# does setting temp high on WH shorten life?



## klempner (Mar 4, 2011)

Have had two water heaters that i have installed leak within 5 years. Good customers. a lot more that haven't leaked, but still, very frustrating. in both cases, i noticed temp was set nearly max. Wondering if keeping temp that hot is a factor in how long tank lasts. also had the impeller on TACO circ pump fall apart after two years. same thing: set nearly max temp. I called TACO and they said temp shouldn't have mattered. But i'm wondering if keeping a tank that hot kills it. and recirc impellers maybe also.

plenty of WH here make it 20-25 years. average seems to be 10-15. people don't like it when it's only 5.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

I honestly believe it does have a factor on tank life. I, thankfully, use to work on some apartment buildings that use the appalo or now state system. I'm sure it's a great idea for mild climates, but certainly not northern.

Obviously we had mixing valves, but to keep the apt at 65-70 on super cold nights the maintenance guy would have to max the heaters. If lucky they'd last five years, but average was about three years. If that is from the temp or just really crappy manufacturing by State??? The state heaters didn't seem to last as long as the appalo. 

As far as circ pumps.... haven't seen any pattern.


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## Tommy plumber (Feb 19, 2010)

With the hotter temperatures, the W/H is going through heating cycles more so than with lower temperatures. When water is heated, some of the particulate matter comes out of solution and settles to the bottom. So more of this would occur with higher temperatures. Not sure if that stresses the tank anymore on not. 


Maybe these {2} tanks were dropped or knocked around during shipping and delivery causing tiny cracks in the glass lining. That in turn will allow the water to attack the steel faster. Who knows?


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## hanzkunzel (Feb 24, 2017)

I'm going to throw my 2 cents in here and also suggest water quality paired with high heat. I've seen two water heaters 20+ years old on max and when I pulled them and the tanks were spotless still. To me that says water quality is the main culprit but gets compounded when paired with high heat. 

(Fun fact of the day, one of those was an Electric State 40 Gal from 1991 and both elements were nearly perfect looking too. Second one was a 40 Gal NAT AO SMITH from 1980 and both were pulled working still)


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## klempner (Mar 4, 2011)

i guess it could be water quality, but I've installed maybe 20 or 30 others within a few miles of one of the locations. my entire service area all has the same water source. i checked the anode rod on one of them and it was still 95%. i thought about cutting the top off to see if i could figure anything out. but i didn't. hopefully it's not related to heat.

had one a couple of years ago that didn't make it six years and that one was on a water softener, so that's what i attributed that one to.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

I've installed brand new BW and Lochnivar heaters that leaked as soon as you turned water on. Very rare, only happened once for each, but things just aren't made to be bulletproof anymore.


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## plumberkc (Jun 23, 2011)

OpenSights said:


> I've installed brand new BW and Lochnivar heaters that leaked as soon as you turned water on. Very rare, only happened once for each, but things just aren't made to be bulletproof anymore.




Are you 100% sure it wasn't your leak? I've seen 1000 out of 1000 go without leaking. Have had them leak gas or had voltage issues from the factory. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

plumberkc said:


> Are you 100% sure it wasn't your leak? I've seen 1000 out of 1000 go without leaking. Have had them leak gas or had voltage issues from the factory.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I'm talking about the tank leaking.


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

A couple of other factors city or well water.

Water softener will allow chemicals to bond inside the system faster than non-softned water.


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## klempner (Mar 4, 2011)

Neither of my two failures had water softener. but i noticed the owners' manuals are now warning about water softeners.


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## smilehvac99 (Mar 28, 2017)

EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recommends setting your water heater at 120 degrees. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) recommends setting your water heater thermostat at 140 degrees under certain circumstances.


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## mtfallsmikey (Jan 11, 2010)

Thermal shock - temp. of incoming water can hurt.


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## OpenSights (Mar 23, 2015)

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smilehvac99 said:


> EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recommends setting your water heater at 120 degrees. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) recommends setting your water heater thermostat at 140 degrees under certain circumstances.


Hi! What's your name?:yes:


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## GAN (Jul 10, 2012)

And where is your intro?????


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## sparky (Jan 8, 2014)

smilehvac99 said:


> EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) recommends setting your water heater at 120 degrees. OSHA (Occupational Safety & Health Administration) recommends setting your water heater thermostat at 140 degrees under certain circumstances.


 Never seen or heard of you before hoss,gots to be a licensed plumber to be on this drop dead fantastic board:yes:


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