Wiring Reciculating Pump to Hot Water Heater

[Bjenks]

Polling question:
When you see an engineer specify a recirculating pump for a hot water heater (electric 120g or less), do typically connect it to a receptacle/power circuit or do you run a neutral with the water heater and connect it to one of the phases on the secondary of the disconnect? I usually specify the first solution, but notice a lot of the installers bypass that and do it the second method unless the inspector makes him do it my way. I am not sure if one way is better than the other either.

 

[augie47]

The hot water heater/recir systems I have seen are such that if you connected the pump to one phase of the water heater you would be in violation of the motor OCP without adding another overcurrent device.
For that reason, it's usually simpler to use a convenience branch circuit.

 

[480sparky]

........... I usually specify the first solution, but notice a lot of the installers bypass that and do it the second method unless the inspector makes him do it my way........... .

Then that is an item that should be listed on the punchlist. Let the EC who wired it that way the owner/GC isn't going to make the final payment until it's done according to specs.

 

[Bjenks]

Well that would end the polling question

That is why the manuals never say to do it that way and I should have figured that out before asking the question. I just saw it done a couple of times and was wondering if I should go ahead and specify it that way for the future. The Watt units are 1/16HP and they don't have any OCPD build in to them to protect the tap. thanks