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retro hot water recirc
I installed one of those Watts systems with the pump on the HW heater outlet and a mixing cross connect valve on most remote sink. It works as advertised but I found that even with the pump off there was a lot of natural circulation, especially when the water heater cycled on. This is fine in the winter but in the summer the warm pipes would increase air conditioning load (and cost).
So I added a solenoid valve and a check valve to create a way to turn off the recirc path when not needed. Also, I connected the solenoid valve and the Watts pump to X10 appliance modules so the system can be programmed to run from the PC module or engaged manually from plug in or remote keypads.
Anyone installing one of these needs to be aware of the natural recirc potential since they don't mention it in the sales or install documentation.
Here's a couple of pics of the sink area install. Note the sharkbite fittings and check valve. These were very handy as I fiddled with the arrangement and fitment since the whole thing can easily be taken apart and reassembled over and over. Plus the fittings allow the pipe to rotate so can turn threaded connections if necessary.
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