filling the kettle with hot water

[rogerc]

hi whilst waiting ages for a full kettle to boil last week it struck me that it would be much quicker (2.5 times)if i had filled it from the hot tap 70C instead of 15C. i tried it the next day and it was much quicker and the tea tasted fine so i plan to continue unless anyone can identify any real problems. i don't think there will be any health issues as i boil the water for tea or coffee and when boiling veg etc. if there aren't any problems i will probably add a rope filter to the hot feed as i only have one on the cold at the moment.

 

does anyone else do this? why not?

 

thanks

 

roger

[Laurie Booth]

hi whilst waiting ages for a full kettle to boil last week it struck me that it would be much quicker (2.5 times)if i had filled it from the hot tap 70C instead of 15C. i tried it the next day and it was much quicker and the tea tasted fine so i plan to continue unless anyone can identify any real problems. i don't think there will be any health issues as i boil the water for tea or coffee and when boiling veg etc. if there aren't any problems i will probably add a rope filter to the hot feed as i only have one on the cold at the moment.

 

does anyone else do this? why not?

 

thanks

 

roger

I do it

[sueb]

Why should there be problems?

Sue

[boatmanckp]

Yes I do it too,its very green,makes the gas bottle last longer! Save the planet CKP

[Dekazer]

I wouldn't do it in a house - someone once told me some horrible story about tanks in lofts and put me right off. I would, however, do it in the boat. I know our immersion's not too manky

 

Of course in winter the kettle sits on the stove so we always have hot water ready for a 10 second blast on the gas hob to bring to boiling..

[Keeping Up]

I find I have to run a lot of water through until it is hot at the kitchen tap, so I save water by using the cold tap.

[Proper Job]

Generally, in older houses, the drinking water is usually only available from the kitchen cold water tap (fed direct from the mains). All of the other water is gravity fed from the tank in the roof space.

 

If you looked in the average tank you would know why you shouldn't drink the water fed from this tank.

 

A lot of modern houses now do away with the tank and everything is mains pressure.

 

In a boat, mains water is not available and everything comes from your tank. That said, it generally has a high turn over rate when it's in use and, is kept cool due it's location near the canal/river water.

 

Any water sat at > 55 to 60 deg C (your calorifier temp) would kill normal harmful bacteria

[WotEver]

Any water sat at > 55 to 60 deg C (your calorifier temp) would kill normal harmful bacteria

Effectively making it safer than water from the cold tap.

 

Win-win

 

Tony

[Bobbybass]

As I have said before...which earned me the nickname 'two flask Bob'..

While engine running...I store some of the hot in cheap thermos flasks...

I can pour this and heat to boiling for tea in a kettle ..any water I have over estimated in the ..now boiled kettle..goes back in the flask...

I use some of this water for my late night fluffy bit wash.

 

bob

[Gibbo]

Any water sat at > 55 to 60 deg C (your calorifier temp) would kill normal harmful bacteria

 

I wasn't sure about this so I looked it up. 60 deg C will kill almost no bacteria. Almost every single one will survive it. Many will absolutely thrive in it and breed like wildfire.

[nb Innisfree]

60c is the danger level, apparently food needs to be held above this temp to kill bacteria and below 5c to prevent it growing.

 

So danger zone is 5c to 60c.

 

Link

[sociable_hermit]

If your skin tank is a bit inadequate, regularly running off hot water from the calorifier will also help keep the engine cool. That's my excuse for regular tea breaks, anyway

 

I agree with Gibbo that it still needs to be boiled in the kettle before consumption, but that's a quick and easy process if it's already quite hot.

[nb Innisfree]

How long to boil it for to render safe for drinking.

 

Link 1

 

Link 2

[jonk]

Generally, in older houses, the drinking water is usually only available from the kitchen cold water tap (fed direct from the mains). All of the other water is gravity fed from the tank in the roof space.

 

If you looked in the average tank you would know why you shouldn't drink the water fed from this tank.

 

A lot of modern houses now do away with the tank and everything is mains pressure.

 

In a boat, mains water is not available and everything comes from your tank. That said, it generally has a high turn over rate when it's in use and, is kept cool due it's location near the canal/river water.

 

Any water sat at > 55 to 60 deg C (your calorifier temp) would kill normal harmful bacteria

 

Yes - the old 'gravity' system used OPEN topped tanks in the loft. You can imagine what can get into such a tank! Even if a cover was used it was usually not a secure cover so still allowed mess etc inside.

No such problem with modern systems though - all sealed and pressurised.

I would not use the hot water on the boat if it meant reducing the amount available for other things that would be needed in the near future, like a shower.

If heating the water did not use any extra power, on top of the fire for example, then I would use cold water.

Otherwise I would use hot water which would boil much more quickly and hence save power.

 

John

[bottle]

I am with Allan Jones (Keeping Up) by the time the hot gets to the tap, it will waste a kettle full.

 

We have measured the amount needed for two cups and marked the kettle, on the outside level gauge.

 

We have one of those new fangled ones, runs on electricity.

 

In the cooler weather, a 'normal' kettle sits on the fire/stove.

[bizzard]

When filling a kettle from canal or river,put finger over spout and fill from a couple of inches below the surface to avoid the surface muck. bizzard.

[FadeToScarlet]

When filling a kettle from canal or river,put finger over spout and fill from a couple of inches below the surface to avoid the surface muck. bizzard.

 

Aha, so you read Swallows and Amazons too.

[alan_fincher]

Presumably the "60 degrees doesn't kill bacteria" argument becomes less significant as you take the kettle up to boiling point though ?

 

On the other hand, one suggestion I have heard, though, that could be a worry, is that it is not totally unheard of to get an internal leak in a calorifier "coil", such that engine coolant ends up in the domestic hot water.

 

In the (admittedly unlikely) case of such a failure, you could end up drinking engine anti-freeze in your tea or coffee.

 

Hmm - tempting to save some gas, but I'm not completely convinced it's a sound idea.......

[bizzard]

Aha, so you read Swallows and Amazons too.

Read them all.A lot of the questions asked on here are all explained in those books. bizzard

[David Mack]

On the other hand, one suggestion I have heard, though, that could be a worry, is that it is not totally unheard of to get an internal leak in a calorifier "coil", such that engine coolant ends up in the domestic hot water.

 

In the (admittedly unlikely) case of such a failure, you could end up drinking engine anti-freeze in your tea or coffee.

 

 

Less of a risk if the pressure in the domestic side is always higher than in the engine side. Though I don't know how you ensure that.

 

In gravity domestic installations the main water tank in the loft is supposed to be higher than the central heating header tank for the same reason.

 

David

[ditchcrawler]

hi whilst waiting ages for a full kettle to boil last week it struck me that it would be much quicker (2.5 times)if i had filled it from the hot tap 70C instead of 15C. i tried it the next day and it was much quicker and the tea tasted fine so i plan to continue unless anyone can identify any real problems. i don't think there will be any health issues as i boil the water for tea or coffee and when boiling veg etc. if there aren't any problems i will probably add a rope filter to the hot feed as i only have one on the cold at the moment.

 

does anyone else do this? why not?

 

thanks

 

roger

We always do it and don't have any filters.

 

I find I have to run a lot of water through until it is hot at the kitchen tap, so I save water by using the cold tap.

But water is free, you pay for the gas.

 

If your skin tank is a bit inadequate, regularly running off hot water from the calorifier will also help keep the engine cool. That's my excuse for regular tea breaks, anyway

 

I agree with Gibbo that it still needs to be boiled in the kettle before consumption, but that's a quick and easy process if it's already quite hot.

But you can't make a decent cupper at 60C

[nb Innisfree]

Less of a risk if the pressure in the domestic side is always higher than in the engine side. Though I don't know how you ensure that.

 

In gravity domestic installations the main water tank in the loft is supposed to be higher than the central heating header tank for the same reason.

 

David

 

We have un-pessurised engine coolant which reduces chance of contamination but in any case coolant pressure is usually less than that in DHW provided domestic pump is left on while engine is running.

 

Safest is to only use cold tap for cooking and drinking.

[Matthew Dowson]

I find I have to run a lot of water through until it is hot at the kitchen tap, so I save water by using the cold tap.

Same here, so I mayt do so if i've just washed up and the taps hot already. I agree if its a short run from your calorifier its worth doing, another reason to have an aft galley I guess.

[Guest]

Presumably the "60 degrees doesn't kill bacteria" argument becomes less significant as you take the kettle up to boiling point though ?

 

On the other hand, one suggestion I have heard, though, that could be a worry, is that it is not totally unheard of to get an internal leak in a calorifier "coil", such that engine coolant ends up in the domestic hot water.

 

In the (admittedly unlikely) case of such a failure, you could end up drinking engine anti-freeze in your tea or coffee.

 

Hmm - tempting to save some gas, but I'm not completely convinced it's a sound idea.......

For that reason I have a non return valve just before the calorifier, and never drink from the calorifier. I think the risk is small, but what does a bit of gas cost? I have often considered trying a one cup immersion heater to make a brew. The inverter is on anyway when we are underway.

[Guest wanted]

I know that we are talking about boiling water here but this may be worth a look My link