Top Floor Hot Water Issue

My top floor tenant says that when the tenant below him showers, he doesn’t get sufficient hot water.  Does this sound like a boiler issue (boiler not producing enough hot water) or a plumbing issue (all of the hot water is simply being diverted).  From what I have been told, the boiler is small.  At the same time, my father did all of the plumbing back in the late 70s so maybe he either made an amateur mistake or took some shortcut.  Any thoughts / suggestions?

nintzk

in Marble 13 years and 1 month ago

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Bklnite | 13 years and 1 month ago

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Assuming there’s enough pressure in general, it sounds like a plumbing issue if when the floor below is using hot water you lose hot water above. For simple and cheap – in addition to low flow shower heads, if you can turn the hot water temp up a bit (but not so much there’s scalding risk) people showering may mix more cold and less hot, and that may help. I don’t know how you calculate how big the pipes should be to serve the number of fixtures they lead to, but it’s possible your father put in hot water pipes that aren’t big enough, or that there’s a restriction somewhere that causes the hot water not to make it to the top floor when it’s running downstairs.

shahnandersen

in Marble 13 years and 1 month ago

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Simple and cheapest things first.  Do all the showers have low flow heads?  If not get some high rated ones and install them.  I think it’s the law anyway.  You’ll save water and fuel and maybe the (pressure?/temperature?) problem will go away.

Master Plvmber | 13 years and 1 month ago

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He doesn’t get enough “hot” water or does he not get enough water at all. In other words, when the guy downstairs takes a shower, does his hot water run cold or does it reduce in pressure?