slow markets so….

[moneymaker]

Would it make sense to put an on-demand water heater in series with a regular water heater. I noticed that it took 40 seconds of running the water in order to get hot water in the kitchen. I’ve got gas right next to the sink so do they make an under the sink on-demand water heater and would it make economic sense? Even though there is room outside I really don’t want to put it out there like I usually see, probably required though as venting I’ll bet. Would electric make sense?

[Hobie]

Short answer, no it would not make econ sense. On-demand hot water requires a larger gas supply line.

Unless your on demand unit is next to your kitchen, then you still have to run 40secs to charge the line.

Another alternative is a recirculating pump. It is located the furthest from the hot water tank and there is a return line that takes the hot water supply and pumps it back to the tank. Now you have hot water when you turn on the tap and no waste water.

It is usually set on a timer ( same time every day, like am, or pm), or an on-demand button. If it runs continuously ( like a hotel boiler setup) it will cost you $$ in heating.

[plm]

recirculation pump works well for me. I’ve got mine hooked up to a wemo switch so I just remember to ask Alexa to turn on the hot water a few minutes before my shower. No wasting water or energy.

[moneymaker]

That sounds pretty cool but also expensive as it would mean running a parallel line, in the long run probably a better option.

[teaboy]

[quote=plm]recirculation pump works well for me. I’ve got mine hooked up to a wemo switch so I just remember to ask Alexa to turn on the hot water a few minutes before my shower. No wasting water or energy.[/quote]

I’ll tell you what works even better to avoid wasting water or energy – taking cold showers. I started doing this a year or so ago, initially just at the start of the shower while i waited for the hot water to come thru, but now I’m all-in with the 100% cold showers.

Benefits I’ve seen are:
-the aforementioned water and energy savings.
-better skin condition (hot water really dries it out.)
-incrementally improved mental strength and mindfulness.
-wakes me up better than a double espresso.
-more free time (since my showers are now pretty short.)

tb

[teaboy]

[img_assist|nid=26763|title=shower pie|desc=|link=node|align=left|width=300|height=300]

[scaredyclassic]

This is going to sound kind of crazy, but I have largely abandoned showers and baths, and I have not used any soap for about 6 months. I bought 50 washcloths and use these washcloths to vigorous scrubs my crotch, butt and underarms. I also towel down my face and body with the damp unsoapy cloth. I stopped using deodorant as well. Here’s the weird thing; I smell better than I used to. It is just a bizarre phenomenon, but I am not alone in this. It might be that the vigorous scrubbing with cloths does a better job of cleaning than the actual showering I used to do, but I think stopping the use of deodorant and soap does something to the body that makes it less stinky. There are people on the internet doing this, and some but not all report a similar experience. I really like this because it saves time, water and cleaning a shower. I did recently rejoin a gym and have been going in the shower to rinse off after particularly sweaty sauna sessions, but no soap ever. I would never have thought this was a possibility for me, as I have been brainwashed like most of us to believe that ashower and soap are nonnegotiable aspects of living and working ina civilized society. It is simply not true. Really scrubbing your ass and armpits with a few damp washcloths does a lot more to make you smell neutral than standing in hot water. This lifestyle does require the purchase of many washcloths though, as it is not unusual for me to go through 4 or 5 in a day. Much to the chagrin of my wife, who thought I was just being cheap, I bought the lowest priced washcloths from amazon, like 50 cents each?. But I also bought some expensive ones from macy’s thatw ere luxuriously smooth, I think in the neighborhood of 10$ each.. Turns out only the cheapest ones are useful for me. I need the rough abrasive quality of cloth to exfoliate and scrub and get the cleaning effect I am looking for. The smooth ones simply do not work for me. It’s nice to discover that one can live on much much less. I really don’t even think I need indoor plumbing anymore. Although I am not taking cold showers, I also use cold water on my damp washcloths, for a brisk rubdown even in the cold. Not quite as startling as a cold shower, but still, something. I briefly considered getting a towel warmer, of the type used by nail salons to heat up towels for their clientele. But I decided against it because the coolness of the cloth really isn’t all that bad. I would prefer a warm towel, but im ok with a cool one. I would say everyone should attempt this experiment once in their life. As Thoreau said, “Most of the luxuries and many of the so-called comforts of life are not only not indispensable, but positive hindrances to the elevation of mankind.” Or perhaps we should edit his quote as follows:

“I went to the [bathroom] because I wished to live deliberately, to front only the essential facts of life, and see if I could not learn what it had to teach, and not, when I came to die, discover that I had not lived. I did not wish to live what was not life, living is so dear; nor did I wish to practise resignation, unless it was quite necessary. I wanted to live deep and suck out all the marrow of life, to live so sturdily and Spartan-like as to put to rout all that was not life, to cut a broad swath and shave close, to drive life into a corner, and reduce it to its lowest terms…”
“

[FlyerInHi]

Scaredy, you must sweat a lot. Seems so complex with the scrubbing.
It’s genetic…. I read that people who have wet ear wax have stinking BO. My ears are dry flakes sometimes. No wax. So I’m pretty neutral smelling and don’t sweat much. A quick rinse works… no need to scrub. Never used deodorant in my life and don’t need to. Saved a lot of money, haha.

People in rural Thailand living on little splash themselves with water from a huge storage trough several times a day. I learned from them. They remove their shoes and keep their houses very clean. Much better than poor Americans.

[FlyerInHi]

[quote=plm]recirculation pump works well for me. I’ve got mine hooked up to a wemo switch so I just remember to ask Alexa to turn on the hot water a few minutes before my shower. No wasting water or energy.[/quote]

Thats pretty ingenious. I like the Alexa home automation.

I don’t have Alexa but I installed one of these small heaters under the sink.

[Hobie]

[quote=moneymaker]That sounds pretty cool but also expensive as it would mean running a parallel line, in the long run probably a better option.[/quote]

Actually you can run a recirc pump without the return line. It uses the hot supply then returns through the cold supply right next to it in your case in the kitchen. The only drawback is you will have warm water in the cold line for a while. May not be an big deal for you.

Alexa is brilliant idea.

[Author]

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