Hot water temperature

[speedog]

I was just finished up using the meat thermometer on something in the oven and decided to see how hot our hot water was - topped out at 148F/64.4C..

Now there are no youngsters in our home and as such, having the water set a bit warmer isn't much of a worry. That said, I am curious how hot others have their hot water coming out of the tap.

[ExtraSlow]

I do have youngsters in my home, and my hot water tops out at 154F. I have previously set it higher, but was worried about scalding. As the kids get bigger, I will probably turn it up.
Even with the 60 gallon tank, we do occasionally run out of hot water. Probably because we have a big jetted soaker tub, and I like to fill it to max capacity to make a swimming pool for the kiddies.

[C_Dave45]

Holy crap that's hot!! The youngest in our house is 21 now. I just so happened to have done the same thing last week, stuck the thermometer into a cup of hot tap water...125°. And I LOVE a hot shower. Hotter the better. LIke step-out-of-the-shower-and-be-red-all-over-hot!
I think I'll go turn my HWH up now!!

[G]

Aside from burning more gas are there any side affects from running the hot water tank so hot? Wear and tear on the tank? Pipes? Fixtures?

[ExtraSlow]

Weird, I decided to check again today, just because I wondered if last time the water wasn't fully hot after a shower or anything. This morning, with no significant hot water usage since last night, the top reading I could get to is 125F.
Wonder if the tank heats beyond the set point for a short time before settling down to it's "storage" temp? That would make some sense to me.

So Dave, try checking the temperature ten minutes after one of your really hot showers. Be interesting to see if your reading is higher like mine was.

[C_Dave45]

^ Ohhh interesting. I can see that being the case. I'll try that. Haven't turned it up yet. (Forgot to).