Proper setting of temperature on gas hot water heater?
You can indeed take longer showers, and more of them, by upping the temperature on your water heater’s thermostat to the max. Your reasoning is correct; it will take less water from the tank to make the temperature comfortable. The downside is that the water will be very hot, hot enough to scald, so you need to be careful when you start the water running for the shower or sink. If you have any small children, please don’t turn it up. The first thing our pediatrician told us to do when we brought our baby home was to lower the temperature on the water heater. Another downside is that the hotter you run the water heater, the sooner you’ll have to replace it. They all perforate eventually, and the hotter you make the fire, the quicker this happens. And I don’t have to tell you your gas bill will go up.
