Hot Water

[myk]

Hi Could anyone tell me what temperature domestic hot water should be set to. Thanks myk

[Christian McArdle]

Any hot water cylinder should be set to 55C or above, to avoid legionnaries disease. Any heat bank or thermal store should be set to 70C or above, to provide sufficient headroom for the heat exchanger.

The outlet temperature must be set to 60C or below. If there are children, or infirm people, then the outlet should be set to 40C, provided this does not compromise the water vessel temperature above.

Some systems allow separate setting of outlet temperature and hot water cylinder temperature. Some systems don't, so should be set between 55C and

60C.

Christian.

[myk]

legionnaries

Thanks for your prompt answer Christian, mines coming out of the tap at

57/59c which is about righ.t myk

[andrewpreece]

By experiment I found that 50C was the absolute maximum I could hold my hand in indefinitely without being forced to withdraw it ( not pleasant though ). As the previous poster has pointed out, 60C is a maximum, I suspect that any higher could lead to a potential scalding accident before a person was able to get their body out of contact with the hot water in time.

Andy.

[Aidan]

Store at 60 degC. The water from any hot tap should be at 50 degC plus within 60 secs.

Your hands are acclimatized to hot water and are less sensitive than other body parts, hence you test the baby's bath with your elbow. 50 degC will burn, eventually.

If there's any very young, disabled or very old people, all outlets should be at 43 degC max. The usual practice is to have a thermostatic mixing valve (TMV) at each outlet, or group of outlets, so the distribution is kept at 40 - 60 degC because of legionella.

The above is the usual commercial practice, specified in HSE L8 regs, but Prezza's in the process of having TMVs required for new build housing. Coming your way soon.

[Aidan]

Sorry, that should be; ....so the distribution is kept at 50 - 60 degC because of legionella.

[John Stumbles]

Can't say I'm outraged by that one. The price of TMVs has come down quite reasonably and, coupled with a generally increasing concern for people[1] who for whatever reason are more vulnerable than us TABs[2] it seems a reasonable move.

[1] at least, those resident at the correct latitude and longitudes [2] Temporarily Able-Bodied

[Christian McArdle]

The problem is that for us grown ups it effectively bans hot baths. You can't keep topping up with 60C. Once it goes below 39C, you have to throw it all out and start again.

Christian.

[Nick Atty]

When we had our first child we got a nice leaflet on "safety" from some section of officialdom.

Scattered within the pages were the statements that: You should have your cylinder stat set so that your hot tap water is at no more than 45 degrees You should always wash your dishes at at least 60 degrees.

[Christian McArdle]

Nor does a cylinder if you only draw water at the same piddle as an instantaneous heater.

Christian.

[Chris Hodges]

But the purpose of hot water isn't just to wash people. It should be possible to get properly hot water out for getting things (e.g. dishes, clothes and even paintbrushes) clean.

[Doctor Evil]

60? Nonsense.

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[Andy Hall]

70 is better...

[Mike]

Agreed. This new Prescott nonsense on thermostatic mixer taps with temp limits is just beyond.

[Doctor Evil]

If you want scalded hands then yes.

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[The Natural Philosopher]

Yes. Just how many people do die from scalding their hands under a tap who are not also living in a nursing home?

[Doctor Evil]

What a pair of retards. I know one guy who was in hospital at the age of 4 for 3 months because he jumped into a bath of scalding hot water. His mother filled with hot first. I always have blenders on my system to ensure that the water does not scald.

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[Andy Hall]

In a dishwasher, yer plonker.

[Hamie]

Australian/NZ (And probably Jap ones as well) water heaters heat it faster than your mains run (As fast as Wellington mains) so it's a pretty bad comparison really if you were attempting to disparage them.

H

[Doctor Evil]

The problem here is total ignorance of anything heating and water compounded by DIY know-it-allness. A fatal combination

-- Doctor Evil