Heater Tank Temp too hot!!!

the newcomer

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I just replaced both my elements in my HW tank and the old ones were caked with calcium. It took maybe 30-40 mins for the 50 gallons to heat up. The thermostat is set to 150 degrees and was wondering now that I got new elements, should I turn the heat down to the next notch which is 125 degrees? Does it really make a difference? Heating bill would be cheaper I assume.
 
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The heating bill would not be less to any great extent. The standby loss in the water heater is modest. You would run out of hot water sooner; BUT 150 is way to high...that is a dangerous temperature.
 
Just what I've seen on the web...,

I read that in order to avoid bacteria growth in a HW tank, temp can be set at 120 degrees. Then, to avoid scalding at point of delivery, you can install a mixing valve on top of the heater. 150 degrees sounds too hot to me and dangerous if there aren't downstream controllers. There's lotsa' stuff on the web around Legionnaires' Disease that speaks to higher temps in the heater with mixer valves.

honeywell_tempering_2.jpg
 
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and I guess its that hot now because the old elements where so covered in calcium the previous owners probably had to turn it up to get it hot enough
 
Normally, the thermostat is similar to your heating system's...just turn the knob down. Where I live, they require a tempering valve to be installed on any new (replaced) WH. This way, you can set how hot you want the distribution temp, but can have the tank set higher for potential to kill any bacteria that might be around. calcium on the elements would only slow the recovery rate, not limit the ultimate temp.
 
My dad raised the temp on his water heater because he was running out of hot water during a shower. The tank had a bad dip tube.
david
 
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