Looking for an answer on a plumbing question.... Last night my electric water heater freaked out and was way over heating the water. I measured the temp coming out of the tap at 175 degrees. I switched it off and this moring I switched out the thermostats. Because of the temp of the water, should I be concerned about any possible pipe or faucet damage? The water now is only 125 degrees but it still smells funny.....

Thanks,
d

Most likely no but what type of water piping?

copper in the slab.

I doubt that theres any pipe damage with copper piping. Run the water to flush out the pipes.

Thanks for the quick replies. The wife will be happy now!!!

Did your pressure relief valve pop at all. You may want to chang it out if it did not open some. They are cheap and and easy to install. You could loss your whole house if a relief fails to open, turning your water heater into a rocket.

67,
max water temp. should be 120*.
anything higher can scald quickly.
david

here's something i found...
HOW HOT SHOULD I SET MY WATER TEMPERATURE, AND HOW DO I CHANGE IT?
The thermostat controls the temperature of the water inside the tank. Normally you can set the temperature between 120 and 180 degrees Fahrenheit (49 to 82 degrees Celsius). It is generally recommended that you keep the temperature between 120 to 140 degrees F (49 to 60 C) -- if there are children or elderly living in the house you may want to go lower -- to prevent scalding. It also saves energy. Normally, the thermostat is underneath a cover plate and it has a knob or a screw that you can use to set the temperature. (See table 1).

here's the link...
http://www.icgov.org/water/waterheaters.htm

david

Good information but I've been installing and servicing water heaters for quite a while now and never seen a domestic water heater that you could set any higher than 160° without tampering with the control.
But 160° can be dangerious around young children.

Warm = 120°
Normal = 140°
Hot = 160°