How hot is your shower?

[Darkslider]

I've got to set the thermostat for my hot water tank, and once it's set I can't change it without draining the tank completely. I want the water temperature to be hot enough for a comfortable shower, at this temperature it will also do for hot water taps around the house, washing up, shaving, etc.

So what is a comfortable temperature for a shower? I went swimming the other day and thought the changing room showers were a little on the cold side.

I had thought it would be human core temperature plus a bit. Does 40 degrees celcius sound about right?

[rsv gone!]

The temp on the cylinder should be hot enough to kill off bacteria like Legionella which, I think, means 55C.

[Darkslider]

Our water supply is from a natural spring not the mains if that makes any difference. The idea for this setup is because we don't always have a continuous supply of cold water, it dries up in summer, so the hot tank is always filled before the cold. This way if the temperature is set to normal shower temp I can still have a shower with no cold water, without getting scalded.

[This Side Down]

68.5°c precisely.

[markmullen]

If my girlfriend is anything to go by sufficiently warm to take a teabag in and brew up

[bazking69]

Hot enough without being so hot that it suddenly scalds you mid shower

[Darkslider]

This Side Down said:

68.5°c precisely.

Is this 100%? Seems a little warm compared to other suggestions. Anyone else back this up?

[911DM]

When I had a hot water tank (have a combi now) I set it to about 55 degrees c. This is too hot to use on its own i.e. with no cold water mixed in. If you are just using hot water then i'd say about 40 degrees c. Not sure of the bacterial implications of this - see earlier reply on legionnaires....

I run the combi at about the same.

[dirkgently]

Darkslider said:

This Side Down said:

68.5°c precisely.

Is this 100%? Seems a little warm compared to other suggestions. Anyone else back this up?

60°c is hot enough to scald, 43°c (+3°c if you are a woman) should do it.

[nigelfr]

IIRC should be at least 60°C because of the Legionella risk. Although often associated with air conditioning, legionella is actually commonly found in water supplies.

There's a fact sheet here:
http://www.allerdale.gov.uk/downloads/page139/legi...

Edited by nigelfr on Sunday 7th June 17:17

[HiRich]

If my shower thermostat is remotely accurate, 42-43 for a reasonable shower, 45 for something more bracing.

[SoapyShowerBoy]

The safety on my thermostatic valve is set to 38C. To get it above that I need to press a clip in, 42 seems to be just nice!

[This Side Down]

dirkgently said:

Darkslider said:

This Side Down said:

68.5°c precisely.

Is this 100%? Seems a little warm compared to other suggestions. Anyone else back this up?

60°c is hot enough to scald, 43°c (+3°c if you are a woman) should do it.

BAH!

We're MEN! It's not like we actually use the damn thing, is it?

[mk1fan]

The temperature needs to be hot enough to kill off legoinela but thiswill be too hot for a shower. Unfortunately the 43 degrees setting for a shower is ideal temp for breeding of bacteria. If you fancy having a shower in 'infected' water then set the temp low. If you don't, then install a cold water storage tank to feed the shower and set the hwc temp to 63.5.

[tenohfive]

Stupid question, and apologies if its going off topic slightly - but if he doesn't run off the mains water supply, is there still a risk of legionella?

[mk1fan]

Yes. Legionella is not a mains water problem.

Edited by mk1fan on Thursday 11th June 10:53