It is disconcerting to watch utility bills spiral out of control. That’s probably the main reason why some decide to go tankless with their water heater. Why not? It is environmentally-friendly, highly efficient, and will help you save in the long run despite the high upfront cost. Saving on fuel usage
will also lower your carbon footprint. But making sure you get the optimal temperature setting can be tricky. Tankless water heaters normally have a default temp setting of 120°F and will not go any hotter than that. It is a safety measure that heater companies devised to prevent accidental scalding, especially if you have children. It is also one way of saving energy to help you cut off on fuel consumption. If you need to crank it up, a few tinkers on the control panel will help you do that. So in this post, we provide the steps on how to set the temperature on a tankless water heater. The second one is POU or point-of-use devices. It functions by heating water very near the water outlet like the faucet, bathtub, or showerhead. Installation of multiple POU devices allows individual control of temperature from these outlets or exit points. They are ideal for homes with water consumption that is higher than 40 gallons a day. However, they are prone to producing a limited water supply when water outlets are used simultaneously. Related: Rheem Water Heater – Ultimate Troubleshooting Guide But some people are not here just for the 120°F. So, if you need a temperature that is hotter than the default, here is what you need to do. This step-by-step guide directs you to set your desired tankless water heater temperature setting. The display on the LED panel may vary from brand to brand, but these are the general functions that most units have:
For the POU device, adjusting the control panel’s thermostat will let you individually adjust the remote panel by the water outlet. If you are using the whole-house system, be wary about the risk of scalding. Make sure that you set the right temp especially if you are using it on children. It is beneficial for preventing bacterial growth and for keeping the body energized. It is manageable enough, but certainly not for children younger than four years old. And even if your thermostat allows, never go beyond the 140°F thermostat setting. It is also important to understand that the 140°F is mostly used for commercial purposes only.  If you want a hot water heater, the tankless option is an innovative and highly sustainable item for a household water heating system as opposed to a tank water heater. It produces hot water on demand making it highly efficient and cost-saving. Tankless water heaters are advantageous in many ways. However, one of its downsides is that it is prone to producing inconsistent water temperatures. Sizing up your tankless heater to your average consumption is the solution for maintaining a hot water supply. Knowing how to set the temperature on a tankless water heater may also help solve the dilemma. March 19, 2021 Blog post by Mike Henry, Rheem® Plumber Support Technical Trainer and Master Plumber There are some ways to get more hot water out of an existing water heater without upgrading its size. You can raise the temperature up from the factory setting of 120° to 140° and then add a mixing valve that mixes the overheated water with cold water to make that stored hot water go further. There are some downsides to that option though so I’d recommend a water heater booster in many cases for long-term cost savings and reliability. What Is a Water Heater Booster?Working off of Rheem’s tankless electric water heater platform comes “the Booster.” The Water Heater Booster is a Rheem-exclusive tankless electric water heater that is installed directly onto the hot water outlet of a tank-type water heater. This can either be done during a new tank install or installed onto an existing tank. The power needed to energize the Booster is the same power that is already powering the tank. No new power source is required, which is a game-changer! How It WorksThe existing power is routed into the Booster and then from the Booster into the tank. The Booster then acts as a switch, or controller, of this new water heating system. For the most part, the Booster does nothing, except to allow water to flow through itself. However, once the temperature of the water passing through gets down to a pre-set activation temperature, it switches the power “off” to the tank and simultaneously “on” to itself. That power is now delivered to the heating element contained in the Booster’s heating chamber, which is part of the waterway that the tank water is travelling through. Most single-element tankless electric water heaters can’t produce hot enough water to meet the flow rates created by shower heads or sink faucets because the temperature of the incoming water is too low, or the flow rate is too fast. There’s just not enough time to heat the water up from a low inlet temperature to a higher desired outlet temperature. For instance, to increase your home’s incoming water temperature to a comfortable shower temperature (somewhere around 108° to 112°) is almost impossible with a small electric tankless water heater. There’s only so much power you can apply to it and it’s travelling through the heater’s waterways too fast to be able to raise the temperature up to where you want it. The Booster, however, is installed right at the outlet of your tank. Therefore, it’s not subjected to those lower inlet temperatures. The water coming out of the tank has already been heated. Controlling Your BoosterThe Booster is fully programmable for when you would like it to come on (activation temperature) and what temperature you’d like it to produce (outlet temperature). Let’s say for instance we set the activation temperature to 108° and we set the outlet temperature to 120°. Also, we have our tank temperature set at 120°. When someone uses hot water, such as taking a shower, the water coming out of the tank is 120° and being sent to the shower valve. Once there, it’s mixed with some cold water to lower it to the optimal 110°, or so, that most of us shower in. Soon, the water coming out of the tank drops to 119°, and then 118°, and so on. Eventually, if they continue to shower, or they complete their shower and the next shower begins, the temperature of the water coming out of the tank will reach the activation set point of the Booster, which we said was 108°. As soon as that happens, the inlet thermistor located in the Booster will tell the control board to redirect the incoming power from the tank to the Booster itself and begin heating the water travelling through it. At this point, it only has to make up a temperature differential of 12°. The Booster can do that with little effort. As the showers continue there will come a point that it cannot maintain the outlet set point. By then, more than likely all of the hot water needs have been met. Once the Booster cannot meet the set point demand, and the water is turned off, it will revert the power back to the tank which will go through its normal reheating/recovery process. The idea is to only have the Booster provide this extra “boost” of hot water during higher than normal demand. Otherwise, it just sits and does nothing. This causes the Booster to be extremely low maintenance and have a long product life. And as long as it isn’t operating, it isn’t using any energy and therefore not costing the homeowner anything. This means lifetime operating costs are significantly lower than when using a higher set temperature and a mixing valve. Increasing Your Hot Water OutputBy adding the Booster to an existing tank, it’s like increasing the size of that tank by approximately 45%. For example, a 40-gallon tank would be able to deliver the equivalent of nearly a 60-gallon. A 50-gallon would convert to almost a 75-gallon and an 80-gallon would give almost a 120-gallon equivalent! It also makes more sense than adding a second tank, since that would require bringing an additional power source to operate it, not to mention taking up additional space! Again, the Booster uses the existing power at the tank and never uses that power at the same time as the tank. It’s also pretty easy to install, so it’s a small investment and a great way to overcome those “running out of hot water” instances that come up from time to time. Another good use of the Booster is when a 40-gallon tank is required, but there is only room for a 30-gallon tank. By installing the 30-gallon and adding the Booster, the hot water needs are more than met without having to make room for a larger (or second) tank. The Booster also makes a great companion to a low-boy tank, since these are usually put in when there are extreme space issues. Three Options for Increasing OutputHere’s a breakdown of the three ways to increase your hot water output.
Mike Henry is one of Rheem’s technical trainers for plumbers. He’s a third-generation plumber who managed his own business for many years and enjoyed working in the field. He maintains his Master Plumber licenses in Georgia and Florida. What temperature should a tankless Rheem water heater be?120 degrees Fahrenheit is the safety recommendation against scalding, but 140° is the common default setting. Most experts agree that anything below 120 degrees creates a risk for bacteria to develop inside your water heater from stagnant water, such as legionella that causes Legionnaire's disease.
Why is my tankless water heater not getting hot enough?If your tankless water heater is not providing enough hot water or is not working, this is a sign the system has reached its limit. This issue can cause your water heater to shut down when you need warm water. If your system is overloaded, you may need to let the water heater reset.
|
How to increase temperature on rheem tankless water heater
Related Posts
Copyright © 2024 muatrau Inc.
