Hot Water Heater And Temp. Setting ?

[Bob]

Hello,

Have the typical vertical cylinder gas fired house hot water heater.

The thermostat on the gas control has a little raised bar on the dial half-way between the HOT and WARM marks.

This is where it is set presently.

I am assuming that this is the typical or avg. temp. setting.

Is it safe to go, e.g., half way between this mark and the HOT (max.) Mark ?

Half way would be approx what temp., do you think ?

Would like to try raising the temp. as the wife is always complaining about not enough hot water.

Not sure how much to raise it to be safe; both from a scalding viewpoint, but also for the safety of the tank.

Thanks, B.

[RBM]

**I wouldn't worry about the tank. The control is not going to allow you to do something that would cause it to self destruct. Since it doesn't have actual temperature settings, just raise it up incrementally until it's hot enough for your needs

[Michael B]

Plan ahead.

In the morning, I don't have to add any cold water for my shower. But if SWMBO takes her shower first, it causes the thermostat to kick it on, and I have to add cold water. So we see that I take mine first, then hers about a half hour afterwards.

So before she takes a long tub bath in the evening, she makes sure I have washed dishes or run a batch of laundry.

Seriously, it's better, IMO, to nudge the control over to the hot side, then back after it kicks on, than having it be at a perpetually higher setting.

[willshak]

Bob wrote the following:

First, how big is the heater? How many gallons does it hold? How many people in the house using hot water? When I had 3 women in the house taking showers one after the other in the morning (don't get exited, 2 of them were my daughters), they used a lot of hot water. I learned to revert to my Navy training. Wet down. Shut off water. Soap Down. Rinse. Since they moved out (the daughters, I mean), I never run out of hot water. I have a 40 gallon propane fired heater with 3400 BTUH input and set at halfway between Hot and Warm..

[Steve Barker]

the tank has a safety built in. I doubt you could turn it high enough to pop the T&P valve. You might want to invest in a thermometer. And set it where you want. 140 is a good place to start. If you have heavy shower traffic, you might want to press it to 150.

[trader4]

Sounds like that is a potnetial health safey issue. The bacteria that causes Legionares disease grows in warm water and it's recommended that the tank be kept above 130F. That's where mine is set. Also, it's obviously safe to set the tank thermostat to any temp that it's capable of being set to, including very hot. Safe that is from the standpoint of the tank, not from possible scalding to users.

[dadiOH]

1. Turn it up

1. Wait

2. Turn on hot water

1. Stick your finger in the water. Cautiously.

Too cold? Go to #1 Too hot? Turn it down and go to #2 Just right? Go have a beer :)

[Baron]

(Resubmitted from a similar question back in FEB 11)

Hello,

You have to balance two competing objectives - hot enough in the tank to prevent the bacteria causing Legionaries' Disease from growing but cool enough at the tap to keep from scalding (antiscald valves not considered). To do this, check the water temperature at the hot water tap furthest from the tank. By furthest, I mean where the hot water must take the longest path to get to the tap. This tap is likely to have the coolest hot water as the water had the most chance to loose heat during its travel. Use a drinking glass with a thermometer in it and let the water overflow the glass until it is fully hot. You want 120 deg F which is the maximum temperature various agencies have recommended to prevent scalding. Adjust the hot water heater as necessary Now, check the temperature setting of the hot water in the tank. If it is above 130 deg F, you will have to live with it unless you want to install point of use heating. If it is below 130 deg F, you will have to increase it to that temperature as various agencies agree that 130 deg F is the minimum temperature needed to prevent the bacteria causing Legionaries' Disease from growing.

Good Luck

[bob haller]

anti scald valve is obvious solution... just pricey.

although the hotter the tank the larger the energy bill:(

[K. Lance]

LOL!!! A "Hot" Water Heater? Why would you want to heat hot water?

[clare]

Not all agencies agree on 135. It is on the LOW side of "play it safe"

[The Daring Dufas]

To boil it then throw in some pasta, crustaceans or great white hunters. ^_^

TDD

[Joe]

Ask the guy in the post above that uses two heaters in series.

Joe