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hot water heater recomendation.
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| Mihaela Mihaylova 2005-06-26, 6:26 pm |
| Hi we are looking to replace our hot water heater and were wondering what
kind we should get. It needs to be a 40 gallon short model (up to around
32"). I noticed that some specs say steel glass lined tank and some list no
information about the tank. Is there anything specifically that we should
look for?
Thank you very much for any recommendations.
Mihaela
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| P2P Xtasy 2005-06-29, 11:25 pm |
| If longevity is a concern for you, consider doing some things that will prolong the life of any water heater such as:
1) Turning the thermostat down until the temperature is hot only enough to take a shower with no cold water input. Yes, your kitchen faucet will not be delivering scalding hot water, but how many of us mistakenly believe that is a necessity? The upside? A much longer lived water heater!
2) Remove the Aluminum sacrificial rod before installation, and wrap the connection threads with teflon tape. It typically looks like a pipe plug on the top of the unit and usually requires a 1 & 1/16" socket. Reattach with much less muscle than the factory used in the installation process so you'll be able to remove the thing about every three years to check the integrity of the rod without breaking the copper water lines that are attached to the unit. This is the magic bullet for water heater life: negative ions in the water will attack the aluminum/magnesium rod and corrode it, rather than the steel tank because those metals give themselves up more freely than iron. Clean the rod about every three years with a rotary wire brush, and when it becomes too decomposed to consider keeping, replace the rod. (MUCH cheaper than a water heater!)
3) Drain a few gallons from the tank through its water bib every few months to remove sediment that collects in the bottom of the tank, and your tank (especially a gas fired one) will last longer because water will not be heated through an insulating layer of crud, requiring more heat, higher fuel costs, and shorter tank life.
Follow the preceding steps and your heater will last much longer! Ignore them, and pay the price for your laziness/forgetfulness. Putting a white sticker on the tank for recording your maintenance steps, and you'll remember what you've done, and what you'll need to do.
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| Christian McArdle 2005-06-30, 12:25 pm |
| > 1) Turning the thermostat down until the temperature is hot only enough
quote:
> to take a shower with no cold water input.
However, as a shower is around the 40C, this is a recipe for Legionnaires'
Disease. You should keep any water storage vessel above 55C to kill off
bacteria. This is reasonable for scale prevention. If you want 40C at the
taps for safety reasons, then fit a thermostatic mixing valve at the outlet
itself.
Quoting:
http://www.ewgli.org/public_info/pu...s_hoteliers.asp
| The bacteria, which also live naturally in the environment can live
| and multiply in water at temperatures of 20°C to 45°C and high numbers
| occur in inadequately maintained man-made water systems.
Christian.
| |
| Scout 2005-06-30, 12:25 pm |
| "Christian McArdle" <cmcardle75@nospam.yahooxxxx.co.uk> wrote in message
news:42c3d893$0$13704$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
quote:
>
> However, as a shower is around the 40C, this is a recipe for Legionnaires'
> Disease. You should keep any water storage vessel above 55C to kill off
> bacteria. This is reasonable for scale prevention. If you want 40C at the
> taps for safety reasons, then fit a thermostatic mixing valve at the
> outlet
> itself.
>
> Quoting:
>
> http://www.ewgli.org/public_info/pu...s_hoteliers.asp
>
> | The bacteria, which also live naturally in the environment can live
> | and multiply in water at temperatures of 20°C to 45°C and high numbers
> | occur in inadequately maintained man-made water systems.
>
> Christian.
Good points.
I've done work in hospitals where the domestic hot water heaters are set at
46C. On a schedule, they are manually driven to 70C to kill off any living
thing that might be liking the 46C.
Scout
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| Mihaela Mihaylova 2005-07-01, 4:25 am |
| Thank you very much for the answers. They are very useful. Will do :-).
Mihaela
"Scout" <scoutsails@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:98adnaSMJf9jeF7fRVn-3A@comcast.com...
quote:
> "Christian McArdle" <cmcardle75@nospam.yahooxxxx.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:42c3d893$0$13704$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
>
> Good points.
> I've done work in hospitals where the domestic hot water heaters are set
> at 46C. On a schedule, they are manually driven to 70C to kill off any
> living thing that might be liking the 46C.
> Scout
>
>
>
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| Christian McArdle 2005-07-01, 12:26 pm |
| > I've done work in hospitals where the domestic hot water heaters are set
at
quote:
> 46C. On a schedule, they are manually driven to 70C to kill off any living
> thing that might be liking the 46C.
I don't think that would be allowed in the UK. The entire system must run at
high temperature at all times, with, if necessary, thermostatic mixing
valves providing 40C at the taps to avoid scalding, as there were a number
of cases of elderly patients being killed by overly hot baths.
Christian.
| |
| Scout 2005-07-01, 12:26 pm |
| "Christian McArdle" <cmcardle75@nospam.yahooxxxx.co.uk> wrote in message
news:42c4ff33$0$13695$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
quote:
> at
>
> I don't think that would be allowed in the UK. The entire system must run
> at
> high temperature at all times, with, if necessary, thermostatic mixing
> valves providing 40C at the taps to avoid scalding, as there were a number
> of cases of elderly patients being killed by overly hot baths.
Yes, there is the rationale.
The code states the max temp limit at the patient room; how that happens is
up to the engineers. The systems I've mentioned are 1950's era. The danger
in keeping water at this temp did not become apparent until the mid 1970's.
The solution of scheduled temp rises came in response to the infamous
Philadelphia tragedy.
Many hospital systems produce a mass of very hot water and then temper it
with a mixer, as you've suggested. This is much more convenient in some
respects, as the storage tanks may be reduced considerably in size.
Scout
| |
|
| "Scout" <scoutsails@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:NvqdnR1axJT6qFjfRVn-2w@comcast.com...
quote:
> "Christian McArdle" <cmcardle75@nospam.yahooxxxx.co.uk> wrote in message
> news:42c4ff33$0$13695$ed9e5944@reading.news.pipex.net...
>
> Yes, there is the rationale.
> The code states the max temp limit at the patient room; how that happens
> is up to the engineers. The systems I've mentioned are 1950's era. The
> danger in keeping water at this temp did not become apparent until the mid
> 1970's. The solution of scheduled temp rises came in response to the
> infamous Philadelphia tragedy.
> Many hospital systems produce a mass of very hot water and then temper it
> with a mixer, as you've suggested. This is much more convenient in some
> respects, as the storage tanks may be reduced considerably in size.
> Scout
By the way, I saw a hospital in Philadelphia shut down because the mixing
valve on a high temp system failed too many times. The inconsistent temps
(spiked frequently) was of such concern to the JCAHO, that they gave the
order to move the patients to another hospital.
Scout
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