Comfort Valve

Comments about Comfort Valve:

Having read a number of online gripes about the Grundfos (sold also under the name Watts)recirculator, I was skeptical about this product. However, I am pleased to say that in my house it just works. For years I watched untold thousands of gallons of water and who knows how much money go literally down the drain, waiting for hot water to reach the sink.

The genius of the recirculator is that when the fauctet is off, the recirculator keeps a small amount of hot water circulating from the hot into the cold line. When the hot water faucet is turned on, you get an immediate flow of water warm enough for washing, followed quickly by full-out hot water.

If your house has hot water fixtures running off different main lines or "trees," you will need a valve on the furthest fixture of each tree. Extra valves come as kits with the faucet coupling hoses. However, you can save quite a bit by buying just the valve as I did, and supply your own hoses. If you do this, be aware that only flexible faucet connector hoses with a one-half inch garden hose-type female connector containing a (normal) internal sealing washer will securely connect to the valve. If your faucet has a 3/8 inch female fitting, you will need a brass male-male adaptor(also available in the plumbing department) to make the connection between the 3/8" female faucet end of the connector hoses and the female connectors of the faucet. Discard the compression ring and fitting that come with the adaptors; you will not need them. Do not try to connect a brass 1/2 to 3/8 inch male-male adaptor to the valve; it will not thread properly and you will break the valve, especially, according to the company, if you try to use teflon pipe sealing tape. If you use the garden hose type connections I have described, everything will fit nicely witout any leaks.

Another tip: Set the temperature of your hot water heater to 120 degrees. Hotter water will eventually damage the valve, which is probably the reason some people have complained that the valves don't last very long. I have not had any durability problems with my valves.

Comments about Comfort Valve:

Last time this comfort valve needed replacing I used a plumber - expensive!
I found this replacement valve online and installed it myself in 10 minutes - painless process from purchasing to installation.

Comments about Comfort Valve:

My Grundfos recirculator system recently ceased working after functioning normally for a few years. Since the pump was running, I decided to replace this valve. Now it works perfectly! Other helpful reviewers advised against trying to clean a malfunctioning valve, so I didn't try. But when I took it off I could see some recessed crud.

Comments about Comfort Valve:

We had the Grundfos Recirculating pump system installed on top of our water heater about three years ago. Lately, my wife noticed we were not getting hot water quickly in our master bath where the valve is located under a sink. Along time ago, I figured out to start a diagnosis of a problem with the most obvious thing that could go wrong being first to check. So, I figured it must have clogged up and I ordered a replacement valve. It only took about 10 minutes to change out. Within a day we had hot water again in the morning!

Comments about Comfort Valve:

I had a plumber install the comfort system on our water heater 2 1/2 years ago. It worked great for quite awhile. In Arizona, we have very hard water. My wife noticed this winter it was taking forever to get hot water. I tried to clean this valve out, but it was too plugged up. I couldn't even blow through it. So I ordered a new one, and that solved the problem.

Comments about Comfort Valve:

Repaired using the part and the system is back! Part was original, and much cheaper than in my local store (they wanted $93).

Comments about Comfort Valve:

Price and delivery were good and the product works as expected

Comments about Comfort Valve:

Completely seperated hot and cold water for us. When the recirculator was brand new it did not do that so we were very pleasantly surprised after this sensor was installed.

Comments about Comfort Valve:

This valve, along with the pump solved our long wait for hot water in our master bath

Comments about Comfort Valve:

This comfort valve is something THAT MUST BE REPLACED WHEN IT BRAKES , OR THE CIRCULATING HOT WATER SYSTEM WILL NOT WORK AND HOT WATER WINDS UP IN THE TOILET AND OUTSIDE AT THE GARDEN HOSE, SINCE THE VALVE DOESN'T LAST VERY LONG IT'S NICE TO KNOW I CAN GET A GREAT PRICE AT PEX ! [...]