I have a tankless hot water heater, and recirculating pump. But to work, it requires a small electric hot water tank. So… we get the best and worst of both worlds. Unlimited hot water and quick to the tap. But not energy efficient, and very costly. I’d rather just have hybrid hw tank

Keep in mind that I would have the same problem with a tank water heater. That is, it takes a long time to get water at the fixture.

Space in the box is a concern.

I can’t believe this wasn’t said sooner. A recirculating pump makes NO sense whatsoever with a tankless heater.

EDIT: I should have looked into this before that comment. It looks that a recirculating pump and water return circuit can be used to return hot water into either an insulated storage tank, small tank water heater, or even another tankless; which in turn feeds the warm/re-heated water in series back into the hot water supply.

This would reduce the time needed to get newly heated water from the primary tankless to the fixtures, not a bad idea

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Personally, I would rather run the electric (assuming there's space in the breaker box) then deal with new plumbing.

I did misunderstand your post though. I thought that the kitchen was your main focus. Even if you are concerned about more than one fixture I would still strongly consider the point of use heaters. Or get rid of the tankless heater.

I probably wouldn't end up doing any of this. None of these options make good financial sense...but not everything we do in life needs to be the sensible thing.

Try running a flexible pipe through the existing ones and check the suction.

> floating floors

sorry to come in between. But what do you mean by a floating floor?

This is a sound thing. Make the house as quite as possible and start searching the areas where the pipes run. You will most likely have to get in the attic to hear the leak. It should be fairly obvious. Especially if your finding blown insulation inside the catch can.

A limited hot water supply is not a bad thing. It encourages conservation.

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Just replaced the sub flooring in my kitchen due to this, porch was level with the floor. Contractors and inspectors all said lowering the deck should be on our list or it will happen again.

Probably best to try to isolate the problem. Can you for example test the motor independently by disconnecting it from the piping and and see if it has enough suction?

If the motor is good, then you know it’s the pipes. And if the pipes are old and crumbling, you probably need to replace them.

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I'm thinking more along the lines of a thermostatically controlled pump, perhaps in conjunction with a timer so that it only circulates at certain times of day. These are available.

Some tankless water heaters have language in the warranty fine print that voids or shortens the warranty if they're used in recirculating systems. They're not designed for that kind of constant duty.

You should consider point of use heaters (as other users have suggested).

Sticky-back felt foot pads for furniture on the back of the mirror corners.

The ones I've looked at require 240V which would be a bigger deal. And would only fix the problem in one fixture.

I’ve looked into one as well and the common use I’ve seen is putting the recirculating pump on a timer and set that for common use times like morning and evening showers and off at all other times. Depending on the pump, you can have multiple valves since each can run independently. Common complaints I’ve read about the cold line usage is it takes some time to get the cold water cold.

Recirculating pump and you have a tankless water heater? .. .. .. Yea, NO.

You don't have hot water to recirculate. If you recirculate enough water to turn the heater on then you are heating water 24 hours a day in pipes that are not even insulated.

Smaller point use heaters are your only real option. I guess you could put small (tanked) water heater in bath and kitchen, but that kinda defeats the hole thing.

I take it this is a lever valve.

Remove screw. Pull off handle. Rotate handle. Place back on. Replace screw.

Is it possible the handle turned 90’ on the shaft?(assuming it’s a ball valve)

Wouldn't a point of use heater be a much more efficient (and easier) choice?

Walk away

The handle is 90°out. It will only get worse and usually pretty quickly.

This is reddit my man. We all just read titles around here