Question about water heater temperature settings in ABQ homes

I keep seeing people set their water heaters to 140 degrees, but that's way too hot for our hard water here. At that temp, mineral scale builds up twice as fast, and I had to replace an element after just 18 months. The manual for my Rheem unit says 120 degrees is the sweet spot to prevent damage and save money. Has anyone else found a lower setting works better for our area?

3 comments

3 Comments

taylor_hayes251mo ago

But honestly, is the scale buildup really that bad? My last water heater ran at 140 for almost a decade with no problems. I get the manual says 120, but sometimes those are just overly careful guidelines. A little maintenance might be all you need.

henry3151mo ago

My old Rheem manual said the same thing, 120 degrees. I tried 140 for a while because my dishwasher didn't have a heater, but the trade-off wasn't worth it. The scale buildup on the heating element was insane, like thick white chalk. Lowering it to 120 made my water heater last years longer, and I just use the sanitize cycle on the dishwasher now. The energy savings alone are pretty noticeable on the monthly bill.

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betty_palmer27d ago

Man, @henry315 I felt that in my bones, my last heater scaled over so bad it looked like a science experiment gone wrong.