In AZ, hot water from the cold water pipes
 

I live in Phoenix, AZ. This may sound crazy, but in the summertime the only way to take a "cool" shower is to turn off the hot water heater (for the duration of summer). Then the water in the hot water heater stays at room temperature and I then mix in water from the cold tap which is steaming, since the copper plumbing was routed through the attic (it was like that when I bought the place).

I am now installing a dishwasher, and I want to know if there is some type of valve I can install under the kitchen sink that will let me run water from the single pipe to 3 things: the kitchen faucet, the water filter system (3/8" connection), and the Whirlpool dishwasher (only during summer months). In the winter I would switch the dishwasher water inlet hose back over to the hot water pipe as soon as I turn on the hot water heater in October.

What I am imagining is some type of valve that has two turn-off knobs. The first turn-off valve would shut off "cold" water to everything (the kitchen faucet, the water filter system, and the dishwasher). Then the second turn-off valve would turn off only the dishwasher. I just want something that won't leak for the 6 months the dishwasher isn't connected to the cold-water pipe.

So is there such a valve? Or could I combine 2 or 3 different parts to be able achieve this? Thanks for any input....

I wonder if there is a high enough gpm inline water chiller you could add to the shower? That might be a simpler fix?

Wow - I would certainly be saving my pennies to re-route that plumbing. Sheesh - at least throw some pipe insulation on it.

Are you on a municipal water system or a private well??

I wouldn't think that on either system that you'd have the problem with hot water in the cold water line for more than 30-40 seconds at the most until the line is cleared completely.

Unless of course you're on a well system and you have one of those big black storage tanks sitting out in the sun.

They apparently re-plumbed the building with copper pipe about 5 years ago, and they ran all the pipes in the crawl space up in the attic (probably because it was cheaper). It's a condo building, and there are 5 or 6 units in a row (so I can't reroute the copper pipes). When it's 110 degrees here, it's probably 150 up in the attic. You can let the water run for 10 minutes and it never really cools off that much. Later at night when the sun is down (and everybody else has been running water during the evening), it eventually cools off some, but not a lot. Thanks for the tip about adding pipe insulation. I will ask the condo assn. about doing that.

I just have to deal with the situation as it is. Showering is easy... I just turn on the hot water tap to get cooler water (since the hot water heater is turned off). The clothes washer is easy, because I just have to put the hot water hose on the cold tap and vice versa. The only thing is how to be able to easily switch the dishwasher water inlet hose under the kitchen sink.

If anyone could give me ideas to answer my original question about how I could configure valves under the kitchen sink, I would really appreciate it. Thanks everybody & have a good weekend.

Welcome maynard7, to the best darn DIY'r site on the web.

If I understand your question correctly you want to feed your dishwasher, water filter and kitchen sink faucet from your cold water line in the summer and in the winter switch only the DW to the hot water line?

The scenario you explain has a glitch in it, with the hot water tank turned off both hot and cold water lines will be the same temperature (what ever that is), why not just tie the DW to the hot water line and leave it be, no need for valving.

Mark

The only way to get "cool" water in the summer is to turn off the hot water heater, and the water coming out of it will be at room temp. Since the copper pipes run up in the attic, the water is steaming when it comes out of the "cold" water tap. I can't hook up the dishwasher to the "hot" water pipe because it would fill with cool water; I need it to fill with hot or very warm water (which is what comes out of the "cold" water pipe in the summer).

I am pretty sure I understand now, the HW tank is being used as just a tank, which allow the water to actually cool where as the cold water is hotter.

Connect your dishwash only to both the hotwater line and your cold water line through a 3-way valve. This will allow supply from the CW in the summer and the HW in the winter. Leave the other connections as they are today.

Mark

I found this 3-way valve online.... but if use something like this, how do I stop water from flowing out of the third opening when the dishwasher isn't connected to it?
http://www.google.com/products/catal...=0CK0BEPMCMAY#

You would connect your lines to the 3-way downstream of your HW & CW isolation valves.

Mark

You said it was repiped a few years back and I would think probably by the association. Why not go to the association and have them correct the issue? I don't see how you could ever sale the condo later with that type of fix, how would you disclose having to switch the D/W pipe and turn off the water heater every summer at a certain temp. to a potential buyer? You are trying to sidestep the issue in my opinion.

Agreed.

There is a way to fix this, but if OP just wants to bandaid it, there's nothing that can be done.

I am probably the only person in the complex (27 units) that is nutty enough to do this. The other people I've talked to just leave their hot water heater on all year and they never switch hoses around. It's only the dishwasher I want to do this with. Just trying to turn lemons into lemonade (using the free hot water courtesy of the sun). The association has $15,000 in the bank and they are not going to do anything, except perhaps insulating the pipes (which I'm going to look into).