Autocirc1 VS CP6000 - An Evaluation of Instant Hot Water SystemsBy connecting a temperature controlled pump between the hot and cold water lines at a sink fixture, the autocirc1 circulates the hot water, similar to a traditional hot water circulating system. |
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The Laing Autocirc1 is a hot water circulating system using the cold water line as a return.By connecting a temperature controlled pump between the hot and cold water lines at a sink fixture, the autocirc1 circulates the hot water, very much like the traditional hot water circulating system. It operates at a reduced temperature so the cold water line doesn't get full of hot water. How the Autocirc1 worksThe autocirc1 pump inlet is connected to the hot water line feeding your faucet, and the pump outlet is connected to the cold water line feeding the cold faucet. The autocirc1 circulates the hot water from the water heater, through the hot water piping, and back to the heater through the cold water line. When the temperature at the pump reaches 95 degrees, it shuts off. When the temperature falls to 85 degrees the pump turns back on. This process repeats several times an hour. Now when you turn on the hot water you get instant luke-warm water which is rapidly followed by hot water. When you turn on your cold water faucet you will also get luke-warm water and must purge that water to get cold water. The actual temperature you get at the faucet depends on how long since the pump last shut off. Keeping the pipes full of water that is above ambient temperature means your water heater will turn on more often and you will use more energy than without the system. The heat loss from the hot and cold water lines is constantly replenished by the water heater and thus you will spend more money on energy. The energy to heat water is much more expensive than the water. You could end up spending more money on water heating than the savings you get from saving water. Although the pump turns on and off continuously, the motor only consumes 33 watts, and so the extra energy required to run the pump is minimal. The motor has only 1/150 horsepower, not enough for the autocirc1 to work with tankless water heaters. The unit is 8" tall, 4-1/2" in diameter, and weight 3 pounds. The manufacture recommends using a water conditioner if you have hard water because it can cause scale build-up and eventually reduce the life of the pump and other system components. The autocirc1 is easy to disassemble and clean if any debris get in the pump. Periodic cleaning is recommended in areas with hard water or if the water heater temperature is set higher than 140 degrees. Home Depot's price is currently advertised as $239.00 and the unit has a 2 year warranty from date of manufacture or 1 year from the date of purchase (whichever is later). The Chilipepper CP6000 is a demand hot water system.With a hot water demand system, the pump is connected up the same way, but it is only activated when you want hot water. When you do, you press a button and the pump starts up, shutting off when the hot water arrives. How the CP6000 worksThe CP6000 uses a 1/3 horsepower motor, and produces a maximum pressure of about 60 psi with a maximum flow of 4 gallons per minute. Because of the high flow the CP6000 will work with any make or model of tankless water heater. Dimensions are 7-1/2" wide, 4-1/8" deep, and 3-1/2" tall. Like the Autocirc1, Chilipepper was designed to be connected to the plumbing with standard hoses used for connecting the faucets to the shut-off valves. All you need to do is turn off the shut-off valves under the sink, and connect up the hoses. To achieve the small size and big power the CP6000 uses a brush type motor. The brushes will wear out after about 500 hours of operation. If you use your pump 5 times a day 365 days per year, and it runs 1 minute each time (typical), then you will accumulate about 30 hours per year. So you can expect your pump to last about 16 years. At that point you would either need to put in new brushes and probably a new seal and go another 16 years. The CP6000 has an adjustable temperature sensor so you can set the unit to turn off when it senses a temperature increase of 3 to 12 degrees, allowing you to fine tune the arrival of the hot water to your liking. The CP6000 has a maximum run time of 3 minutes. If it doesn't detect an increase in temperature within 3 minutes it turns off, protecting it from running too long if the water heater stops working. To see how many feet of pipe this would service, we only need to see how far the water would be pumped in 3 minutes. For an example, lets assume the home is plumbed with 3/4" type L copper pipe. It takes 40 feet of 3/4" tubing to hold one gallon. At 3 gallons per minute the pump would service about 120 feet of pipe. Rarely is a house plumbed with just 3/4" pipe, usually most of the plumbing is 1/2 " dia. It would take 83 feet of 1/2" pipe to hold one gallon of water. At 3 gpm that's about 250 feet of pipe. Few homes have a fixture over 120 feet from the water heater. Demand type systems to do not experience problems with scale buildup or hard water problems. No periodic maintenance is necessary. The CP6000 has an unconditional 30 day money back guarantee and a 5 year pro-rated warranty. The CP6000 retails for $179.99 on the Chilipepper Website.
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