I’m a homeowner and had a plumber give me an estimate on adding a recirculation pump to my HW heater. Because my HW heater is the furthest point from the master bath, it can take 2+ minutes to get hot. My current HW heater is 11+ years old – Bradford White 50 gals. I have 2 full baths in the house.
Because of the age of the HW heater, the plumber suggested replacing it with the Rinnai RSP160i tankless heater that has a recirculation pump built in (The estimate was $6900). He gave me two options for the recirculation method. 1. Install a T sensor valve under the sink in the master bath and return from the existing cold-water line. 2. Run a new dedicated return line (This would increase the cost by $1200).
My questions:
Because of the age of the HW heater, the plumber suggested replacing it with the Rinnai RSP160i tankless heater that has a recirculation pump built in (The estimate was $6900). He gave me two options for the recirculation method. 1. Install a T sensor valve under the sink in the master bath and return from the existing cold-water line. 2. Run a new dedicated return line (This would increase the cost by $1200).
My questions:
- Do you think replacing the heater is the best course of action because my current 50-gal heater is fine. I hear you can get up to 15 years with a Bradford White.
- If I do replace the heater is spending the additional $1200 a good idea. I do hear that using the cold-water line as the return has its own issues – the cold water is no longer very cold.
