insulationwater
Ok, so I took a few weekends and totally insulated all hot water pipes I could get access to from the water heater. Now, I still wait approx 90 seconds for hot water to reach the farthest faucet from the water heater.
So my question, does anyone find insulating pipes useful? I feel like I wasted time and money. The insulation I used was both fiber and foam.
I'm now looking at water circulation pumps but the wife is skeptical of my projects to have hot water fast at that farthest faucet.
I suspect you have a set-up like this?
You are concerned that when the water gets pumped back into the "water heater" it could possibly pollute your main water line?
The only thing I could suggest is putting a check valve on the "cold" water supply so that it can only supply fresh water. That is helpful if the pumps output pressure is higher than your supply pressure (This could happen on someday with low supply pressure or if you do not have main water pressure regulator)
In this situation the return is a dedicated port on the "water heater/boiler" and there should already be a check valve/pressure regulator/non return valve just before the water heater. So the rest of the house will run just on the cold water supply and never get any recirculation contamination.
Well either the diverter isn't closing off the hot and cold to the mixing valve or there is an issue with the mixing valve itself. You wouldn't be able to physically see anything wrong with either until you start taking them apart. If you noticed your handle moving "faster" that can signal that the handle was not tightened properly or has stripped bushings.
Best Answer
Insulating water pipes reduces the speed that they lose their temperature with the ambient air. This can reduce the risk of the pipes freezing in an outdoor location. For the indoors, it keeps the pipes warmer for longer, which may help for frequent tasks that don't require hot water, like hand washing.
But once the pipes have cooled off it doesn't increase the speed that water takes to travel from the hot water heater to your fixtures. If you need to reduce that time, you may want to consider adding a hot water recirculating pump that ensures the water is always hot at your fixture.