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Author:
ElsienB (AR)
I would appreciate your input. I am having trouble with consistent delivery of hot water from our new hot water heater. It flows from tank, to back bathroom, to front bathroom, to kitchen, and to laundry room faucet. Hot water will begin flowing in the bathrooms about 15 seconds after I turn on the faucets. Hot water will not flow into the kitchen unless I go back and turn on the laundry room hot water faucet first. This is a problem we did not have with the old water heater. Can you tell me how to correct this or where to look?
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Author:
Wheelchair (IL)
Since all water heaters are created different, it is important for us to know what you had and what you replaced it with, before we can help address your issue.
Best Wishes
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Author:
hj (AZ)
IT is more likely to be a piping problem than a water heater problem, so we would probably need more information about how the piping is arranged, than you can give us. From what you have said, however, I would guess you have a circulation line connected back to the heater or cold water inlet pipe.
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
ElsienB (AR)
thanks so much! We had the exact same model (only newer) with the exact same connections, and we followed the same connections that were there before, changing nothing in the pipes or valves that come into the house. The water in the hot pipe coming out of the tank is hot to the touch, and when it flows, it comes out hot. It flows hot to the first connection, hot to the second connection. In the kitchen (3rd connection) it is flowing strong, but it is not coming out hot. It's less than 20 feet from the bath connection that does flow hot. There are no loops or intermediate valves that weren't there before. It's very perplexing. But thank you very much for your time.
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Author:
KCRoto (MO)
You may have a single handle valve in the bathroom that is allowing cold water to cross into the hot line. By your initial list you listed the kitchen as the 4th stop, not the 3rd. Are you still getting hot water to the front bathroom?
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Author:
hj (AZ)
You may have made the same connections, but HOW MANY connectors were there? Just the hot and cold at the top, or a third one also?
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Author:
ElsienB (AR)
Thanks so much. The top of the water heater has one cold water inlet and one hot water outlet. The only other connection at the top was the electrical. Upon reading the troubleshooter in the manual, we find that a "thermal expansion tank" is typically installed with the heater, and we do not see one anywhere on the cold line. We have been assured we are up to code, but the house was built in the early 70s, so that may not have been required at the time. I am going to call a plumber today to recheck it all. I sure appreciate your help!
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Author:
ElsienB (AR)
Many thanks to Wheelchair, hj, and KCRoto for your thoughtfulness. We have checked everything you mentioned and turned each inlet on and off to be sure we don't have a mix. I sure hope we can get it resolved with a professional. I do appreciate your time and trouble!
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Author:
ElsienB (AR)
Thanks very much. As it turned out, the pro determined that our problem was as hj predicted: we had a loop in the system that allowed the higher-pressure cold water to push into the pipes before the hot water could flow. The loop was defined at the end of the line, where we had a shower connection installed which fed off of the main faucet line. We had to keep the shower faucet turned to on position continually to keep it from leaking so badly (shoddy installation). I'm not sure why this didn't manifest before we changed out the water heater, but I'm thankful the problem was easily resolved. Thanks for all your help!
Edited 1 times.
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Author:
hj (AZ)
Your explanation is somewhat convoluted, but as long as you got it fixed, that is all that is necessary.
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