Let Your Refrigerator Run- Not Your Water!
Save Thousands Of Gallons Per Year

by: Gene Glasco

Way back in the day when telephone gags were popular and precocious children had nothing better to do, an occasional prank telephone call would add a little excitement to the dog days of Arcadia summers. They’d call a random telephone number (notice I said “they’d”) and ask the party who answered if their refrigerator was running. An affirmative answer would invariably result in the prankster blurting out, “well, you’d better go catch it” followed by a giggly quick disconnect. So what relevance does a tired telephone joke have to do with the word “water” and one of the driest droughts in California history? Not much, except that the word “running” used in context with water has a much more serious side to it, particularly as it relates to excess water that flows from our taps and shower heads and down our drains while we wait for it to warm. The wasteful practice of wasting water before taking a shower by letting water run for three or four minutes until hot water makes its way from the water heater to the shower head or sink faucet needs to be curtailed; and we now have a way to do just that. But first, let’s look at how much water is typically wasted while waiting for it to get hot? Here’s an example:

How Much Water is Wasted Waiting for It to Get Hot?

• An average home has approximately 125 ft of 3/4 inch piping.
• 125 feet of 3/4" pipe holds 3.14 gallons of water.
• 10 draws per day wastes over 31 gallons of water waiting for the water to get hot.
• Over a year, the wasted water equals 11,461 gallons.

By some estimates, 12,000 gallons of precious water a year per household is wasted while waiting for shower or tap water to warm up. Multiply this waste of water over a multi-person household and 12,000 gallons becomes more like 18,000 gallons or more of water that circles and disappears down the drain. Gallons of water run down our bathroom drains everyday while we wait for cool water to begin running warm. But there is something we can do to responsibly stop this waste of water with immediate and quantifiable results. 


Save Thousands With a Hot Water Re-Circulation Pump


You can and will save thousands of gallons of water annually by simply attaching a hot water re-circulation system and timer to your water heater. There'll be no more waiting on hot water and it effectively stops the cold-to-hot water waste by providing an almost instantaneous supply of hot water when opening your hot water shower or wash basin valves. The system timer can be set so a continuous flow of hot water circulates through your hot water pipes in the morning and evening. Besides conserving anywhere from 12,000 to 18,000 gallons of water or more a year, this system will help save you big money on your water bill!  

I paid a local plumbing company about $500 to install a Grundfos Model 70XL Comfort System on our water heater tank a few months ago and have been delighted with its performance. By definition, a hot water re-circulating system is a pump and valve combination that delivers hot water in seconds to any faucet or bath in your home. It uses the pump at the water heater along with a very simple under-sink valve installed furthest away from your water heater. This combination creates a pressure differential that allows the cold and cool water in the hot water supply line to "by-pass" (at a low volume) into the cold water supply line through the thermostatically controlled sensor valve, keeping the water in the hot water supply line at a "no-wait" temperature throughout your home. The timer on the pump makes it more efficient during downtime.
We used to have to wait 2-3 minutes in the Summer and longer in the Winter for hot water before taking a shower. That's a lot of water down the drain. It dropped our 2-3 minute wait for hot water to a few seconds. We set the timer so hot water only circulates and is instantly available in the morning and evening. The re-circulation system is cutting down on unnecessary water consumption and we're saving money on our water bill every month. We've also been able to turn down the temperature on our hot water tank during the Winter and now that Summer is here, we've set it even lower! 

Compatibility:

• Works with any standard hot water tank heater and some (not all) tank-less hot water systems.

Applications:

• Home and Business applications.

Features:

• No return line required
• No electricity needed under the sink
• Built-in 24 hour timer with 10 ft cord and 115v plug
• Uses less energy than a 25 watt light bulb
• Thermal By-Pass Technology
• Saves up to 12,000 gallons or more per year
• Maintenance Free

Grundfos Model 70XL Hot Water Re-circulation System 

Reap the rewards by installing this tremendous water saving device on your water heater. And should a prankster call and ask if your refrigerator is running tell them it is- but your water isn't. 
Gene Glasco