7 ms·
Why is it specially allowed in hot water lines?
by tomjakubowski 3y ago
Why is it specially allowed in hot water lines?
- tgv 3y agoI think that is allowed because we don’t drink from the hot water tap.
- raincole 3y agoBut when I googled hot water tap the first images it showed were... uh... https://www.sinks-taps.com/articles/2018/9/21/the-benefits-of-an-instant-hot-water-kitchen-tap-boiling-water-tap-kettle-tap https://www.sinks-taps.com/articles/2018/9/21/the-benefits-o...
- fsckboy 3y agohahaha ok, but that product is a hot-water heater built into your kitchen tap to do away with your hot water kettle. Presumably, that's not plumbed to your teapot with a lead boiler and faucet. (weird, "plumbed" means "leaded")
- lainga 3y ago...We don't...? Who?
- xboxnolifes 3y agoIn the past it was common knowledge not to. It's of much more uncertainty as house plumbing has changed.
- crote 3y agoThat's because it is primarily a historical artifact[0]. Most modern plumbing heats water on-demand, which pretty much entirely avoids the risk of storage tank contamination or Legionella. [0]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfHgUu_8KgA
- mrguyorama 3y ago>Most modern plumbing heats water on-demand Where is this the case? These kind of things are extremely locational and here in the US it seems like 45 gallon hot water tanks are still the norm. We had a fad with "on demand" hot water heating but everyone gave up on it when the "it saves you money" part didn't work so well.
- wkat4242 3y agoHere in Europe the money saving works really well. The issue is that you need a lot of power to heat on demand. Meaning natural gas. Having an electrical connection strong enough to heat water for a shower is rare.
- callalex 3y agoI wouldn’t consider on-demand heaters to be all that modern. Places that use on-demand water heaters are now at a disadvantage because it is much more challenging to switch away from fossil fuels over to electric. Tanks, especially with a heat pump, can provide all the heating a household needs through a standard 120V15A socket. For on demand electric water heating you’re looking at upgrading main panels to supply an additional 240V20A and even that will struggle to heat the water enough in some winter climates.
- Gigachad 3y agoStorage tanks are extremely common in Australia, but they are run hot enough to kill anything and then get mixed with cold water to bring it back to the desired temp.
- amelius 3y agoI know people who fill their water boiler with hot tap water ...
- hutzlibu 3y agoMe too and it always felt wrong to me and never did it myself. Now I have a solid reason. Oh and you should not drink directly from the warm tab water, as warm water that was standing some time, has way more microorganisms .. a point my 2 year old is not yet accepting.
- nayuki 3y agoI fill my water distiller with hot tap water. Guaranteed to be safe. Yes, I'm talking about a machine that boils the water, collects the steam, and condenses it back to water. It removes absolutely everything.
- jhoechtl 3y agoYou shouldn't drink distilled water for a prolonged time as it will desalinate your body and depreve it from rare minerals.
- asdff 3y agoA banana probably has more than enough electrolytes to counter this
- explaininjs 3y agoAbsolutely everything… that has a boiling point higher than water’s. It won’t do anything to remove alcohol, for instance. Or any other contamination that boils off before water does. Ofc you could discard the head and tail of your distillation operation…
- nayuki 3y agoYes, you're right in a pedantic way =). I trust that my city's tap water doesn't have alcohol in it. After all, I previously and many people still drink it without extra filtering, and it's safe enough to do so. Relatedly, the standard technique in alcohol distillation is to discard the head because it contains toxic methanol. https://youtu.be/a1IruS1bKN8?t=672 https://youtu.be/a1IruS1bKN8?t=672
- uoaei 3y agoRestaurants are sometimes equipped with hot water lines from the water district and a filler tap right above or near the stove so that boiling water doesn't take so long.
- insanitybit 3y agoIf I'm making tea I do. I can't imagine that lead is boiling off...
- dboreham 3y agoThat's a terrible way to make tea, fwiw.
- insanitybit 3y agoI want to stress that I actually don't give a shit (I am not that into tea, I just drink it sometimes, it's not a big deal to me), but I am curious as to why.
- bmacho 3y agoUnrelated to the tea, but cold water is somewhat safer to drink than water coming from your boiler, that's why.
- insanitybit 3y agoIDK, they said "a terrible way to make tea", I'm assuming there's some sorta tea lore that I'm unaware of
- YokoZar 3y agoThere are tea drinkers that believe very strongly in using water that isn't "stale" (eg, leftover in the kettle from the last time). Presumably water from the hot water tap would be stale for similar reasons. I think the theory is that "stale" water lacks sufficient oxygen for tea brewing to fully brew or something.
- mlyle 3y agoIt's not O2: if you let water sit out, various things (including CO2) dissolve in it, making it slightly acidic and taste stale. I'm not a big tea drinker, but I am definitely not a super fan of water that's been sitting out a day. There's not been time for stuff to grow in it yet, but it still tastes gross.
- thfuran 3y agoIf the water was already hot because I was doing something else, I'll make soup or pasta with a pot of hot water. If the kitchen were closer to my water heater, I'd do it more consistently.
- giantg2 3y agoYou're never supposed to cook with hot tap water. Even if lead is not a concern, there are other possible contaminants that can leech from plastic and copper pipes, or from the tank itself.
- kortilla 3y agoThis is not taught in the US and we blend hot and cold together. Why are the lines blended at the faucet if that’s the case?
- giantg2 3y agoThere's a lot that's not formally taught in the US. But I'm in the US and this is a thing. The blended faucets are fine. If it was set to hot or some blend with hot in it, you set it to cold and let it run for 1-3 seconds.
- kortilla 3y agoNo, it’s blended because hot water is fine in the US. We don’t use hot water tanks that sit on rooftops and accumulate bird shit.
- munificent 3y agoIf you ever find yourself cleaning the inside of a hot water heater some day, it will disabuse you of that habit. I'm sure it's mostly harmless, but they accumulate a truly horrific amount of mineral deposits and other weird gunk in there.
- thfuran 3y ago
- sokoloff 3y agoIt's not allowed in any water lines used for drinking or cooking. I would read that as not allowed on hot water lines serving the kitchen for sure (and I suspect most plumbers would agree). The warning on items from my plumbing supply house for lead containing items is prominent, pops up on each "add to cart", and says "This product does not comply with the “Safe Drinking Water Act,” which requires that products meet low-lead standards in order to be used in systems providing water for human consumption (drinking or cooking). This item is for non-potable (non-human consumption) water applications only." It is allowed in hydronic heating, HVAC/R, and irrigation fittings (which of course don't have a human consumption element to them).
- bluGill 3y agoHot water heating is where it is allowed. Some houses have hot water heating which should never touch tap water and so lead won't be a problem (well it might be to plumbers working on it). Lead is an amazing material, too bad it is toxic, because from a materials stand point it is very useful to put a little into many different metals to useful properties.