They work and work well. Mine runs the length of my basement and has no
more than 8 or 9 feet of elevation distance. Henry Ford did it with a
whole lot less in the Model T.

RB

HeatMan wrote:
"Joseph Meehan" wrote in message
...

Really easy. A loop with one end at the hot end and the other to the
bottom of the heater. Assuming the heater in below the distribution lines
the hot water will rise and the cold water in the line will fall creating

a

slow movement through the pipe from the top (hot) end to the bottom (less
hot) part of the water heater.

As I understand it, it does not always work all that well with out a
pump assist, it consumes energy and it requires a return line, not always
easy to add after the fact.



I used to run a 18 story office building. The bottom 9 had hot water
supplied by a WH in the basement, the top 9 by one in the penthouse. The
pump motor went out on the lower unit and I found it on my morning rounds.
I shut it off and started looking for a replacement. The construction
company used stuff that met the specifications of the building, but only
barely. I called many places looking for a motor to replace the bad one. I
finally found one about the time I realized it had been almost 2 weeks and
there was no complaints from the tenants about the lack of hot water in the
bathrooms. From that I figured either one of 2 things: 1) no one ever used
hot water to wash their hands(if they were doing it at all) or 2) something
was happening to the water. I walked into the pump room and grabbed the
supply and return lines of the hot water system. The hot side of the WH was
indeed hot about 5 feet out and the return line was warmish. This was at
about 7:15 AM and there weren't too many tenants there. I rode the elevator
to the 8th floor and turned on the water in the men's room. It got hot
quicker than I thought possible. Thermosiphon!