I got the idea from the pistol nozzle attachment you commonly find on garden hoses. With such a garden hose, you turn on the faucet and when you need the water, you pull the trigger. The water runs through the hose no matter what, but it's not actually going anywhere unless you pull the trigger.

My idea is pretty simple - a showerhead with a lever- operated release valve. When you turn on the water, you leave the valve closed so water goes through the heater but not down the drain. After a while, you can flip the lever quickly to let out a small amount of water to test the heat. If it's where you want it, open it up all the way and take a shower.

Perhaps a more expensive model would feature a thermometer to tell you exactly how hot it is. It could even have programmable presets for the ideal temperatures of each person in the house. With a preset system, you would turn on the water, press your preset button, and wait for the alarm to go off telling you it had reached your temperature.
-- Joolin, Jul 29 2010

Hot water return line Hot_20water_20return_20line
Sounds like what you want. [csea, Jul 29 2010]

Enviro save water system http://www.abc.net....rs/txt/s1389495.htm
[spidermother, Jun 08 2011]

//so water goes through the heater but not down the drain.// - well, then, where *does* it go? It can't go back into the heater - the pressure that pushed it out is sufficient to keep it from going back.

So it's either pump it back, run down the drain, or __________. (fill in the blank, please)
-- lurch, Jul 29 2010


See [link] for discussion of same idea for kitchen sink tap water.
-- csea, Jul 29 2010


directing the flow back to the hot water tank would be the most efficient path. this does require a small circulation pump.
-- WcW, Jul 30 2010


There are lever-shutoff shower heads out in the world already. But there aren't very many return-flow lines in "old plumbing" systems. I am confused.
-- baconbrain, Jul 30 2010


Won't work without a return line, so the idea as posted is unlikely.

"Old plumbing" has long been updated to "new plumbing" by the replacement of defective plumbing parts and a bunch of and carpentry, and occasional gas &/or electrical work.

Perhaps the poster is proposing a retrofit consisting of a return line installed concentric with the hot water source. I am also confused.
-- csea, Jul 30 2010


as i read this the water i the boiler is going nowere, it's just getting hotter, until you pull the release valve [or the boiler gose bang]
-- j paul, Jun 07 2011


This has been baked. The water flows into a small pressurised holding tank. After the lever is switched, the tank is connected to the cold water line.

[edit] Linky. It has an automatic temperature sensor, rather than a manual valve.
-- spidermother, Jun 08 2011



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