cscussel@ihuxq.UUCP (08/15/83)
Someone commented that hot water would have more mineral content, from the tank and pipes. I don't see how this could be. Certainly mineral scale tends to build up in the heater tank, but the very fact that it's building up in the tank should mean that the hot water would have less mineral content. Anyway, the hot water can't be higher in mineral content unless the header (sorry, "heater") constantly adds minerals to the water, and the only source of minerals is the incoming cold water. That is, the outgoing water can't be higher in minerals than the outgoing water (unless the heater is venting steam). The chemical nature of the minerals may be changed by the heat, possibly making them more noticable. Certain kinds of minerals precipitate when the water is heated, but this presumably would occur in the heater and again results in water with a lower mineral content.
ss@rabbit.UUCP (08/16/83)
The incoming cold water is not the only source of minirals around. The water picks up traces of different metals from the pipes it flows in. This is the reason that pipes containing lead have been banned for home use. Presumably, hot water can pick up more metals than the cold water. Depending upon the pipes, the difference can be sufficient to make the water "taste" different. Part of the difference may even be because some of the minerals dissolved in cold water are removed due to scale formation in the hot water tank. (Try drinking distilled water sometime.) If the water tastes different from what one is used to, it really doesn't matter whether minirals are added or removed from the water. Sharad Singhal ..!rabbit!ss
chris@umcp-cs.UUCP (08/17/83)
Ah, but there *is* a source for the "extra minerals" in the hot
water: the pipes leading from the heater to your faucet! Hot
water is better at dissolving (and rusting) metal than cold water,
all other things being equal (they're not, but let's not get into
that). I don't know about youse guys, but when I turn on the hot
water faucet in the tub every morning (ok, every time I get up;
that's definitly not equal to every morning), I have to wait a
while for the rust to run out.
(My roommate & I have occasionally joked that we should have a
third "rust" tap. It really is that bad.)
- Chris
--
In-Real-Life: Chris Torek, Univ of MD Comp Sci
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