How to fix slow hot water?

[SirExie]

Hi Folks,

Forgive me if this is a dumb idea, but we have this neat little gas hot water system, it works pretty good, but, sometimes it seems to take a while for the tap to get warm. Then you walk away for a few minutes, come back and have to wait for it to get warm again.

I feel like we waste a bit of water like this, so here's my idea - What if I got some of those pool noodles, and wapped them around the hot water pipes with some cable ties ?

Would this help insulate the pipe ?

Unfortunately, I can only access a small part of the pipes at the bottom of the unit, so theres a high chance this would have no effect at all and is a waste of time.

[SirExie]

I just read the manual for the Rinnai unit, and it seems there was an optional "Smartstart" thing you could buy which would pre-heat the water.

https://www.rinnai.com.au/online/hot-water/continuous-flow-hot-water/accessories-and-flueing/accesso...

However, it looks like this requires a return loop, which we don't have, and it would be a major project to do so. The more I think about it, the more convinced I am that heat loss in the short pipe outside there is probably the least of our issues.

I think we'll just keep going with it as-is.

[JacobZ]

Hi @SirExie,

Pipe insulating is typically done with Elastomeric Pipe Insulation rather than pool noodles.

Unfortunately, due to the limited amount of exposed pipe in your situation, I can't see it having much of an effect though.

If you were concerned about the wasted water, the Smartstart seems like a good option, but you would need to have a licensed plumber install it for you.

If the benefit justified the cost in your mind, it might be worth looking into.

Jacob