 Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | reply to Raphion
Re: Deadly Amoebas Found in Tankless Water Heater How about our young, elderly and disabled? Why heat the water to 140 degrees when it's not needed and costs fortune to do? I do just fine at 120 degrees. |
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| said by Jack_in_VA:How about our young, elderly and disabled? Why heat the water to 140 degrees when it's not needed and costs fortune to do? I do just fine at 120 degrees.
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey | reply to Jack_in_VA
My daughter is smart enough not to hold her hands under excessively hot water. 
I set my water heater to provide 125 F at the kitchen tap. |
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To each his own ofc. I like hot water for cleaning/laundry, and it goes much farther for showers/baths. I'm not young (anymore), though it didn't hurt me when I was, not eldery quite yet, and not disabled though. |
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 Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | reply to Bob
Seems to me scalding hurts or kills more people than man eating microscopic creatures in the water. »www.google.com/search?q=toddler+···ie=UTF-8
If you live on your own, or have non-child people only in the household, it is fine. Be sure to warn any guests though. For me it is the other way around. In my house, I have a paraplegic child. He also cannot talk. He cannot tell us when something is hurting or not right. Water cannot get hotter than 120. I never have to worry about his nurse or anyone else accidentally scalding him. |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey Reviews:
 ·Optimum Online
| You obvious have a special case. But in general, parents are raising a nation of wimps.
See - »www.amazon.com/Nation-Wimps-High···67924037
For example, when I grew up, we didn't have electrical outlet covers. You were told not to stick anything in there, and if you did, you found out why and would never do it again! Get burned? You learned! |
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Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | That's going off on another subject. I agree with you in that our kids are getting wimpy. But I don't think avoiding scalding a toddler makes them wimpy. I have an exceptional case, but check my google search link to see it happens all the time to kids all over the place. Get scalded in the bath your irresponsible parent ran, you learn to not take baths? |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey | I think avoiding exposure to things like Legionnaire's Disease by setting the water heater to 135 F is a valid trade off to the slight risk of being scalded. The single-handle, pressure balanced faucets makes that very unlikely. |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey | reply to Lurch77
Our school has had to decontaminate their plumbing because they set the hot water to the ideal temperature for growing nasty bacteria. |
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Lurch77Premium
join:2001-11-22
Oconto, WI
kudos:4 | reply to Bob
I don't know how we've all managed to live as long as we have. |
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Jack_in_VAPremium
join:2007-11-26
Mathews, VA
kudos:1 | reply to Bob
said by Bob:I think avoiding exposure to things like Legionnaire's Disease by setting the water heater to 135 F is a valid trade off to the slight risk of being scalded. The single-handle, pressure balanced faucets makes that very unlikely.
No I think you have it backwards. The slight risk of contracting Legionnaires Disease is very slight. The chance of getting scalded is very high.
There is no rational reason to exceed the CDC recommendation of 120 degrees for the the setting. |
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BobAccount deleted
join:2012-07-22
New Jersey Reviews:
·Optimum Online
| said by Jack_in_VA:There is no rational reason to exceed the CDC recommendation of 120 degrees for the the setting. Or maybe there is:
said by CDC :
Households with water heater temperatures <=125°F were significantly more likely to harbor nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) compared with households with hot water temperatures >=130°F...
Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are opportunistic pathogens found in the environment (e.g., water and soil) and cause life-threatening infections in humans, other mammals, and birds. The incidence of NTM disease in Canada and the United States seems to be increasing... NTM are not transient contaminants of drinking water distribution systems; rather, the NTM grow and persist in plumbing.
»wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/3/p···1510.pdf |
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 marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:2 | said by Bob:said by Jack_in_VA:There is no rational reason to exceed the CDC recommendation of 120 degrees for the the setting. Or maybe there is: said by CDC :
Households with water heater temperatures <=125°F were significantly more likely to harbor nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) compared with households with hot water temperatures >=130°F...
NTM disease cases number less than 4,000 per year, and the -vast- majority of those cases are from environmental airborne exposure.
Since, you know, you have to inhale them to contact disease from them. A hotter shower is actually much more dangerous of a risk exposure because of that.
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| reply to Jack_in_VA
said by Jack_in_VA:How about our young, elderly and disabled? Why heat the water to 140 degrees when it's not needed and costs fortune to do? I do just fine at 120 degrees.
I have seen the "costs a fortune" argument a couple times. My summer bill averages $20, but the cost of the gas averages only $10. (the difference is the tax, and the charge for the meter that will be there regardless of how much gas I use) I keep my water heater at 140-145 degrees, and I just cant see that I will save "a fortune" by turning the heater down a dozen degrees.
I have a 40 gallon natural gas heater, and we are not shy about showers, dish washer use, and laundry. There are two adults and two large doggies so we do plenty of laundry.
I like hot showers, I like to be able to get the dishes clean in the dishwasher, and I like to get my dirty work clothes clean, so I am not turning down my water temperature any time soon. |
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1 edit | reply to Jack_in_VA
said by Jack_in_VA:How about our young, elderly and disabled? Why heat the water to 140 degrees when it's not needed and costs fortune to do? I do just fine at 120 degrees.
It doesn't cost more to keep at 140 than at 120 (not any amount that really matters anyway). The difference in standby losses is negligible compared to the amount of heat effectively used. You heat the water more, but you use a less of the hot water and more cold water.
Also 140F isn't that hot. And a mixing valve is a whole $35 and it shouldn't take a plumber more than 30min to install. |
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marigoldsGainfully employed, finallyPremium,MVM
join:2002-05-13
Saint Louis, MO
kudos:2 | reply to neonturbo
said by neonturbo:said by Jack_in_VA:How about our young, elderly and disabled? Why heat the water to 140 degrees when it's not needed and costs fortune to do? I do just fine at 120 degrees.
I have seen the "costs a fortune" argument a couple times. My summer bill averages $20, but the cost of the gas averages only $10. (the difference is the tax, and the charge for the meter that will be there regardless of how much gas I use) I keep my water heater at 140-145 degrees, and I just cant see that I will save "a fortune" by turning the heater down a dozen degrees. I have a 40 gallon natural gas heater, and we are not shy about showers, dish washer use, and laundry. There are two adults and two large doggies so we do plenty of laundry. I like hot showers, I like to be able to get the dishes clean in the dishwasher, and I like to get my dirty work clothes clean, so I am not turning down my water temperature any time soon. The difference with a tankless is not the difference in temperatures, even though there is a difference in temperature. It is the difference in standby loss and a host of other factors.
Turning a tank heater down 20 degrees is not going to change standby loss that much. Having no standby loss at all will (but only to an extent, since you are not spending that much on heating water in the first place). I still think the biggest advantage is that a tankless heater has a 20+ year life. 2 tanks are still cheaper than 1 tankless, but the gap in cost is small enough that the tankless probably saves you money and has a lot better performance. Sometimes the extra space if very valuable or the extra leak risk from a tank comes back to bite you too.
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