Hotwaterlobster

[charles]

Anybody (like Martin) have an opinion on the effectiveness and energy efficiency of the product at hotwaterlobster.com?

[Mark G]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Anything that keeps the water hot when it's not being used wastes energy. There are a number of products out there like this one that recycle water through the water heater to keep it hot. They add convenience but use energy.

[dgbldr]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

This is a goofy idea. They use the cold water pipes as returns to recirculate the hot water without a pump.

Assuming for a moment that the water will in fact circulate the way they describe it, you're heating up all the cold water from the cold water pipe. Much less efficient than a real recirc system with separate return pipe. Also, you will always have hot water in the cold water pipe, so when you turn on the cold faucet you will get hot water.

No, it's neither effective nor energy efficient.

dg

[bread and roses]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Anything that keeps the water hot when it's not being used wastes energy. There are a number of products out there like this one that recycle water through the water heater to keep it hot. They add convenience but use energy.

I used to think that but I've changed my mind. If the hot water pipes are insulated, and the water is kept effectively hot, you save the energy needed to heat the water that you'd run at the start of a shower or whatever before the water got hot. I think it MIGHT be an inefficiency, but would depend on how the system is set up and how people use the water.

The hot water tank keeps water hot when it's not being used. Unless you count that, itself, as a waste of energy, I don't think a recirculating system is necessarily a waste.

[DeLuke]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

I've had a Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve installed for almost 2-years...and love it...not only do I get hot water right away and save water, but I believe I save money heating my water.

Here is why:
The Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve saves energy (less energy is used reheating warm water). Instead of replacing the water (wasted down your drain-while waiting for hot water) with cold ground temperature water (which has to be heated from a low temperature), the Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve allows warmer water to circulate back to your hot water tank for reheating-which takes less energy to bring the already warmer water (being re-circulated) up to temperature. And the Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve is thermostatically controlled and only operates when the hot water temperature at the HWL valve drops below the adjustable temperature setting.

With showers, washing dishes, laundry (and etc.) we use hot water an average of about 7-times daily. Without the Hot Water Lobster each time we needed hot water we would run about 3-gallons down the drain waiting for it to get hot. Each month, we now save the wasted energy it took to heat about 630-gallons (21/day X 30-days) from our ground temperature of 47 degrees to 130 degrees.

I hope this helps put thermostatically controlled circulating systems into prospective for you.

Luke

[charles]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

I sure wish Martin would chime in.

[BigLou80]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

This is a goofy idea. They use the cold water pipes as returns to recirculate the hot water without a pump.

Assuming for a moment that the water will in fact circulate the way they describe it, you're heating up all the cold water from the cold water pipe. Much less efficient than a real recirc system with separate return pipe. Also, you will always have hot water in the cold water pipe, so when you turn on the cold faucet you will get hot water.

No, it's neither effective nor energy efficient.

dg

My thoughts exactly. Seems like an energy waster to me, if you want hot water and you want to save energy keep the runs short and insulate the pipes.

One of their claims is they can reduce toilet sweating presumably by heating all the cold water lines. So its safe to say that not all of that water gets recirculated to the water heater. This valve actively pulls heat out of the tank mixes it with cold and attempts to return it to the tank (maybe)

The only way I could see this working is if the water heater was at the end of line most distant from the supply point. Then it would get refilled with all this preheated water instead of supply temp water. I know in my house its the first place cold water hits not the last.

Lou

[BigLou80]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

I've had a Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve installed for almost 2-years...and love it...not only do I get hot water right away and save water, but I believe I save money heating my water.

Here is why:
The Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve saves energy (less energy is used reheating warm water). Instead of replacing the water (wasted down your drain-while waiting for hot water) with cold ground temperature water (which has to be heated from a low temperature), the Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve allows warmer water to circulate back to your hot water tank for reheating-which takes less energy to bring the already warmer water (being re-circulated) up to temperature. And the Hot Water Lobster Instant Hot Water Valve is thermostatically controlled and only operates when the hot water temperature at the HWL valve drops below the adjustable temperature setting.

With showers, washing dishes, laundry (and etc.) we use hot water an average of about 7-times daily. Without the Hot Water Lobster each time we needed hot water we would run about 3-gallons down the drain waiting for it to get hot. Each month, we now save the wasted energy it took to heat about 630-gallons (21/day X 30-days) from our ground temperature of 47 degrees to 130 degrees.

I hope this helps put thermostatically controlled circulating systems into prospective for you.

Luke

De Luke,

a very well written defense of your product. You managed to capitalize Hot Water Lobster every time as well as use trade lingo like "thermostatically controlled circulating systems".

No home owner I know would go in to such detail about water usage and incoming water temp unless they were an engineer. However an engineer would know what a bunch of hogwash this is and they would not think it saves them money they would know (it doesn't).

I also did the math assuming 1/2 supply lines you would need about 300 feet of pipe to send 3 gallons down the drain waiting for hot water.

anyhow do you often "google" your product and try to defend the sketchy very condition specific science the marketing depends on ?

Lou

[Ed the Roofer]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

He probably received a "Google Alert" to notify him where his product was being linked from.

Ed

[dgbldr]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Never mind the energy. The goofy part is that you now have 2 supply lines going to your shower or faucet: hot and hotter. No way to get cold water. Oh, wait! You could dump 3 gallons of hot water out of your cold-side faucet and then you'll get cold water :)

dg

[doonboggle]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Am looking at one of these to put in our house that has lot of cold water in the hot line when first turned on; like morning. In researching the item, and then reading some of the postings here, I must say that some of you folks definitely have not researched before posting.

To say that it requires an additional water line back to the heater source is totally incorrect. The instructions CLEARLY provides, and shows images, that the item is merely linked into the existing removable feed connection lines ... with the initial blast of cold water from the hot line being re-directed back to the hot water tank through that link.
There IS NO ADDITIONAL WATER LINE REQUIRED !


Yes, as a poster touched upon, the factor of importance is what will cost more; the waste of the water when it is cold ... or the heat source ( gas, propane, wood, oil, coal, etc.) to reheat it. While not versed in these costs for the country on all these items, my focus is ... in addition to getting warm water at all times ... will be to also not waste the water, which is daily becoming a treasured and costly commodity ... especially here in Texas where we 'may' now be nearing the end of the recent 6-7 year drought.

Now if someone has actually installed one of these, and can add comments constructive, I'd like to hear from them regarding any additional cost ... and other input.
TIA

[Martin Holladay]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Hotwaterlobster is stupid and wasteful. It will raise your energy bills. It makes more sense to spend your money on a real lobster that you get to eat, instead of sending extra money to the electric company.

1. Design your house to have short hot water runs and a centrally located water heater. Insulate your hot water lines.

2. Use small diameter tubing for hot water lines to a distant bathroom to reduce the volume of water in your pipes.

3. If you're really impatient, you can get an on-demand instant hot water feature that is activated with a switch located in the remote bathroom. That's much better than a system that circulates hot water all the time.

Here's the only system worth considering:
http://www.gothotwater.com/

Here's a FHB article with more info:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...Now_FHB183.pdf

[David Meiland]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

Martin goes all in.

[Ted S.]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

I'm just impressed with Google Alerts.

[doonboggle]

Re: Hotwaterlobster

After you uninstalled your Hotwater Lobster, did you have any problem with getting the refund? Just curious.

Hotwaterlobster is stupid and wasteful. It will raise your energy bills. It makes more sense to spend your money on a real lobster that you get to eat, instead of sending extra money to the electric company.

1. Design your house to have short hot water runs and a centrally located water heater. Insulate your hot water lines.

2. Use small diameter tubing for hot water lines to a distant bathroom to reduce the volume of water in your pipes.

3. If you're really impatient, you can get an on-demand instant hot water feature that is activated with a switch located in the remote bathroom. That's much better than a system that circulates hot water all the time.

Here's the only system worth considering:
http://www.gothotwater.com/

Here's a FHB article with more info:
http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/...Now_FHB183.pdf