What's this recirculation pump for?

Tony_37

I was updating the fuses (to mistake proofing S-type for code reasons) in our building's basement. Noticed that the 20-amp fuse labeled recirculation pump was blown. Tried another fuse in the socket and heard popping in the other basement room - immediately removed fuse. Found the source to be a 1/2 HP recirculation pump behind our industrial water heater. The pump is connected to the water heater and looks like it would run the heated water through some pipes that head off in various directions.

Our main heat is a steam boiler. My suspicion is that this recirculation system is a bare bones backup to the steam system. Does that sound reasonable? I'm guessing that when a boiler is out of service, its good to have a backup.

What's are the opinions on whether I should get this backup system fixed? The backup system doesn't look too old, but I don't know if its been 1 year or 10 years that its been out of service. I'm guessing I'll just need to replace the seized motor. In the meantime, I'm probably just going to disconnect the motor and cap the wires.

Thanks for your advice. I got some good steam heat help here (and read We Got Steam Heat). Definitely a great resource!!!

Tony

Craig_8

it is probably a recirculation pump for the hot water plumbing system. if it was working there would be instant hot water at all of the sinks and showers. It would cut down on wasting water, but would increase gas use some (keeping the piping hot all the time)

Rich L.

Hot water recirc

Hi Tony, without a picture and from your description, it sounds like you are describing a hot water recirculation system. This would have nothing to do with your heating system. What this pump would do is run the domestic hot water on a continous loop though out the building so that the all fixtures would have hot water available almost instantly. This helps to avoid turning on the sink in the unit furthest from the water heater and having that long wait for the water to get hot. It can be quite a water saver, but unless the hot water lines are insulated you'll have greater standby losses.

Some buildings, especially multi-floor can get a good gravity flow going without a pump. You can check the faucets furthest away and if they get hot quick this may be going on.

Good luck, Rich L