Bradford White temp

ChrisJ

I'm just curious why this setting on both mine and my dad's heater which is 10 years older than mine both results in 140f water. They're both essentially the same power vent 50gal heater with the same recirculating setup plumbed the same.

That's what we want...... So that's good. But it seems wrong by today's expectations and "hot".

EdTheHeaterMan

I have to agree with you that 140°F is HOT.

Are you saying that your HOT is different than your father's HOT?

If your water is too hot, you can try this:

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1865635#Comment_1865635

No,

My hot and his hot are the same and they both agree with both heater's hots.

But the rest of the world doesn't, so that's weird.

EdTheHeaterMan

I agree that 140° is HOT. I guess you mean that the "rest of the world doesn't" other than me you and your father

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1865637#Comment_1865637

Yeah I can go with that.

Actually if you look, mine isn't even on HOT it's just below it.

I guess very hot is 190.

EdTheHeaterMan

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1865638#Comment_1865638

I would not assign a number to that setting. …which is, in my opinion, the best thermostat designation system on earth.

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1865644#Comment_1865644

My original reason for posting is id expect that "hot" setting to be 120-ish. Just seemed interesting.

mattmia2

it usually says what the settings are in the manual. residential equipment usually won't go over a setpoint of 140

EBEBRATT-Ed

I have found that as well. Most water heaters (gas) that I have seen are usually set on the mid to lower end of the scale

ChrisJ

HVACNUT

So "Hot" should be 120°, but its really 140°. That's why they don't put actual temperature settings on the dial. There's not enough space to add "ish" to each reading.

ChrisJ

I understand tolerances, cheap thermostats etc.

I was more hoping to get feedback from those who sell hundreds of these heaters to see if it was typical, or just a complete fluke that two of them lined up perfectly like this.

It doesn't effect my sleep at night, I'm simply curious.

Also wondering if it's somehow the recirculating setup, although I can't imagine how.

hot_rod

I think years ago manufacturers changed both the dial readings and also the highest possible temperature setting after a lot of soft tissue lawsuits start happening. I though 140 was about as high as you could set a residential tank now?

Electric hw tanks used to have temperature numbers, now they show hot, to very hot or something similar.

mattmia2

The lack of numbers isn't because the thermostat is inaccurate but because stagnation can mean the temp at the outlet can be very different than the temp at the thermostat.

What is the temp of the recirculation return? If it is below the set point it will cool the thermostat and make the tank hotter.

Larry Weingarten

Hi, Even the old gas heaters had temp markings. Not long ago modern thermostats were accurate to within 20 degrees. I've heard more recently it's 30. I've also experienced room temperature affecting temp output of the heater living in that room. So, measure what comes from the tap, or use IR to look at things, but the dial on the heater is nothing but a rough estimation… and try not to lose sleep! 😴

Yours, Larry

ChrisJ

https://forum.heatinghelp.com/discussion/comment/1865690#Comment_1865690

Holy cow…

I think you hit the nail on the head Matt.

I'm almost positive both mine and my dad's are set to turn off at roughly 120F.

I thought it was on at 110, off at 120. That's measured at the short length of copper pipe right at the heater.

mattmia2

this is just a guess but i suspect you have a small system that holds maybe 2 or 3 gallons of water so the recirculation pump comes on, dumps a couple gallons of cold water in the bottom of the tank then stops. It doesn't run long enough to stir up the tank, just long enough to put the cold water from the pipes in front of the t-stat.