Hot-Link Valve with Mounting Hardware

I purchased this valve for use with domestic hot water recirculation a few years ago. The circulator pump - a Taco 006e3 is running on a Taco SmartPlug pulse schedule (ON for 5 minutes, then OFF for 10 minutes). During the warm seasons I've always had issues when toilets in the house were flushed, due to the lower pressure and perhaps water not being all the way up to temp for the valve to fully close - it makes a chattering/machine gun like banging noise which reverberates throughout the copper pipes in the house. I attempted to resolve the issue by increasing the pump velocity to ensure more hot water is pushed to the valve, and also tried a water hammer arrestor on the cold supply side. Both didn't address the problem. Additionally, when the temperatures outside are very cold - below freezing, the problem is a lot more intense, and occurs when other faucets in the house are running, dishwasher, washing machine. I prefer this design in theory over the Grundfos Comfort Valve (595926) as it can be cleaned out without disconnecting, however cleaning it has never resolved the issue either. My water is double filtered coming into the house, there's no sediment. I finally got tired of the banging noise as it's irritating and probably not great for the pipes as it happens after every toilet flush, so I finally swapped it out with the Grundfos Comfort Valve, and the issue appear to be resolved. I'm not sure the short-coming of this design, but it doesn't handle the low pressure situation well.

Installed the system in January 2016. It just started a thumping noise and vibration traced to this valve (we have 3 in the house). Called Taco customer service and they suggested cleaning the screen on it and/or raising the hot water temperature a little. Did both and neither worked so they suggested replacing it. Installed the new one and the vibration and noise have disappeared. This is the valve closest to the pump. I feel 9 years of 18-hour a day use is acceptable for this part. We also use a water softener but don't know if that makes a difference on longevity.

I received a Watts valve with my recirculating hot water system within a year I was having the problems of warm to hot water in both sink valves. I replaced the Watts with a Taco valve that has a clean out port if cleaning is needed. This was 5 years ago and I never had to open the clean out port and my cold water is cold and hot water hot. Highly recommend Taco and the many products they manufacture.

The Taco HLV-1 TCV is uniquely serviceable, particularly important in hard-water applications. The only way to clean a Grundfos/Rinnai/Watts TCV is to temporarily remove it and soak the entire valve for 24+ hours in vinegar/acid/de-scaler, then mechanically clean it with brushes and compressed air. If you have a hot water recirculation system, consider installing a whole-house filter or water softener system, better for the operation and longevity of water heaters and fixtures, and for personal health. All thermal crossover valves (aka thermal shunt or bypass valves) used in hot water recirculation systems are designed to automatically close above 98'F-100'F (to prevent scalding), I wish TCVs could be adjusted to 120'F for kitchen use, or for higher-temperature versions to be available for purchase (similar to ICE radiator caps). Taco could simply sell a higher-temperature replacement valve/filter insert for their TCV. Easy TCV test: close the associated cold water supply valve, then open the cold water tap - cool water should flow (from the hot water supply, through the open TCV) until the tap water warms over 100'F, then the TCV should close; it's probably OK if the faucet still drips a little. If the TCV isn't properly closing/opening, it needs cleaning or replacement (typical hot water recirculation systems automatically cycle many times a day). Afterwards, don't forget to re-open the cold water supply valve. Note that this simple test doesn't exercise your hot water recirculation system pump. During each recirculation cycle, the hot water supply is pumped through the open TCV shunt into the cold water supply, forcing water back to the hot water heater in a loop to warm up the hot water pipes.

Have Watts hot water circulation and found the Watts control valve failing after a couple of years. Found the Hot-Link control valve is a great replacement and allows the Watts Circulation pump to work much better.

This valve works very well and stops the hot water from traveling in to the cold line better than I expected.

Works better than the Grundfos equivalent

works great

I bought the Taco 006e3 hot water circulator with one of the hot-link valves - worked so good i got this second valve for separate hot water line in the house. Works great; wife loves it. Amen.

Very easy to understand the installation instructions, and the installation of the products was easy too and the items work work wonderfully.