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can someone explain how recirculators work to me?
Posted on 6/26/22 at 3:47 pm
Posted on 6/26/22 at 3:47 pm
we bought a house with a tankless water heater and the user manual is..no shite..400 pages. i bookmarked the section discussing recirulcators and tried to understand the settings on the LCD screen i have to change but i'm completely lost.
about all i understand is this is supposed to 'learn' our habits and fire up the water heater in the mornings before we get in the shower so the hot water is closer to the fixtures.
i just have no idea how thats even possible
clearly some water line magic going on under the house that i don't understand.
devilry i say!
about all i understand is this is supposed to 'learn' our habits and fire up the water heater in the mornings before we get in the shower so the hot water is closer to the fixtures.
i just have no idea how thats even possible
clearly some water line magic going on under the house that i don't understand. devilry i say!
2
Posted on 6/26/22 at 3:55 pm to CAD703X
quote:
i just have no idea how thats even possible clearly some water line magic going on under the house that i don't understand.
it circulates the hot water from the farthest fixture back to water heater so every tap has instant hot water. in short its just a return line back to water heater with a small water pump so it can circulate hot water throughout the house without a tap being open.
they dont use much power but can cause water heater to run a bit more as the trade off for instant hot water. thats why during nonactive use times its better to not have it run
This post was edited on 6/26/22 at 3:58 pm
Posted on 6/26/22 at 4:30 pm to keakar
Well damn that's pretty freaking cool. I just thought they just swapped the heater out. Sounds like some plumbing was also involved.
Still don't quite get it..so this is a dedicated return back through to the water heater? Am I going to have to play in the crawl space to see what's happening? I don't like things I don't understand.
Still don't quite get it..so this is a dedicated return back through to the water heater? Am I going to have to play in the crawl space to see what's happening? I don't like things I don't understand.
Posted on 6/26/22 at 4:44 pm to CAD703X
What brand -Navien with built in recirculation pump?
Posted on 6/26/22 at 5:58 pm to CrawDude
Yep. That's the one.
Any tips or tricks I should know?
Any tips or tricks I should know?
This post was edited on 6/26/22 at 5:59 pm
Posted on 6/26/22 at 7:11 pm to CAD703X
It’s a simple concept, if you have long runs from your water heater all that water gets cold over time and you recirculate it back to the water heater during peak use time. The recirculation is a closed circuit so you aren’t wasting water like you would to run it until it’s hot. Now you are wasting gas to heat it…
Posted on 6/26/22 at 9:59 pm to CAD703X
quote:
Yep. That's the one. Any tips or tricks I should know?
Well, I just had one installed a couple months ago by my BIL, a licensed plumber, I was his “helper”.
Look for the recirculation valve LINK underneath a sink in the water circuit furthest away from the water heater. The link has a short video to show how the recirculation system works. If you don’t have a mixing valve installed the recirculation feature may not even be set up.
That said, I have my unit set up on the recirculation default. I haven’t played with the learning feature yet. Check out the Navien website or YouTube channel - they have videos that might help you program the recirculation system. My BIL had not installed a Navien before and wasn’t familiar with programming, I had to watch a video, and flip a dip switch just to make the recirculation pump work - they don’t set the recirculation pump to work by default at the factory without changing the dip switch setting on site - don’t know why but there are several videos on this. I’m assuming yours has already been done by whoever installed the system, but just case it was not…….
This post was edited on 6/26/22 at 11:08 pm
Posted on 6/27/22 at 7:49 am to CrawDude
Thabk you for all this. 
Yeah this is definitely not the easiest thing to figure out. The seller also mentioned something about a wifi module you could purchase for it. I don't know if there's an app that would make this an easier or not.
I think I have it turned on now. The water was hot right away this morning but I have no idea if I set it up correctly.
I wish there was a simple guide included. I feel like this shouldn't be this complicated.
Yeah this is definitely not the easiest thing to figure out. The seller also mentioned something about a wifi module you could purchase for it. I don't know if there's an app that would make this an easier or not.
I think I have it turned on now. The water was hot right away this morning but I have no idea if I set it up correctly.
I wish there was a simple guide included. I feel like this shouldn't be this complicated.
Posted on 6/27/22 at 8:22 am to CAD703X
quote:
The seller also mentioned something about a wifi module you could purchase for it. I don't know if there's an app that would make this an easier or not. I think I have it turned on now. The water was hot right away this morning but I have no idea if I set it up correctly. I wish there was a simple guide included. I feel like this shouldn't be this complicated.
I hear you - watching the videos was easier to learn how to program it than reading the section in the operation manual - it should be easier but…….
Seller is correct - there is a wifi module you can install to program it from your chair - I’m sure it has a app. This feature interest me as well but haven’t had time dig into it further, eventually I get around to it.
Posted on 6/30/22 at 5:42 pm to CrawDude
quote:
there is a wifi module you can install to program it from your chair - I’m sure it has a app. This feature interest me as well but haven’t had time dig into it further, eventually I get around to it.
so after extensive reading aka falling asleep
and research i'm not going to bother with the wifi adapter or app. at best it lets you go through those same 10 or 15 settings that you have on the unit itself. i don't really see that it gets you much that you don't already have on the unit. no value add 'only on app' type stuff that i can see. i guess *MAYBE* you could turn the water up remotely after you've been on vacation but the whole point of this damn thing is it doesn't heat water unless you're using it .
no worth it for a glorified remote for the navien IMO.
i've got the NPE-A2 which i think is a pretty common model. i wish i better understood the 'intelligent' part but i'm guessing all it does is note what time it is when the hot water is turned on in the mornings and tries to push hot water around the recirculation pipe for a few minutes before that. i think it would be better if i just set it to always do it at the same time because with summer hours our wake up times are all over the place so not sure what its learning.
This post was edited on 6/30/22 at 5:46 pm
Posted on 7/1/22 at 9:59 am to CAD703X
quote:
CAD703X
I have the same model. Like you, I like you I like to know how things work. Although default setting works fine, it recirculates water 24-7 (though not continuously). Eventually I’ll get around to reprogramming it at least not to circulate water from 11 pm-6 am. When the house is quiet late in the evening you hear the recirculation pump kicking on and off if you are in that wing of the house (unit is in the attic just above the attic stairs) which is a bit annoying, but I guess I just haven’t gotten use to the sound yet.
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