Boiling Water in Hot Water Tank

sparky0138

Our hot water tank is set to heat for only 20 minutes in the morning and 20 minutes in the evening. We only use the shower so don't need it for baths. All we use it for is washing up and getting washed in a morning and I would describe it as hot enough to need a little cold adding to it but not boiling hot.

At the back of my mind somewhere I seem to remember reading something ages ago that said you should make sure you properly boil your tank every 6 months or whatever for health and safety reasons only I can't find anything about it online. Does anyone know if this is actually advised or did I dream it?

Grenage

You just need to make sure the water is above the minimum safety level for legionnaire's - which I think is around 60C+.

bris

You don't need to boil the water no.


Legionnaires is above 50 degrees, actually it's also below 20 degrees for the cold water outlet. It thrives between (20 and 50 degrees)


I always set hot water tanks at 60 degrees.

Rodders53

http://www.hse.gov.uk/healthservices/legionella.htm

Dormant below 20C. Killed at 60C+

Most homes no issues. But some, who store water at lower temps, are advised to heat to 60C weekly.

sparky0138

Many thanks for the replies. I'll have to get a thermometer and check the temperature of the water coming out of the tap.

I'm assuming that setting the tank to 60 degrees would only work to stop it overheating. If the timer overrides it and it doesn't reach that temperature then presumably setting it would be redundant.

The various dials and switches on ours don't have any temperatures on as far as I can see.