right away in the bath/shower and the bathroom sink, which is right nex to it, takes forever? I have pondering this for the almost three years we have lived here.

Anyone?

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I have often wonder the exact same thing. Just makes no sense at all.

My master bath is the same way. The shower is actually further from the water heater than the sink is, but it still heats up SO MUCH faster. Maybe it has to do with how much water is coming through the pipes????

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Linda

Just because the sink is closer to the hot water tank doesn't mean the hot water line to the sink is closer. Could be the line goes to the tub/shower first and the sink second.
We solved that problem right after we moved in here 13 yrs. ago. DH installed an under the counter hot water tank that supplies just the sinks in the master bath.

Your shower is supposed to be set at a hotter water temp then your sink...normally a shower is 120 degrees where a sink may only be 110 degrees.

Our water heater only has one dial to set and it feeds all the faucets in the house...how could each faucet be set at different temperatures??

is that the tankless water heater??? How is that working for you??? Do you see a savings in your energy bill??? Water bill???

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Doing the right thing isn't always the same as doing the easy thing.

No, it's not the tankless, it's just a small electric tank made to fit under the vanity. Love my instant hot water.
We've priced the tankless system and it would run us about $1,100. I just can't justify that kind of money on a water heater. If we were going to be in this house for 15 years, I probably could. In a couple of years when our water rates start going up like we've already been told they're going to we'll probably wish we had went with the tankless system.

Is your house older?? I use to work for a builder so I know some of the codes and thats one of them. It's the only explaination I have for why your shower heats up faster than the sink.

For us, it's the plumbing.

Our water heater is on the same end of the house as the kitchen sink, but that heats up LAST.

The pipes run from the water heater, under the living room to the small bathroom, then to the big bathroom, then loops completely around back to the kitchen sink. That's the path the water flows. I think more modern plumbing has more pipes off the main so the pipes branch off of each other. Like if these pipes had been seen up correctly? There would be an off-shoot pipe that ran to the kitchen sink. That sink is about 15-20 feet from the heater, yet heats up last.

Our small bathroom doesn't heat up FAST, but faster than the rest of the sinks/tub.

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Oh, yes....it is an older house - 1800's...lol

Yes my house is almost 100 yrs old!

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The political system is broke and it's a joke.

I just don't understand how one water heater could be set to one temp for the shower and one temp for the sink. It's just not possible. There's only one temp setting and all water leaving the tank is heated to that one temp.

I've never seen a water heater that heated to different temperatures. Wouldn't it have to have separate tanks for the different temps? I haven't really looked at water heaters, so maybe I'm wrong, but I just don't even remember ever hearing about anything like this.

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Linda

I don't know how but trust me..as I said I've worked for a builder and the inspector failed some of the houses due to the fact that the temps were all the same and your shower has to be set higher....don't ask. lol. they've even failed us for the level in the toliet water not being "per code" either it was too high or too low.

hmm.. unless there is something like a temperature setting on the actually shower??? Now I'm questioning on how this is... unless where I live they just don't know what their talking about. lol

I think what you are referring to is a temperature control valve in your shower. You are able to set the temperature individually at the different showers. I think they probably have them for sinks also.
You set the temperature in your shower for what you like best it ..when you turn the handle it will only allow the water to get to the temperature you have pre-set.

So, then there's an additional heater somewhere in the shower plumbing? Kind of like a dishwasher?

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Linda

No. It is a valve..the plumbing behind your fixtures that connect to your pipes.
Basically you figure out the temperature that you like best "set' the thing in the valve, put your cover (fixture) back on. It lets you just turn one knob and the temperature will stay close to the same ..unless you run out of hot water. You can "over-ride" the system but pushing a button on the shower knob.
It just tries to keep the same amount of temperature water flowing..by keeping it properly mixed hot/cold water.

I tried to help and with the help of some others I hope we solved your problem Anna

OK, now I think I know what you're talking about. But I thought the purpose of the valve was to NOT allow the water to get above a certain temperature, so young children (or anyone, for that matter) would not scald themselves. If it only keeps the mix of hot and cold water consistent, how would that cause the shower to heat up faster than the sink?

I'm not trying to start any arguments, I've learned to live with it. I just find Anna's question intriguing especially since it seems to happen to more than one of us. And I'm ALMOST positive that our water line goes to the sink first and then to the shower. In any case, they're only a few feet apart.

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Linda

Some people take out the anti-scald thing to have really hot shower (especially in the master bath). I believe you also have to set your hot water heater temperature up higher.
This is not the cause of the OP's problem. I was trying to explain how you can have a different set temperature between your shower and a sink. You can set your shower for a certain temperature and your sink at a different temperature. So that your sink will never get as hot as your shower.
But that is different than what the OP was asking.

Several things could be causing the OP problem with water heating up faster in the shower than the sink.
More water pressure is coming to the shower..so the more water being pulled from the hot water tank the faster the water gets there and tends to stay hot.
Also the OP stated that her home is "older" which means maybe mineral deposits may have build up in the pipes causing a slight flow of the water that can cause the delay in the hot water.
Also depends on how the pipes are run longer it may take longer for the hot water to get there.