Hi .... I have a strange situation & hopefully someone can help. Warm water is getting into my cold water pipes. If I run a tap on my second floor, cool water runs for a bit but then turns warm for bit & then the water turns cold?

I added a picture of my setup. The pipe marked 2 is the cold water pipe coming from my well & it feels cold to the touch. The pipe marked 1 is the cold water pipe that leads to the house & it feels warm. The pipe marked 3 leads to the top of the hot water tank & it also feels warm.

Any ideas on what is going on please? Thanks

PS: I tried to add an attachment with a pic but I guess I am over my limit, sorry. Does anyone know how I can delete some of my old attachments to free up space? Thanks

 

It would be very unusual for hot and cold water to mix in a cold water pipe. The two lines only connect at a faucet and at the water heater / boiler.

That's not to say I disagree with your assessment. Rather, I believe a cold water pipe is being warmed by an external source. For example, a pipe may run behind a radiator or along a hot air duct if the home is heated by hot air. You don't say where you live, but if it is in a warm climate, the pipe may be heated from outside. The water doesn't flow when the faucet is not engaged, giving a few gallons time to warm.

At any rate, the water starts cool from the faucet, turns warm while the heated water passes, then turns cool again.

 

Concerning pictures, you can't delete. You need to use a hosting site such as IMGUR. I know, it's pain but that is how this site works.

I agree with Tony.

Have you had any plumbing work done recently? Or even a new faucet installed? Even work not related to plumbing. Sometimes a carpenter or other tradesman may have had to disconnect a pipe or supply line and reverse the connection when re-installing.

 

Thanks for your reply. Would you be able to explain the IMGUR site process? Thanks

 

You might want to check other hosting places also. Some people don't like IMGUR. But it's good.

Here are 13 of the best image hosting sites that can help you upload and share photos:

1. Google Photos. Google Photos is one of the best image hosting services for uploading high-quality photos in large quantities. ...
2. Imgur. ...
3. Dropbox. ...
5. Use. ...
6. Flickr. ...
8. SmugMug.

You don't necessarily want a hi-res site for this site.
Just try one one out and experiment. Upload a few trials to this site, even if they don't refer to a repair. The MODS will delete if you ask. They're great about things like that. You can use the General Discussions area and just title it as TEST. Load a few pics for practice.

 

I'm not sure I understand. Are you sugesting that I would be able to use a hosting site to attach a pic on to my reply? So for instance, upload a pic to a hosting site & then download the pic to my reply?

 

Go to imgur.com and open a free account.
Post your pictures there and post the addresses of the pictures here.

Picture posting here has become something of a farce.

 

When you get you free account at IMGUR, if you have trouble I'll try and walk you through it.

Briefly...You'll have picture on your computer (say for instance on your desktop). On Imgur you're going to go to your account...Upper right corner, usually a big green ball with you initial in it. Click it. A drop down menu appears, click Images. Next screen click ADD IMAGES in the big green banner at the upper right. Per the instructions, drag or browse for the pic on your desk top. Let it load. Then click on it and you'll see several URL's to choose from. Choose BBCODE, copy and paste in you DIY post. It helps to have two browser screens open.

 

I hope this link takes you to the pic.

https://imgur.com/a/euIicmg

 

How high is your temp setting on the tank? Also how old is the HW tank?
My first thought is that your getting heat transfer from the cold water inlet pipe #3 from the tank to the pipe #2 & #1. Also if the tank is very old your fill tube may be deteriorated and not feeding cold water to bottom of tank. All the warm water is mixing with cold at the top.
I'm betting your seeing this phenomenon most often when you haven't used the water for a period of time. For instance when you first get up in the morning.
Maybe a back flow preventer can be used on the cold water inlet. But I don't know if that is to code. I think our plumbing experts need to chime in.

 

BTW... you want to us the BBCODE in IMGUR. Copy that and your pic will appear with your post instead of a link. But either way we got the picture.

 

answered my own question. Yes backflow preventers are used on hot water tanks. To prevent hot water from tank mixing with cold potable water. I've never seen one used and I don't know why if potable water is entering the tank to begin with, what is the difference if it backflows in terms of health?

 

I'm not finding a BBCODE?

 

G

Got it. PS: #1 is leading from my well. #2 is the cold water line that feeds upstairs & even though it is supposed to be cold it is warm/hot. #3 is leading to the hot water tank & I think should also feel cold but it also feels hot.

 

Thanks Norm201.... Someone on another site also mentioned the dip tube & my tank is over 10 years old so I'm guessing you are on to something & I will replace it asap.

 

At 10 years old your tank is at that point that maybe you want to consider anther. Or if you can, replace the tube.

Here's what you want to use when posting pics.

 

Thanks Norm201. As you can see below I finally found the BBCODE thing.

 

Umm, No you didn't.

 

Sorry? I think that is how I finally got my pic to show in this thread?

 

The link you used worked. But if you copy the BBCODE the picture will show right on the post and no need to click on the link. At least that's the way it works for me. But in either case you did well. Like I said earlier, try experimenting. Keep us posted when you finally resolve the warm water problem.

 

LOL, I assume you missed it but check out post #14

 

Well that's weird. last night it only showed the link, not the pic. Strange. But hey I'm glad you got it to work. You got your first UPVOTE.

 

I believe you are referring to post #9. I figured it out sometime after I posted #9 & thanks for my up vote.

 

I want give a shoutout to all of you that gave me your time in trying to help me out.

Now to explain why & what the issue was. Every fall we relocate from the house we presently live in to another property so we can enjoy warmer weather. Before we leave in the fall I turn off the well pump & turn open all the house taps to drain the pipes & I also drain & turn off the pressure tank & hot water tank. When we arrived home a couple of weeks ago the first thing I do is turn all the taps off & then turn the well pump back on. Now here is where I made my mistake. I have a shutoff valve on my basement laundry tub spout because of a small leak/drip. Instead of turning the hot & cold taps off from the laundry tub I just turned the spout valve off so that left both taps wide open. Neither of those taps had been used since arriving home so no one noticed they were both turned on. I now understand this is where the crossover was happening.

Thanks again to all.

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Glad you resolved the problem. Hey, at least you know how to post pictures.