shower was hot but colder than usual. The sink in guest room with single handle was cool - just like the shower.
There are antiscald - pressure balanced in upstairs rooms except the master which has thermostatic valve. When this happened, a direct hot water valve (sink) was hot but would get cold for a few secs. The pressure is normal in the sink and shower and tub.

It is like a valve is allowing cold water to get into the loop. Is that possible? Could a single valve cartridge causes multiple points to not have hot water? The loop coudl be blocked by debris but then the whole house would be affected.

Any guesses?

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RE: No hot water in some areas - new house, recirc loop

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There should be a check valve in the system that only allows water to flow one way.

If it is omitted or not working you can get funny things like this.

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RE: No hot water in some areas - new house, recirc loop

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"Any guesses?"

Sure. Ignorant, though, not seeing what you actually have there.
Sounds like you're getting a slug of hot water that's risen in the piping..."I could take a shower for about 60 sec and then it was too cold to continue."
Your statement "Hot water works downstairs." seems to bear that out.

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RE: No hot water in some areas - new house, recirc loop

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Hi, Check the direction of the water flow from the recert pump.I believe it should flow from the pump into the tank. There is an arrow on the pump that shows the direction of water flow.
Good Luck Woodbutcher

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