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Interesting. 120 can still scald, but you need to be pretty slow. The standard tempering valve plumbers install runs 70-120 so it's tamperproof.

Eggz, do you have access to the water heater, and does it have one of these or something like it?




If it's there, it's possible its simply malfunctioning due to scale buildup. I just replaced one that was giving lukewarm water, and have done several more in the past couple of years.

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The standard bathtub, which measures 60 inches long by 30 inches wide, holds approximately 35 to 50 gallons of water.

Fill your bath with only hot water and see when the hot water runs out -- should be at 30 or 40 gallons depending on your hot water heater size.

The recovery time is the time the water heater takes to reheat its entire supply of water, and depends on whether the heater is a gas or electric model. A gas water heater will recover in half the time of an electric unit. A 40-gallon gas water heater can recover in about an hour. Recovery for a 40-gallon electric water heater takes about two hours.

BTW - you will think you have hot water in 20 minutes but it is just the small amount of newly made hot water at the top of you hot water heater (not much) and it will not last very long in use.

I agree with Brewster as well. But as for the law (and I would NEVER run my 1-family house at these temps), this was from the NJ Housing Code:

Utility requirements
From October 1 to May 1, the rental
premises shall be maintained at
a temperature of at least 68
degrees Fahrenheit between the hours of 6:00 a.
m. and 11:00 p.m.; between the hours of 11:00
p.m. and 6:00 a.m. the rental premises shall be
maintained at a temperatur
e of at least 65 degrees
Fahrenheit. The hot water temperature should be
maintained at a minimum of 120 degrees and a
maximum of a 160 degrees Fahrenheit.

Looking to see what the legal minimum temperature should be. Landlord is being shady about the lack of hot water.

Brewster is correct - the max is 120 F. at the tap -- to protect small children -- but sadly this is too low for legionnaires.

https://www.osha.gov/dts/osta/otm/legionnaires/hotwater.html

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Are you talking max or min? Don't know min but max should be 120, 115 is better. Best practice is a heater set to 140 or so to kill Legionella, and a tempering valve to mix it to 115. You get more hot water this way too.

Anyone know what temperature hot water should be at legally for a residence?