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Originally Posted by TheVillagesYoungster
Has anyone installed a Tankless water heater recirculation pump on their Rheem water heater outside? Looking for some options to get faster hot water. Is this a DYI or do you need a professional? Any recommendation on brands and how your experience was?
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A Watts recirculating pump and a tankless water heater are not compatible for the reason there is no where for the water to "recirculate".
With a traditional 40-60 gal water heater, the Watts recirculating pump pushes hot water from the tank at low pressure through the hot water line. By reason of an innovative manifold that is installed at the faucet furthest from the water heater, the hot water being moved by the Watts pump goes into the cold water line and back to the water heater. In other words, it "recirculates" in a closed loop.
This only happens when all the cold water taps at all the faucets and showers are closed. If a cold water tap or shower is open, the valves in the manifold close and the water being pushed by the Watts pump does not enter the cold water line. It's an ingenious system and provides hot water at all the faucets and showers in the house within seconds.
To use the Watts pump with a tankless water heater, you will need to install a 2nd hot water heater after the tankless heater to serve as a reservoir of hot water which can then be recirculated by the Watts pump. Small tanks of this type are 7-10 gallons in size and are readily available at Home Depot and Lowes.
With a standard hot water heater, the Watts pump is an easy DIY or it can be installed by a handyman. Adding a second, small, tank after a tankless heater is more complicated and should, probably, be left to a plumber.
Buyers of tankless water heaters are often under the impression that they will have "instant" hot water. They will, but only at the outlet of the tankless heater. Just as with a regular water heater, the hot water from a tankless heater has to flow to the faucets and showers inside the house before there is hot water at them.
Install a Watts pump. You'll never regret doing so. One final piece of advice--in some houses in The Villages, such as our Magnolia model, the hot water line "splits" and goes in two directions after it enters the house. This requires a second manifold so that there is one at the end of each line. The extra manifold costs approximately $50.