what temperature to set thermostat for hot water?

katrina123

i am way out of my league here, ill try posting a pic up later.
put the hot water on for two hours, it was not as hot as it used to get after two hours,
but im sure i twisted it to full +.... i might try twisting it to the oppossite side (–) as the guy did say something like that,
if it doesnt work, try the other way.

I hate this.

the whole flat is electric, the big hot boiler tank is under the sink, the thermostat is kinda built into the opening of that, or
fitted in more like.

does my elec bill go higher and higher whenever the hot water switch is ON?
or is it to do with how high the thermostat is set to?

katrina123

http://yfrog.com/eqdsc02834rj

http://yfrog.com/jndsc02835cj

the second pic, that black control within the white casing, thats the control i think i need to adjust.

penrhyn

What you have there is an electric immersion heater.
Taking off the cover has exposed the mains wiring to the unit, hopefully you turned off the mains before removing the cover.
You are correct in identifying the control as an adjustable thermostat, the higher the setting the hotter the water, and consequently the higher your electricity bill.

A bit lost here as the thread started out taking about using gas to heat the water and somehow its moved to an electric immersion heater thats independent of the gas.

espresso

penrhyn wrote: »

A bit lost here as the thread started out taking about using gas to heat the water and somehow its moved to an electric immersion heater thats independent of the gas.

Ever heard the expression "Like giving a pig a wristwatch"?

This thread is hilarious!

:rotfl:

Pincher

espresso wrote: »

Ever heard the expression "Like giving a pig a wristwatch"?

This thread is hilarious!

:rotfl:

Are you offering to buy Katrina123 one of these?:D

http://www.dailysquib.co.uk/?c=124&a=1412

Premier_2

katrina123 wrote: »

hi, my hot water has not been working for a week, and plumber came today to fix.
but after 3 hours of putting the switch on, it was only warm.
i called him, he said you need to turn up thermostat.
so annoying as its not my job and im not a plumber.
when plumber was doing job he said to not turn anything on as he could die with electic shock or somthing.
i dont wanna touch these electics.

anyway he says to unscrew this thing under the sink.
this nut.
and inside there is a setting control.
i dont know if he said to pull it out or just turn it.

i found a black level setting, but around it there is no marking for 60degrees or number scale.
all there is is a + sign and - sign.

i have turned the switch to + untill it clicked.

is this too much? what does this click mean?

how do i make sure its at 60degrees?

as the plumber on another occasion said to leave it at 60.

thanks.

60 degrees is the common setting. More than that and it will cost a lot of money, as well as signifcnatly shorten the life of the element.

The plumber really should have done this as part of the job. Anyway, now you're already almost there.

The click simply is it switching. At what temperature setting it clicks will depend on the temperature of the water at the time.

Normally there are markings on the thermostat to give an indication of the setting ... but these are not very accurate.
Also remember that the water at the top of the tank will usually be much hotter that that at the end of the thermostat (especially if it's a long thermostat/element which I suspect it is). Conversely, the water below the bottom of the heater will be quite cool in comparison. If you ever hear the water actually boiling in the tank, then the setting is too high and you are wasting a lot of electricity.
Don't be afraid to turn the setting down if the water seems to be getting too hot.

katrina123

thanks to all.

I twisted the control to full, it wouldnt go any further.
I put the hot water on for 2 hours, and it was not overly hot, pretty much the same as before,
two hours and its hot enought for a shower, but not a long shower, after a few mins in shower, the water
get warmer and less warmer. So it seems you can NEVER really have a long shower. This is annoying too.
As you have to rush in danger of hot water running out.

If the control is full, shouldnt the water be getting closer to boiling point? where you have to mix it with cold water?

shall i try putting hot water on for 3 hours? to see if it get TOO hot?

now i just want it TOO hot, so i can then back off a little on the control.

Pincher

There is probably a thermostatic mixing valve limiting the water temperature to protect the user. This needs to be turned UP.

The tank under the sink is not very big, so running out of hot water is probably because the tank is too small.

Or, the tank is full of limescale, so capacity is reduced.

Or, the immersion element is coated with limescale, so takes ages to heat the water up.

We are assuming there is NO gas boiler or water heater in this apartment. Is this correct?

Is this a studio apartment with severe limitation on space?

katrina123

Does two hours of switching it on, and it not being TOO hot, sound like its not set to full?

I dont think there is a gas boiler, the whole apartment/flat (pretty small) is electric, I do not get gas bill.
Dont know what a water heater is.

Pincher

katrina123 wrote: »

hi
ive noticed our hot water is always tooooo hot.
Im guessing this is increasing the gas bill.
gas boiler heats water up in our house.

what setting should i use? for hot water for shower etc.

"setting the thermostat at 60°C/140°F is fine for bathing? "

we have lifestyle LP722 thing in kitchen, im assuming its set from this box??

thanks.

Have you moved house since November 2009?

Assuming the RED knob in your picture is the thermostatic mixing valve, turn it. The kitchen sink should have hot water, check the temperature there.