Depends on where you live? We don't heat the house about 7 months a year. 3 months welcome any cooling. If I could get the water from 55F to 72F, that is a gain.
My cheapie water heater is far less efficient than my furnace. Much of the water temp increase would be caused by heat from the efficient furnace, instead of the cheap water heater. That would mean a gain too... I think.
Here, the electric co gave a reduction in rates if an 80 gal tempering tank was installed before an electric water heater. No idea if they still do. =
That waste water thing is cool. Someone did a study of a working unit in a USA duplex, and I figured DIY payback was like a couple months before copper went up. I would have one if our shower was over a basement. :-/
I often thought SOMETHING before the recovery part would increase the temp. Maybe 50' of 3/4" CU. Maybe 25' of 3/4 CU with 6" pieces of scrap #12 soldered to the sides as a heat sink (anti-heat sink?).
And maybe if that verticle do-hickey was insulated it would work better.
I see there are a buch of new replies since I started, but I'm leaving this as-is. G-[ Parent ]
mixerman[ Parent ]
A grey-water sump as you have shown will accumulate 'bath hair' and worse and breed exciting biofilms and worse IMHO!
Rgds
Damon [ Parent ]
Perhaps a flapper valve and toilet hardware would work?
For grey water think big diameters and slow.[ Parent ]
I think what is meant is a virtical drain pipe is coiled on its outside not in any direct contact with the heated gray water.
In my pictue you will see that the coils are in contact with the gray water, Im sure this would allow for some kind of build up! (soap scum, hair, cooties)the core of the tank would be self-contained though! Dont really know if the build up would really effect its effenecy or create some kind of hassard.
The plumbing would remain the same size in use in the system 1 1/2" traps should work fine , the existing drain traps have never cloged in 20 years. For a controled drain maybe a ele t-stat! I think some cas have them today.[ Parent ]
