Water Heater Thermostat settings ?

We just had a new Rheem 50 gal water heater installed. The water was way too high for our needs.

I turned the power off, and took off the plates to the thermostats. Both the upper and lower elements were set at 150 degrees, too hot for us. I set them both at 115 degrees.

But, here is my question... should both the upper and lower elements be set at the same temperature ? I noticed that on our old heater, the upper thermostat was not adjustable, which leads me to wonder if their is an "ideal" setting for the upper element, regardless of the temperature setting of the lower thermostat.

What say ye ??

James

Reply to
James
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Never set them less than 130 as you risk bacteria living in the water heater. Legionellae is a big culprit. Set them both the same.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Hi,

135 - 140 is good settings.
Reply to
Tony Hwang

I've had Legionaires.

They come, they eat your food. They won't leave, and they never chip in.

Reply to
mm

Kinda like family?!

Reply to
Oren

"James" wrote in news:JKadneV6yKL4GRXWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@posted.localnet:

I've kept both upper and lower set to 120 for over twenty years. If you don't set the top and bottom to the same temp, then when you shower, after a few minutes or so the temp will change as the hotter/colder water at the top of the tank is used up. I doubt anyone would really notice. If you like hotter water, you can set the upper element to a higher temp, and when you wash your hands and do things that don't use much water, you will get the hotter water. When you bath, the water will cool a bit after a few minutes. Again not sure who would notice.

Reply to
Zootal

Your shower water will never last at 115 OR 120 . what's wrong with

140 or 150 anyway? Dishwashers like 140+ also. s
Reply to
Steve Barker

Safety for smaller children is one reason to limit the temp. Another is energy savings (less lost heat).

All dishwashers have auxilary heaters to heat the water to the proper temperature.

Reply to
PeterD

Aside from personal preferences, some states have laws pertaining to this. For instance, as a landlord (in WA, and probably others), the max legal setting is 120°. This is to protect children, the elderly, and common idiots from scalding themselves. 120° won't sterilize your dishes, and I find that to be only a marginally comfortable shower water setting in the PNW. My home settings are at 140°. For rentals, I include a clause in the rental agreement which states the law, then directs the landlord to set it at _____..... usually 135-140° ....., then holds the landlord harmless for any resulting injuries. Fingers crossed that this clause will never be tested in court. It's too bad there isn't a setting which will sterilize morons.

In the desert SW, our settings are 125°. This won't sterilize dishes, but it's warm enough for a comfortable shower. The water quality is so terrible they add bleach to the supply... strong enough to smell it when you flush, or turn on a tap, and likely strong enough to sterilize dishes too. This compromise also saves money, considering the higher electric rates. Many full time desert residents turn their water heaters off in the summer, since the ambient water temperature rises when the air is 110-120° every day, and never cools below 80-90°. When in Rome.....

Unc

Reply to
uncle K
135-140 F is the range you should be looking for, if you have small children tin the house, consider a mixing valve at the bathroom sinks with a single on/off lever. We use them in schools to prevent accidental burns with kids. The normal setting is about 100/105 F , the cost is minimal and you won t find them at the Big Box stores, it gives them warm water to wash their hands, but will not cause scalds, the same holds true with emergency showers in science labs in high schools. Domestic dishwashers pre-heat the water, commercial dishwashers typically have an external pre-heater that heats the water to 180F before it enters the dishwasher.

Tom

Reply to
Tom Cular

Please remember, the only question from this OP was whether the top thermostat should be set at same temp as the lower one. Out of 34 messages so far, I think one person has addressed this single question posed in the OP. Most other messages have tried to tell me **what temperature** I should set my water heater. As I noted in my OP, I have already decided that.

Thanks !!

James

Reply to
James

Source: V.E.R.A. -- Virtual Entity of Relevant Acronyms December 2001

OP Original Poster (slang, Usenet)=======================================Out of 34 messagesso far, I think one person has addressed this single question posed in theOP. CY: One would need to be a surgeon, to adress the question posed in the original poster. Most other messages have tried to tell me **what temperature** Ishould set my water heater. As I noted in my OP, I have already decidedthat.CY: How did you get a message in your original poster? Swollow a capsule?

Reply to
Stormin Mormon

People often make decisions based on wrong information, lack of full information or facts needed for a better decision. You are in that category. Rather than do some fact finding and educate yourself, you choose to denigrate those that attempted to help. Thanks for taking the time to do that.

Reply to
Ed Pawlowski

Really, what are people thinking, mentioning reasons for a particular setting, laws, and disccussing the subject further? Just set both elements at 230° and be done with it.

:-{|

Reply to
uncle K

This is Usenet. Thread drift is guaranteed.

Reply to
Robert Neville

we can now blame the obama administration and those damn liberals

Reply to
AZ Nomad

120 to 140 degrees, best I can tell. I chose 130 degrees F, deciding to split the difference, and have never had any problems. But I didn't get the information here: I got it from a few reliable sources, all of whom provided the same temperatures, even the local code enforcement office.

Whenever I see a long list of people crawling out of the woodwork with responses as happened in this thread (and often happens), I seldom bother to read them as the summation of the advice is going to be 1. unverifiable, 2. misleading and 3. based on guesses and "feelings". You seldom ever see anyone give any kind of verifiable information sources.

HTH,

Twayne

Reply to
Twayne

So, Twayne, you split the difference between the lower and upper elements ? From that strategy, do you get pretty even water temperature throughout its

50 gallon capacity ??

Thanks !!

James

------------------------------

120 to 140 degrees, best I can tell. I chose 130 degrees F, deciding to split the difference, and have never had any problems. But I didn't get the information here: I got it from a few reliable sources, all of whom provided the same temperatures, even the local code enforcement office.

Twayne

--------------------------------- Please remember, the only question from this OP was whether the top thermostat should be set at same temp as the lower one. Out of 34 messages so far, I think one person has addressed this single question posed in the OP. Most other messages have tried to tell me **what temperature** I should set my water heater. As I noted in my OP, I have already decided that.

Thanks !!

James

Reply to
James

And, the OP never mentioned what Rheem (maker), installer, or the manual (RTFM) said about the settings for top / bottom.

It is an exaggeration, to say that "Most other messages have tried to tell me **what temperature** I should set my water heater".

Point out the critter that 'told' you what to "set" the heater to. I just don't see it.

You decided 115° - what's the fuss.

Thank you!

Reply to
Oren

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