Save water?

<ul>[*]All the common housey publications are touting an ancient boat trick as "New and Green".[/list]They have just discovered lots of water gets waisted , while folks wait for hot water at a tap or shower.WOW!

ON a 50's motor sailor , I once served* on the setup was automatic with the operation of the diesel furnace for heat or HW the water was circed to the galley and head .
The head had a bathtub and heated (returning HW ) towel racks.
All great , till you realized it was Britsh , and the galley sink, toilet sink, and bathtub all has pull pumps to lift the water to discharge.

Any how, the avilibility of a small cast iron circ pump , and a 15 or 30 second timer is news to the construction folks, so perhaps it is news to your good selves.

A circuit would run from the HW tank to a T below the hw faucet* toa return line back to the HW heater.Anywhere in this circuit would be the circ pump.

Removing the std drain valve gives a spot to add whatever plumbing needed to return the coolish* water.

Lots more fun showering with a friend , but we do what we can to extend the vessels endurance .

Was thinking about a simple 1/4 turn valve on the hot water line in the head that would simply dump the water back in the water tank. Turn the valve on, when the valve gets warm to the touch, turn it off.

Ted

O C Diver wrote:

Was thinking about a simple 1/4 turn valve on the hot water line in the head that would simply dump the water back in the water tank. Turn the valve on, when the valve gets warm to the touch, turn it off.

Ted

Click to expand...

Excellent approach!* Simple, inexpensive, basically foolproof.

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O C Diver wrote:

Was thinking about a simple 1/4 turn valve on the hot water line in the head that would simply dump the water back in the water tank. Turn the valve on, when the valve gets warm to the touch, turn it off.

Ted
Not sure if this would work?* Since the whole fresh water system is at the same pressure I doubt if water would flow into the hot water tank without a recirculating pump to move it.* But it would be nice if it were that simple.* Have a Great New Year.

JohnP
IG 32* #25*
"Adagio"** Toms River** NJ

Click to expand...

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JohnP wrote:

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O C Diver wrote:

Was thinking about a simple 1/4 turn valve on the hot water line in the head that would simply dump the water back in the water tank. Turn the valve on, when the valve gets warm to the touch, turn it off.

Ted
Not sure if this would work?* Since the whole fresh water system is at the same pressure I doubt if water would flow into the hot water tank without a recirculating pump to move it.* But it would be nice if it were that simple.* Have a Great New Year.

JohnP
IG 32* #25*
"Adagio"** Toms River** NJ

Click to expand...

the " return" line needs to go back to the water storage tank.... not the water heater... it needs the pressure imbalance to work.. unless the spot it returns from is the highest point in the system and the water will thermosyphon
HOLLYWOOD

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How much hot/warm water to you really need, except to shower? How many times do you need to shower?* How long does it take for you to shower?**
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If you restrict the flow and limit the times warm/hot water is used you can*save more water than the amount you might capture back into the tank.* If you have a hand held you could fill the sink to be used later.*

hollywood8118 wrote:


JohnP wrote:

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O C Diver wrote:

Was thinking about a simple 1/4 turn valve on the hot water line in the head that would simply dump the water back in the water tank. Turn the valve on, when the valve gets warm to the touch, turn it off.

Ted
Not sure if this would work?* Since the whole fresh water system is at the same pressure I doubt if water would flow into the hot water tank without a recirculating pump to move it.* But it would be nice if it were that simple.* Have a Great New Year.

JohnP
IG 32* #25*
"Adagio"** Toms River** NJ

Click to expand...

the " return" line needs to go back to the water storage tank.... not the water heater... it needs the pressure imbalance to work.. unless the spot it returns from is the highest point in the system and the water will thermosyphon
HOLLYWOOD

*Duh, Now I get--return to water storage- It is a pretty simple idea.* Live and Learn-- John P

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Apparently I wasn't clear:

In the hotel business, I believe it's called "instant hot water loop". Visualize a one story motel with 10 rooms in a row. The hot water boiler is at one end, and the hot water feed line runs along the back wall of all the rooms where the bathrooms are. At the last room there is a very small circulating pump (<2 GPM) that pushes water back through a 3/8" insulated return line into the boiler. The result is the feed line is always hot so when you turn the faucet on there is almost instant hot water.

My idea was to lay the plumbing out in the same way on my boat. Instead of circulating hot water with a pump, open a valve to a return line that dumps the water back into my water tank. Might not need to purge the line to use the galley sink which would be fairly close to the hot water heater, but definitely like the idea for the head which is in the bow.

Final thought is that most boat sinks and showers have fairly low flow outlets. Since your dumping the water back into the water tank, a 1/2 line and ball valve would purge the feed line fairly quickly. No waiting for the shower water to get hot and no waste.

Ted

I have a hot water circulating system in my house. Concerned about over stressing my septic tank I installed a grundfos circ pump about 3 years ago. A timer turns the pump on along with the hot water heater during peak hot water demand. A diverter valve located at the far end of the plumbing run uses the cold water side to return the hot water to the hot water heater tank. The system works great and a system that works on a boat will be a serious consideration in the near future. With water sometimes running a buck a gallon in the Bahamas, it's a no brainer.

A brass ball valve located at the far end of the plumbing run opened for the duration of your shower and dumping the water back into the water tank should do it.


-- Edited by timjet on Sunday 26th of December 2010 07:31:42 PM