Water Heaters - water temperature
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594tough
12-12-04, 05:40 AM
Because the subject has come up several times recently, I decided to do a little "research" on water heater temperature.
First, I got in the shower and set it up to where I like my shower to be. Once it was good I held a cup under the shower head and inserted a thermometer. I am at 109º. In the summer, I like cooler showers, and sometimes if I have a cold I will try to "steam" it out. I boosted the temp to the max I could comfortably stand in, and that turned out to be just about 112º.
I then tested the water running full bore, hot only. I was surprised that this turned out to be only about 118º. I thought I had the WH set higher. Yes, in the shower the controls are usually set at hot way open, cold just barely cracked.
I haven't tested yet the temp right at the WH. My pipe run uninsulated about 28 feet through an attic space. Ambient temperature now about 50º.
So I assume that lose a couple of degrees here.
I haven't yet run a test to see how long I could shower and still get hot. I tend to be in there at least 10 minutes and never cools even a bit. I will let you know the results of this capacity test when I do it.
The WH is a 40 gallon nat. gas 40k btu.
So, for the person whose maintenance man told her that a 100º shower for 10 minutes was adequate, I say 'cry foul'! Also, I believe that 118º water is too low a setting. Results in running almost all hot, so obviously the hot supply will be exhausted sooner. Setting it too high is also dangerous; I am considering adjusting mine up so that I get 125º. This will improve the supply, but still not be dangerously hot. Unserstand that a child or senior citizen could be badly hurt by 125º water straight up, so use judgement.
My conclusion is that as long as you are using a 2.5gpm shower head, a reasonable person should not run out of hot water. If you do, there is probably a problem which can be fixed.
First, I got in the shower and set it up to where I like my shower to be. Once it was good I held a cup under the shower head and inserted a thermometer. I am at 109º. In the summer, I like cooler showers, and sometimes if I have a cold I will try to "steam" it out. I boosted the temp to the max I could comfortably stand in, and that turned out to be just about 112º.
I then tested the water running full bore, hot only. I was surprised that this turned out to be only about 118º. I thought I had the WH set higher. Yes, in the shower the controls are usually set at hot way open, cold just barely cracked.
I haven't tested yet the temp right at the WH. My pipe run uninsulated about 28 feet through an attic space. Ambient temperature now about 50º.
So I assume that lose a couple of degrees here.
I haven't yet run a test to see how long I could shower and still get hot. I tend to be in there at least 10 minutes and never cools even a bit. I will let you know the results of this capacity test when I do it.
The WH is a 40 gallon nat. gas 40k btu.
So, for the person whose maintenance man told her that a 100º shower for 10 minutes was adequate, I say 'cry foul'! Also, I believe that 118º water is too low a setting. Results in running almost all hot, so obviously the hot supply will be exhausted sooner. Setting it too high is also dangerous; I am considering adjusting mine up so that I get 125º. This will improve the supply, but still not be dangerously hot. Unserstand that a child or senior citizen could be badly hurt by 125º water straight up, so use judgement.
My conclusion is that as long as you are using a 2.5gpm shower head, a reasonable person should not run out of hot water. If you do, there is probably a problem which can be fixed.