2024 Updated Watts Heat H2O Hot Water Recirculation System

I was really impressed with the Watts Heat H2O Hot Water Recirculation System. It’s a great product that does exactly what it claims—delivers hot water almost instantly without wasting time or water. The biggest highlight for me was how easy it was to install. I’m not a plumber by any means, but the instructions were clear and all the parts were included. I had it up and running in about an hour using basic tools. The programmable timer is a great feature. I set it to run during the times we usually need hot water, and it works flawlessly. Our bedroom shower is on the opposite end of the house from the water heater, and we used to wait forever for hot water. Now, the wait time has been cut by more than half—it makes a big difference in our morning routine. The included sensor valve and adapters made the whole process smooth. It’s also quiet when it runs, which was a nice surprise. Plus, the 3-year warranty gave me peace of mind. Overall, this system is a smart investment if you're tired of waiting for hot water. It’s efficient, easy to install, and adds real convenience. Highly recommended!

After years of waiting for water to reach the far areas of my house, I had finally had enough. This pump exceeded my expectations and works flawlessly. It sat on my counter for a few weeks until I finally decided to install it. Installation time was less than 30 min. It took me longer to get the junk out from beneath the far sink than it did to install. The instructions are straight forward and easy to understand. I did the under the sink valve first. They supply you with all the right hoses and connections. I did have to get long hoses, but that is not the fault of the mfg. My supply pipes are further apart. I bought longer hoses and everything was golden. Installing the pump was beyond easy. Yes I did have to buy the correct CPVC fittings with 3/4" threads to connect to the pump. Less than a dollar at the local hardware. Off the discharge pump I went with a flexible hose that connected to my system. You will have to buy a few extra pvc fittings if you need to make it work with your water heater system. It took less than 30 min to install in total and I plugged it in. I could tell it was working, but the pump is extremely quiet. We set the mode to timer, because we want it on from early morning to around 11 pm at night then the timer shuts off the pump. You will still have hot water, but just not as fast as when the pump is working. Even if you let it run all the time, it would cost around $20 a year, tops, but the timer is a nice feature. So far I am extremely happy with the product and it has hot water at our furthest sink within 5 seconds. Don't hesitate to buy this product.

I can honestly say this is probably the most cost effective way of getting hot water to far places in a home, Our home 12 years old is roughly 3000 sq ft 2 story with 4 full baths with the master being at the most furthest point of the home upstairs roughly 100+ feet away from the hot water tank in the garage between the master bath sinks, jetted tub and shower I would have to wait almost 4 minutes of water running before it got warm then cold. The water lines used throughout the home are PEX non metallic plumbing. The pump and sensor unit are very easy to install on your own with a bit of common sense and took me about 40 minutes to install. I let the pump do it's thing for about 30 minutes went up to the 2nd sink in the master bath, which is the last and furthest in the home only 3 feet further than the 2nd sink, within approx 3 secs the water was warm to the touch followed by hotter water very shortly thereafter. I had my wife verify this later that evening, we would usually waste a bunch of water filling up the jetted tub or turning on the shower waiting on hot water, again within seconds the water was warm then hot! I was very amazed as I was getting prepared to drop a few thousand $$$ to have a Tankless installed just for the upstairs master bath I am very pleased with this system. Now I have seen where some people are concerned about cost to run this etc. first it waste no water so right there whatever the cost should be outweighed in water savings. Second I have seen people mock those about putting this on a smart timer since it already comes with a built in timer, what those doing the mocking are not realizing is that if the power goes out then the built in timer does not keep its correct time once power is restored, Yes I'm sure for many this is probably a very rare thing, but I can tell u you here in Northern CA the power especially in the summer is 50/50 at best! So yes I would highly suggest the use of a smart plug for one of these, I already have dozens of smart plugs/lights & switches in use at my home so I did not need to purchase one but they can be purchased for less than $25 I recommend Tp-link by Kasa! The other nice thing about the smart plug especially if it has the energy monitoring option (Not all do get one with the monitoring) is that you can get a real time look at what the power consumption is daily, weekly and yearly to kind of give you a idea of the Electric use which is not bad. The pump averages right around 22 watts +/- while running the company states is should be less than a nickle a day or so to run 24 hours. I may set up a schedule or Alexa routine but currently I have not having 48 345 watt solar panels and Battery I am not to concerned about 22 watts running. On to the gas usage, given we have a large home along with large heated pool/Jacuzzi and outdoor gas fireplace etc. we have a very large diameter gas line with a smart meter. I can always here the meter gurgling so to speak when any of the large items are being uses including the hot water tank, to date after checking numerous times I have yet to hear the gas meter or the actual hot water tank firing constantly, not saying it does not fire up once enough coldwater gets pushed back into it I am just not hearing it like a normal tank being heated up! So again I do not believe that the complaint of this using mass amount of utility to use 24/7 again as compared to dupping 100s of gallons a day down the drain I fully believe at best it is a gain in savings at worse it is a break even! I did have to purchase a second sensor kit to place in the kitchen downstairs as our home has a branched Hot water line since doing so even our kitchen sink water is now warm to hot within seconds. I have yet to experience the so called major bleedback into the cold water line that some have stated happens that when they turn on the cold water it is warm to hot for a brief moment, either way even if I did it is still worth every penny for this setup!

We have been in this house for 6 years and have been frustrated with how long it takes to get the hot water from the tank to the bathroom. We were always washing hands and brushing teeth with very cold water, and running the tub for a long time before any hot water got there. Finally I found out about this product. I wasn’t too enthusiastic about using the cold line as a return. I thought that would result in warm water when we wanted cold. Also I replaced my tank a couple of years ago and the new tank has a heat trap so I read that it would be a problem with the proper operation of this unit. But my research found that worst case was that I could remove the heat trap on the hot side and replace it with a plain nipple so I decided to purchase the unit and try it out. Installation was fairly straight forward although I had to remove a section of copper pipe and solder it back together, but that was a minor task for me. The hardest part of the installation was tightening the fitting onto the outlet side. There is nothing on the pump housing designed to put a wrench on to stop the pump from turning. I had to put a crescent wrench on the housing where it bolts together which had me a bit concerned about cracking the housing. It did turn out ok though. I got it all installed and fired it up. It is quiet, slight hum, but it is located in an unfinished b a segment (cellar really) so unless I go down there I can’t hear it. The great part is that the heat trap has not interfered with the operation at all. I get hot water at the bathroom sink and tub almost immediately. This makes me very happy every time I turn on the tap. I don’t use the timer at all. I installed a smart outlet linked to a phone app so I can shut off the pump whenever I need to (like if we are going away) but so far the pump runs 24/7 since we are home most of the time, and we want hot water at the bathroom even in the middle of the night. One bonus is that I also get hot water sooner at the kitchen which is on a different branch but it tees off about 10 feet after the tank, so its already about ⅓ of the way there. I may upgrade with an additional valve under the kitchen sink but I am thinking that I will be ok with it the way it is for now. It has been about 2 weeks since install and I am very happy with this pump system.

This is a quality product with good seals and instructions making for an easy installation. Instead of the built-in timer, I'm using a smart timer controlled by my phone.

I really like this product,it definitely does what it’s supposed to.I used to have to wait approximately 60 seconds before getting hot water to my upstairs bathroom.Since installing the watts 500800 the hot water is instant. I decided I would set the timer for a couple of hours in the morning,and then another couple of hours in the evening.To my surprise I had hot water upstairs all the time. The only problem is that the hot water was creeping 24/7 .Where I live we heat our water with furnace oil which doubled in price this past year.Because of this I really didn’t want my hot water heater coming on way more keeping the lines warm 24/7. I unplugged the pump for a couple of days just to see if it was actually creeping for sure .In my case the sensor valve was keeping the hot water moving/creeping even when the pump was shut off. To fix this I installed a check valve on the cold line going to the upstairs,now the creeping has stopped. Now it only works when the timer tells it to which is perfect.To summarize I am happy with the pump but would recommend installing a check valve on the cold to eliminate any possible creeping

This is a game changer for two story houses or anywhere with a long run to a tap. Easy to install (although I did need some more fittings from the hardware store for the pump connection). Basically hot water on demand. Only waiting for a matter of seconds for the hot water in my shower.

Just moved and our ensuite is the furthest away possible from hot water tank. This product solved our issue. Depending on how your sink tap is fitted you might need some extra pieces. Our house didn't have the shutoff valves under the sink so I need some extra pieces to make it work but simple enough to figure out if you have done some simple plumbing before.