This is my number one choice and the unit that I’ve had in my home for years.
If you want a simple answer as to which hot water recirculator you should buy, just go ahead and buy this one. The green Amazon button below is the best price you’ll find. I promise, you’ll be very satisfied.
Overall Rating: 9.5/10
Now, on to why it’s my top suggestion.
Again, the Premier Watts 500-800 is the unit I have in my house. For reference, my house is 2 stories and 2800 sqft. I purchased this Watts system on Amazon and got it 2 days later (Amazon Prime rocks). Installation was a breeze, although I will say getting under the bathroom sink requires a little bit of flexibility and/or willingness to be uncomfortable. Before installing this, it took my showers and sinks at least 3 minutes to get to an appropriate temperature, now it takes probably 2-4 seconds.
Water is relatively cheap, but I still didn’t feel good about wasting 10 gallons a day when it was preventable, especially because I live in California where we’ve had a major drought for the last 4+ years. Our lakes are embarrassingly low, there are lawn watering restrictions, and the indian rain dances haven’t been doing the trick.
To save my time and to do my part in saving the environment, I got myself one of these systems and I’m completely satisfied.
Ratings: It has 4.5/5 stars on Amazon with 400+ reviews. That right there tells you that it’s definitely a good product. Click Here to Read the Amazon Reviews.
Timer: Like most of the systems I’ve reviewed, this system has a timer which means that you can set it to turn on for just the hours you’re home. For example, instead of leaving it running 24 hours a day, you may want to have it turn on the hour before you wake up and a few hours around the time you get home. That way you’ll get hot water in the sink and shower right after you turn them on.
Quality: Comes with a 1-Year Limited warranty, but you probably won’t need to use it. This is a solid product that has been put through the ringer in tens of thousands of households with maximum effectiveness. If you want to spend $40 more and get an extra year of warranty with a nearly identical product, check out the Grundfos 595916. If the warranty is an issue for you, Amazon offers 2 additional years for $10-20 total.
Price: View current price on Amazon. This system is on the cheaper end of the spectrum, especially considering that it includes the two most important features: a timer and a check valve included.
Installation: 1 Hour installation at most. Very simple project that even beginner DIYers will have no problem with. Seriously, you can do this yourself, don’t spend another $150 on a plumber. This is a Water Heater Installed Recirculator (which you can read more about Here) meaning that the main pump needs to be installed at the water heater and the check valve needs to be installed below the faucet of the sink furthest away from the heater.
