Hot Water Temp in Shower
We have baseboard heat heated by our hot water heater. The temperature of the hot water heater is set very high to provide efficient heat (or so I am told…). The problem is it’s VERY hot, scalding. We have children and I’m worried about them taking showers and scalding themselves. What can be done? Is…
We have baseboard heat heated by our hot water heater. The temperature of the hot water heater is set very high to provide efficient heat (or so I am told…). The problem is it’s VERY hot, scalding. We have children and I’m worried about them taking showers and scalding themselves. What can be done? Is the only option one of those hotel style water controls (we have separate hot/cold knobs now)? How much would it cost to install one? I imagine we’d also have to get tile repair work done. Is that expensive? (Honestly, I’d love to re-do the tile too – it’s a rental and it was done terribly). Thanks.
Sure. it might be a boiler. I don’t know. It’s about 2-3x the size of a regular hot water heater I’m used to seeing. I can’t remember the name – I’m not at home. (FWIW, our upstairs neighbors have a tankless that does the same thing – supplies hotwater to heater and sinks/showers, etc).
Master Plvmber, I’m not sure what you’re referring to as “this illegal” – meaning if it’s a domestic hotwater heater? Or that the water goes back to the hotwater heater/boiler is illegal? (I’m not sure what it does, to tell you the truth). Is there no such thing as one unit that does both?
Err..if its really a hot water heater, then I retract my suggestion. But are you sure its not a boiler with a hot water coil? Does it have a brand name/model # you could share?
Sounds like you need a thermostatic mixing valve. It is located at the domestic hot water takeoff from the boiler and mixes an appropriate amount of boiler-temp water and cold water to reach a set temperature.
It’s not unlike a thermostatic shower valve, but it will deal with the overheated water at all hot water sources (sinks, showers, etc). And it might be cheaper to install b/c you won’t have to break open the shower tile.
Obviously your plumber is not licensed or surely he would be concerned about doing something this illegal.
Using a domestic water heater to make space heating creates a very unsanitary condition as well as the danger of scalding you’re experiencing. His comments relating water temperature to efficiency are further evidence he doesn’t know what he’s doing.
These are the people I lose work to because they’re half my price.
170 is waaay too high, should be 120-130 max. I think you can add a tempering valve where the hot water pipe feeds off the heater. Won’t affect the baseboards.
Actually our apartment had the same problem. Once winter hit and the heat came on the hot water would be almost boiling when it came out of the taps. If you ran the hot water long enough like taking a long shower or more than one apartment was using it, it would then cause the heat to turn off.
Hot water for baseboard heater comes from hotwater heater (it also supplies the hot water to our sinks/shower). In other words, one hot water heater supplies both our baseboard heaters and our sinks/shower. It’s not tankless. It’s big. From early 80s. As far as we can access, no way to set temperature easily (like the dial on traditional hotwater heater). The plumber has told us that if he reduces the temperature of the water, the baseboard heat won’t be hot enough and will be very inefficient.
The scalding could occur during flushes/using kitchen sink/dishwasher running. But the regular temp is so hot, it could really happen merely from having the hot water on with no cold water mixed in to temper (something a child could do by accident). I’m not sure it would scald an adult with brief exposure, but it would probably scald a child with more sensitive skin, and with less ability to react quickly in the situation and jump out of the stream or turn hot water off. It’s HOT.
sounds fishy to me. Never heard of this.
Baseboard water goes thru the hotwater tank? recirculating…and that also suppies your sink and shower taps??? gross
When you say that the baseboard heat comes from the hot water heater, does that mean that this is a boiler with a tankless coil????
There are temperature controls at the boiler but there have to be minimums set to get proper heating.
Does the scalding only occur at certain times like when the toilet is flushed or someone else runs the cold water??? You need a thermostatic valve in the shower. hey are not expensive but yes, the installation will be more expensive than the valve, especially with new tile work.