New hot water heater adventure.

[DaveNJ74]

The hot water heater in our townhouse started dripping last night so I turned off the main water shutoff valve and we started to mop up the little water that leaked into our laundry room. I called the company which is to go unmentioned that we have a service contract with. I explained to them the situation and told me someone would be out today between noon and 4 which they came..3:58

The gentleman looked at the unit and said it would have to be replaced. He said a subcontractor handles the replacements and his company just handles repairs, part etc. He called the subcontractor and gave him the details of the water heater. He then go off the phone and told me how much it would cost.
I was under the impression that it was covered for replacement also which I remember the woman telling me over the phone because at the time I was a first time home buyer and nervous about the water heater going and how much it would cost me. In any event when I called customer service they told me just repairs and parts are covered not a replacement of the water heater.
So I paid for the new one which wasn't a bad price with installation because while I was waiting for the contractor to show up I checked out prices online along with some shaving sites.... Shows where my head is.
They did an excellent job removing the old one, installing the new one and being careful because we had some new flooring put down. Tips were given to the 2 gentleman along with sodas for their job well done.
An hour or so later Im out picking up some groceries and the SWMBO calls me telling me now the water is too hot. Married guys know what Im talking about .
When I arrived back home to check out the settings they left the pilot light on it was way up to " very hot " which this unit has a setting for. The manual shows " very hot " as 160 F......

So I lowered it down between low and high. How do you guys set your water heater when you are home? I did some reading online before and they have settings like " vacation " which I never knew. I figured just lower it a bit while you're away is fine. Any input would be appreciated.

 

[Mick]

I have a natural gas tankless water heater with 2 controllers. One in the kitchen and one in the bath.

The temp can be set from 100 up to (gee I think it is 140 or 150)....

When showering I set it to 100 and use mostly hot water (very little cold blended in)

For the kitchen I set it to 114 or 116 and use straight hot water for washing. Just under the WOW that's too hot temperature for the hands

My dishwasher and washing machine have water heaters built in so I don't need to feed them HOT water as they will take cold water and heat it to the temp they are preset to work at.

 

[jlanger]

From what I remember when running the group home and getting the annual public health inspection the water temperature at your faucet for effective/safe hand washing is 120. This is also a safe temperature to prevent scalding. The inspector always recomended not going by what the temp at the water heater said but actually measuring the temperature of your water at your kitchen/bathroom etc.

 

[StillShaving]

160 F might be good for running the dishwasher, but is high for a home setting IMO. I use to keep my tank set on 120-125 F, but after getting a tankless heater had to lower the setting to 100 F for the flow rate to be high enough to turn on for taking a shower or using the sink.

 

[njpaddy]

I keep mine set to "B" which is supposed to be around 130 if calibrated correctly. I tried lowering it to "A" (120), but my wife uses so much hot water when she showers she runs out of hot water at lower settings. I've got to replace my unit as it's been popping for awhile now. I imagine there's a lot of sediment on the bottom from my well water. I was searching the internet this morning for a company.

 

[COHunter]

I'm probably the exception to the rule, I crank mine really high. Not quite to the top but not far off of it either. Our water heater gets it's workout with 4 people using it daily, so when it goes I'll install a larger capacity unit. I add more cold into the mix, seems to make the hot water last longer and my kids are old enough to choose the appropriate temperature.

 

[_JP_]

From what I remember when running the group home and getting the annual public health inspection the water temperature at your faucet for effective/safe hand washing is 120. This is also a safe temperature to prevent scalding. The inspector always recomended not going by what the temp at the water heater said but actually measuring the temperature of your water at your kitchen/bathroom etc.

Yes, this.

We have neighbors here who want the water heater set way hotter for laundry and the dishwasher. In the long run, that makes it an energy waster, especially with these places being all electric. And then there is the scalding danger. Ran into that with a new move in at one place. Turned out the guy who used to live there had turned up the water temp all the way, so no wonder the next person to live there got scalded.

 

[nannahill]

Your significant other complained about the water being too hot? Mine accuses me of turning the temperature down all the time. I believe ours is set around the 120 mark. Interesting to read about those with tankless systems. My reading led me to believe the payback just wasn't there? I like the idea of only heating water when one needs it but the higher cost of the unit and beefed up plumbing costs didn't make it sound attractive total cost wise.

 

[barrycv]

The vacation mode of the heater is just a low setting - keeps the water in there warm, but not typical hot for daily usage. Helps save you some $ if you're gone for an extended period.

Off topic, but this kinda reminds me of the infamous McDonald's hot coffee lawsuit. IIRC, the coffee in that case was actually measured to be around 160F+ - way too hot for consumption. All anyone ever mentions is how much of a BS suit it was, personal responsibility, etc. But that stuff was indeed much hotter than it should have been. The temp does matter, whether it be your hot water for home usage or consumption.

 

[StillShaving]

Your significant other complained about the water being too hot? Mine accuses me of turning the temperature down all the time. I believe ours is set around the 120 mark. Interesting to read about those with tankless systems. My reading led me to believe the payback just wasn't there? I like the idea of only heating water when one needs it but the higher cost of the unit and beefed up plumbing costs didn't make it sound attractive total cost wise.

My memory of the exact numbers is weak and the calculations were hard to directly compare to begin with, but based on Natural Gas Ccf consumption (not $ price) before and after, I saw a savings of 25% (maybe a little higher) for the first 9 months after the tankless unit was installed. I say 9 months, because I did not try to recalculate for a longer time period.

In my case the big savings was indirect but highly valued. Due to the layout of my house, the hot water tank was installed in the attic. It is placed over a drip pan with an exit drain, but when it started leaking there was a fine spray that went beyond the drip pan and soaked the ceiling below. Luckily I was at home and caught it before much damage had occurred. But imagine being away for the weekend or longer and having the whole ceiling and interior getting water damaged. The tankless unit had a much smaller dimension and easily fit into the crawlspace, so it was an easy decision to install and avoid future water disaster. No extra plumbing was needed, unless you wanted to add a recirculating system for more water and energy savings.

 

[_JP_]

In my case the big savings was indirect but highly valued. Due to the layout of my house, the hot water tank was installed in the attic. It is placed over a drip pan with an exit drain, but when it started leaking there was a fine spray that went beyond the drip pan and soaked the ceiling below. Luckily I was at home and caught it before much damage had occurred. But imagine being away for the weekend or longer and having the whole ceiling and interior getting water damaged.

Oh crap! We just dealt with that in a studio unit here. Water heater in the ceiling. The first fun part of that is dropping the old one down through the attic hatch and lifting the one up there. Then there's hooking it up on a summers day in the heat up there. After that, repairs from the leak can be done.

 

[DamnFineBob]

I've had a service contract on my water heater and my gas furnace with my local gas utility, and yes... for the water heater it covers parts and repair labor, not replacement. The thing is, they almost never need repair before they need replacement. I'd probably keep the service contract on the water heater, though, since its a gas unit and the contract probably covers the "I think my pilot light is out and I smell gas" calls. That said, the furnace is a much more expensive item, and actually has a bunch of replaceable and repairable parts. Also, the service contract customers generally get a quicker response time when the furnace stops working in the middle of the coldest night of the year and there is no other source of heat (yes, that actually happened).

 

[APEXshooter]

My dad was a plumber and he always taught me to set it and let it sit for about 45 minutes and then get a temperature reading at the faucet. Usually it is between 115 and 130. in order to get right around 120 degree water at the tap.

 

[DaveNJ74]

All good responses, thank you. I think I will keep the service contract just like another member stated.