Have you ever scalded your hand after turning on the hot tap? If so, it’s time we had a little chat about your system’s hot water tempering valve.
Why’s that? Because if it scalded you, imagine what it could do to someone else – like a child or a more vulnerable person? The culprit is almost certainly the tempering valve.
Did you know that at just 68°C, a full-thickness scald could occur after just one second of water exposure? If that water were 50°C, the scalding time would take five minutes.
According to the Victorian Building Authority, "At 68°C, it can take as little as one second to cause a full thickness scald. At 50°C degrees, it takes five minutes.".
It’s, therefore, no surprise that, in Victoria, 50°C is the legal maximum for your key hot water outlets – which is more than hot enough for a soothing soak or shower but low enough to avoid:
- Agonising pain
- Hospitalisation
- Skin grafts
- Lifetime scarring
- Potential death.
It’s, therefore, pretty much impossible to overstate the importance of that hot water system tempering valve – because it has a crucial and precise role to play. Hot water systems need to store hot water above 60°C to ward off the growth of bacteria like Legionella, but the tempering valve ensures it’s no more than 50°C at your end of the showerhead.
Hot Water Tempering Valve Problems – Do You Know What To Look Out For?
The most common issues of hot water systems are leaking hot water systems, discoloured or poor water quality (e.g. brown water) and low hot water pressure, but one problem often overlooked is a faulty tempering valve. If you suspect something’s not quite right with your tempering valve, don’t ignore it:
1. Temperature Not Right?
If everything seems fine with your hot water, but the temperature doesn’t seem right, your hot water tempering valve could be on the blink or incorrectly adjusted. Remember, if the water’s too cold rather than too hot, the culprit could still be the tempering valve.
2. Water Leaking?
Is it looking a little too damp on and around your system? Quite often, the tempering valve could be suffering a fault with a seal or corrosion.
3. Abnormal Water Flow?
Has your hot water outlet suddenly slowed to a trickle? The problem could be debris or a build-up of muck that has caused a tempering valve blockage.
4. Strange Noises?
If groans and rumbles have replaced the usual sounds of your hot water system, that could be the sound of overheating – due to a tempering valve failure.
Do you think your tempering valve may be letting you down? Of course, the easiest and safest thing to do is call your favourite plumber in Melbourne for hot water repairs – because messing about with this vital part of your system could make your situation a whole lot worse … and more expensive.
However, you may want to:
- Check if anyone has fiddled with the valve
- Flush the hot water line to clear a valve blockage.
Ezy-Plumb Are Your Local Tempering Valve Experts
But as we said above, the best thing to do to restore your system’s safety, and prevent any flow-on problems, such as pressure issues or major system faults, is to ask the skilled and experienced team at Ezy-Plumb to give your system and tempering valve a thorough check. The good news is that a tempering valve fix is not one of the more expensive hot water system problems – and our fully licensed plumbers have put dozens of them all over Melbourne’s Bayside area and beyond.
So don’t muck around with your hot water system tempering valve, and instead get Ezy-Plumb’s friendly, reliable and professional local Melbourne plumbers on the job today. We guarantee satisfaction every single time, so give us a call today.
