Whirlpool romance gets cold shoulder...circulating comment

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Q: Ed, my wife and I love your column and enjoy reading it together with our morning coffee. We recently installed a whirlpool in our bathroom with very little help. When we started to fill the whirlpool, we seemed to lose all hot water at about the halfway point of the tub. The hot water eventually came back on but by then the water in the tub and our romantic plans had cooled off. Our water heater is only about six years old, could it be wearing out already? -- Bob and Tammy, Washington.A: Hi Bob and Tammy! I get a lot of letters like this, and I constantly remind people to consult with contractors on larger projects. Consulting with a licensed contractor does not necessarily mean you cannot do the work yourself. It simply means that you have an expert to guide you through the project -- such as using code information and pulling permits. (You did pull a permit, right?)Many contractors also work as consultants and the fee will vary according to how much you use them for the job. You may know how to install something, but if you don't know the back-up system requirements needed for the fixture, you may end up in hot water. Or in your case, you may end up in cold water!What seems to be happening with your whirlpool is a very simple oversight -- a bigger tub needs a bigger water heater to fill it. Most whirlpools hold a lot more water than a standard five foot tub. Installing a new larger whirlpool and hooking it up to a home's existing standard 40 or 50-gallon water heater will usually leave you with a lukewarm tub of water.Do not raise the temperature of the water heater since this may create scalding water throughout the house. The solution to your problem is to install a water heater large enough to fill the whirlpool while still maintaining the safe manufacturer temperature settings in the tank. Depending on the whirlpool, a 75 to 100-gallon water heater usually does the trick. Because you are working with fuel-fired heating equipment, this is the time to call in a licensed plumber to help you from here.Don't worry, you will be able to get this fixed.Q: Hello Ed, I'm a professional contractor and I just read your article about a hot water to cold water crossover problem in a kitchen sink after a remodeling job. (This is when hot water can come out of both hot and cold faucets.)I was reminded of similar situations I have encountered as a builder of new homes. Although this may not be the standard crossover problem where a hot and cold water line may be incorrectly connected to each other, I have seen some new "hot water re-circulating systems" that are designed to deliver instant hot water to hot water faucets, cause a similar problem.Often the farthest plumbing fixture from the water heater is the kitchen sink, and this is where a plumber may place the pump or crossover/return line of the hot to the cold water side for return to the water heater, completing the loop. When the hot water faucet is turned on, hot water is instantly available to this and other fixtures along the run. But the sacrifice is that some warm water may be within this cold water side return that is making it's way back to the water heater and may be dispensed out the cold side until purged.There are different systems that monitor the temperature of this return water and restrict it's flow to minimize the amount of warm water transferred to the cold side. Sometimes, just explaining how things work to homeowners will help them know whether or not they have a problem. -- Jerry (USA Contractor)A: Thanks Jerry! The re-circulating systems you talk about are great water savers since water is not wasted while you wait for it to get hot. Like all system equipment it needs to be installed according to the manufacture's instructions to work properly.Remember, a hot water crossover problem can be an unsafe situation and should be checked out right away by a licensed plumber.(Master Contractor/Plumber Ed Del Grande is known nationally as the author of the book "Ed Del Grande's House Call" and for hosting TV shows on Scripps Networks and HGTVPro.com. For information visit eddelgrande.com or write eddelgrande(at)hgtvpro.com. Always consult local contractors and codes.) (Distributed by Scripps Howard News Service, http://www.scrippsnews.com)