We are building a new house. The master bath is the furthest spot from the tankless water heater. The builder is specifying the WaterQuick Premiere circulation pump with the bridge valve. It looks like it has a water flow sensor. So to activate it, it looks like you give the faucet a quick turn on/off on the hot water side. Which activates the pump and will run until the bridge valve shuts down the flow (meaning the hot water is reaching the bathroom).
My issue with the bridge valve is that now I'm pumping warmed water into the cold side, so if I want to get a drink from the sink while this is running, the water will be almost hot coming from the cold side, right?
I have asked the builder to do a dedicated return from the furthest point and then put the pump on it, with a smart outlet that I can then either time when the pump will run, and/or a button in the bathroom when we walk in.
Am I thinking too much into this? Which would you do in a new build?
Thanks
Best Answer
Too much over thinking. The set up the OP is describing is that the pump turns on when the hot water is turned on in the master the master. Once the water starts to warm up, the temperature bridge closes and pump shuts off. The bridge closes before the water gets too warm. I have a re-circulating hot water pump, and the water out of the cold faucet never feel hot or warm. It is just not "cold". So if you are looking for "cold" water out of the faucet, then a recirculating would be out of the question.
No- the water will NOT be hot coming out of the cold-side faucet, just not cold or cool.
If you think about it, The water out of the cold side of the faucet will be the normal temp of the cold faucet water until the existing water on the hot water side has been expelled and heated water has reached the bridge.
If you want to spend the additional money for a separate return line to the pump to have cold water to drink, the builder will most likely accommodate you.