I will be adding a sidearm HX to my system before winter. I am familiar with the installation procedure for this unit but i have a conflict.
When I built the house I installed two hot water lines in parallel that run from the HWT to all fixtures. The first line provides hot water and the second is a return line for hot water recirculation.
This system works great and we have hot water almost instantly at all fixtures, even the master bath tub which is 60 feet of 3/4" pex away from the HWT.
The problem is that this system uses the drain valve on the HWT for the return of the circulated hot water which is needed for the HX.
This system does not employ a circulation pump but relies on thermosyphon to circulate the water. This works quite simply by insulating all of the hot water pipes except for the last two feet of pipe where it enters the drain valve on the HWT which creates enough temperature differential to make it work.
My concern is that if I install the HX in the standard configuration I will disrupt the magical properties of this system (I know that it works well, but don't really understand, why it works)
Does anyone who understands this stuff better than I have any input?
Maybe it will work fine and I'm over thinking this?
Any input is greatly appreciated.
When I built the house I installed two hot water lines in parallel that run from the HWT to all fixtures. The first line provides hot water and the second is a return line for hot water recirculation.
This system works great and we have hot water almost instantly at all fixtures, even the master bath tub which is 60 feet of 3/4" pex away from the HWT.
The problem is that this system uses the drain valve on the HWT for the return of the circulated hot water which is needed for the HX.
This system does not employ a circulation pump but relies on thermosyphon to circulate the water. This works quite simply by insulating all of the hot water pipes except for the last two feet of pipe where it enters the drain valve on the HWT which creates enough temperature differential to make it work.
My concern is that if I install the HX in the standard configuration I will disrupt the magical properties of this system (I know that it works well, but don't really understand, why it works)
Does anyone who understands this stuff better than I have any input?
Maybe it will work fine and I'm over thinking this?
Any input is greatly appreciated.
