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Water heater economy

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george65:

The hot water coming from my water heater does not seem all that hot. I can keep my hand in the water for short periods which means it's around 50o.
I cannot see any tempering devise on the tank or anywhere else so I assume ( haven't checked yet) it's what the tank is set at.

Normally I like the hot water system dialed right up because it gives you more hot water basically when you use less.
I was going to check and see what the thermostat is set at but then I got to thinking.  There are only 3 of us here and my wife and I take pretty quick showers and my daughter does not shower every day.  The system is 250L so we have heaps even when my daughter does take 7 showers in one and is in there till she looks like a prune.

I was wondering what is the most economical setting to have a water heater?
Turn the thing right up so you use much less mixing it with cold water, use more cooler water or it does not matter?
I have some thoughts but I won't divulge them to influence responses, i'd just like to hear if here are and tests/ studies/ facts on this prefrably and then opinion and what that is based on.  Generally we shower at night and the heater is offpeak so generally we are showering 18hrs after the off peak has finished and the water has been sitting there.

The tank is right behind the main bathroom, 1 room away from the en suite and we don't hot/ warm wash except for the very odd occasion in winter when the water is cold and my clothes are greasy. Water heater is also right behind laundry.
The tank cops the full sun from at least midday on and it feel almost hot in the afternoons even though it is a mid density colour. I'm thinking of painting the thing black to attract as much warmth as possible. I don't much like the look of the thing or where it is so the other idea was to enclose it and wrap the whole thing in home insulation bats to help with reducing heat loss....if it would make any difference.

I don't want to get into one of these chasing every watt/ Kj of heat scenarios but if a bit of extra insulation would make a difference, not much work of any significance to do it.

Main thing ATM is  if using more cooler water is more economical, use less hotter water or it's 6 of one and half dozen of the other?

frackers:
Legionnaires disease bacteria thrive from 20-45c but are killed by over 60c. My DHW system (overkill with 30 tubes) has a mains topup so that if the temperature does not go over 60c for 10 days it will crank it up from the grid.

At this time of year its venting (I have it set at a very low 80c) a couple of times a day.

george65:
Pretty sure you can't set it under 60, probably for that reason.
I was thinking more the lowest or highest setting which I think is 80 C

dnix71:
You can set it as hot as you like, but there is supposed to be a fast clamp at the shower and faucets so if it comes out above about 117F it gets shut off.
You would not use this on a dishwasher.

http://www.cashacme.com/product/tafr/ Direct thread on, no power needed.

If you can't be sure no one would be hurt by direct contact with the hot water if the cold/hot mix failed, the auto shutoff could literally save your skin or life.

Otherwise letting warm water sit in a tank will grow bacteria. There is no completely automated simple way to balance the 2 risks - scalding vs. legionaires.
https://canadasafetycouncil.org/home-safety/heated-debate-about-hot-water

OperaHouse:
There are tempering valves that go on the tank between the cold and hot side that blend water to the desired temperature. Often called tank boosters because they can make a 40 gal tank perform like a 70 gal tank.  We are exposed to Legionares bacteria and that sort every day of our lives.  It is only a problem in massive quantities and those of compromised health.  The water is chlorinated, fairly free of nutrients and changes quite often.  And what about all the stuff growing in pipes that is turned into a mist when first turned on.  Lower temp is not really an issue.

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