Boiling Water

[ban-all-sheds]

Well, I suppose "non-potable" could relate to mineral, metallic or chemical contaminants, rather than bacterial ones, so not 'made any safer' by heat treatment.

However, in present context, whatever academic arguments or regulations there might be, I would personally be happy to drink or cook with water that had come out of a combi and then been boiled, since I really don't believe that the combi would/could have introduced any significant levels of 'mineral, metallic or chemical contaminants'.

Well, to everyone - I could be wrong, but it would be nice, if I were, if people could show that with actual evidence and proof, not dismiss "academic arguments" and "regulations" on the basis of being "personally happy" to ignore those because they didn't "really didn't believe" their validity.

 

[JohnW2]

Being "personally happy" is clearly a personal thing. Although 'what I believe' (or don't believe) is a considered judgement, I don't ask myself for 'evidence and proof' - and others can make their personal judgements and decisions for themselves, based on whatever they wish to take into account.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Buy one of these. https://www.victorianplumbing.co.uk...VKrftCh2mwApPEAAYAyAAEgIkcfD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds You may still be alive when it has paid for itself.

The cheapest one is £450.

IME, judging the fill level of a kettle by eye (i.e. no faffing with measuring) gets you to within about 5s (max) of the absolute minimum amount you'd need.

5s of a 3kW kettle costs about 0.06p.

£450 = 750,000 x .06p

10x per day? 205 years.

You may still be alive when it has paid for itself? Unlikely.


Go armed with figures like that if you're visiting any home improvements type show where you know that there'll be a stand flogging those taps, and go through the numbers with them - they absolutely love that. They may try to make out that they expect people to always fill a kettle to the max when they only need one cup, and then they become especially appreciative of you asking if their target market is only people too thick to not do that.

 

[ban-all-sheds]

Being "personally happy" is clearly a personal thing. Although 'what I believe' (or don't believe) is a considered judgement, I don't ask myself for 'evidence and proof' - and others can make their personal judgements and decisions for themselves, based on whatever they wish to take into account.

So in other words you have nothing whatsoever to counter or disprove my suggestion that hot water from a combi is not considered potable.

 

[JohnD]

considered

can you think of a reason why tap water that has been heated and possibly stored in a metal container should not be considered potable?

 

[JohnW2]

I have never commented on, let alone questioned, the statement that "hot water from a combi is not considered potable", and I even offered suggestions as to why some (individuals or authorities) might take that view despite the fact that it had been 'heat treated' (I was responding to a comment which spoke of 'pasteurised'). What I have said is that (regardless of whether it is 'considered potable' or not) I would personally be happy to drink, or use for cooking, hot water from a combi which has subsequently been boiled.

 

[EFLImpudence]

Combis are supplied with water that IS potable.

What is it that the combi does that removes this potableness which the likes of electric kettles or kettles or pans on gas rings or open fires or the under-sink heaters or indeed lead pipes do not do?

 

[ericmark]

I looked into drinking hot water from the tap, it does seem there are reasons why not, both lead and plastic pipes can allow leaching of chemicals more easily with hot to cold water, if we can be 100% that no plastic used in the hot water system, and no leaded solder used on the pipes and it has no hot water store, then as long as a reasonable quantity of water is used so water is fresh then no problem, however the if's mean one can't be 100% sure, although the original reason for not drinking hot water was that some thing could get into the header tank to contaminate the water, with the combi that risk has gone, and the amount of contaminates stored in the faucet is very low, however looking at a standard mixer tap in my house it is a pain as it does not really mix, when making my beer I can push the fill pipe up two independent holes in the faucet one hot other cold, they one mix after leaving faucet, but mothers house they mix at the tape base so turning on the cold after using hot gives one around 1/2 a cup of water from hot system before you get cold.

So using a one cup boiler which is topped up after each use, half the water may have come from the hot water system. This

was not permitted years ago, two reasons, one is you can be drinking water from hot system even when turning on cold, and two if you stick a hose pipe on the end or use a diffuser or filter then hot water can be forced into the cold water system if the cold water losses pressure. My taps at home look something like this

and the spout is two independent pipes and the water does not actually mix in the pipe, it only mixes as it leaves the assembly. It is down it seems to backflow protection and potable water, since we don't drink shower water those taps can mix before the pipe as long as it can't back flow, i.e. non return valve, but that is not good enough for a sink.

 

[JohnW2]

Combis are supplied with water that IS potable. ... What is it that the combi does that removes this potableness which the likes of electric kettles or kettles or pans on gas rings or open fires or the under-sink heaters or indeed lead pipes do not do?

As I wrote in post #27 ...

Well, I suppose "non-potable" could relate to mineral, metallic or chemical contaminants, rather than bacterial ones, so not 'made any safer' by heat treatment.

However, I went on to say the following - and it remains my personal view, despite BAS's cross-examination ...

However, in present context, whatever academic arguments or regulations there might be, I would personally be happy to drink or cook with water that had come out of a combi and then been boiled, since I really don't believe that the combi would/could have introduced any significant levels of 'mineral, metallic or chemical contaminants'.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

As I wrote in post #27 ...

You're doing it again.

However, I went on to say the following - and it remains my personal view, despite BAS's cross-examination ...

Then presumably it is for Bas (or someone else) to answer my question.



I didn't write the last quote.

 

[SimonH2]

... the original reason for not drinking hot water was that some thing could get into the header tank to contaminate the water ...

Ha ha, reminds me of a story told to me <cough> years ago by a physics teacher. He'd worked in a factory where the hot water from the tap was actuallly hot enough to make hot drinks such as Bovril, and so they did as it was less faff than waiting for the kettle. Then they started to notice that their drinks tasted "a bit odd", mentioned it to maintenance, and when someone looked into it they found ...

... a decomposing rat in the header tank
They used the kettle from then on

 

[ericmark]

All I am saying is if water from a combi boiler is not potable then some one needs to do something about all the mixer taps being fitted in sinks which don't keep hot and cold separate. May be a post in plumbing section.

 

[JohnW2]

You're doing it again.

Doing what? I was answering the question you recently posed by referring back to what I previously wrote.

Then presumably it is for Bas (or someone else) to answer my question.

It is. I suspect that he will say that the official line is that he water from a combi is 'not potable' and that, without 'evidence and proof' to the contrary, he has no need to justify it.

I didn't write the last quote.

You didn't. Apologies for the incorrect copying/pasting - now corrected.

Kind Regards, John

 

[JohnW2]

All I am saying is if water from a combi boiler is not potable then some one needs to do something about all the mixer taps being fitted in sinks which don't keep hot and cold separate.

Theoretically, yes - but I thought that virtually all kitchen mixer taps (as opposed to bathroom ones) still did keep hot and cold water separate all the way up to the discharge spout - since, traditionally (and often still now - as in my house) the hot and cold water are at very different pressures.

Despite any official views of whether it is 'potable' or not, and despite BAS's desire for 'evidence and proof', I still do not personally believe that a few seconds (at most) in a combi's heat exchanger is going to introduce any significant amount of (non-microbiological) contamination into the water.

Kind Regards, John

 

[EFLImpudence]

Doing what? I was answering the question you recently posed by referring back to what I previously wrote.

I thought you were just meaning that you had already said that as it wasn't really an answer. You said "suppose" and "could".