Gold Coast Hot Water Tempering Valves
Hot water burns like fire because at….
RMC standard tempering valve installed by Whywait Plumbing on electic HWS storage tank units
At 60°C a serious burn can happen in 1 second
At 55°C a serious burn would take 10 seconds
At 50°C a serious burn would happen after 5 minutes
In Queensland, it is law that hot water delivered to bathrooms used primarily for personal hygiene purposes be regulated by use of a tempering valve or a thermostatic mixing valve so that is does not exceed 50°C.
Recent litigation has placed a ‘deed of care’ onus on licensed plumber’s to ensure the safe delivery of hot water in domestic bathrooms used primarily for personal hygiene purposes. Therefore tempering valves, which are carried in all Whywait Plumbing service vehicles, and can only be installed by a qualified and licensed plumber are mandatory for us to install.
In 1995 the laws were changed requiring tempering valves to be installed on new hot water system installations covering new homes, non like for like replacements or when moving an existing hot water system to a new location on the property. Homes built before 1995 will frequently still have hot water being delivered at 70°C.
Tempering valves are designed to blend hot and cold water to deliver mixed water at a constant temperature. They incorporate a temperature sensitive element which expands and contracts depending on the temperature of the water flowing across it. This action of the element in turn moves a piston which shuttles between the hot and cold ports. In doing so the valve maintains an essentially constant outlet temperature, and thus reduces the risk of scalding accidents.
An internal diagram of a hot water tempering valve that are supplied, installed and maintained by Whywait Plumbing Services
Testing & Maintaining Tempering Valves
All valves associated with a hot water service are subject to operating extremes which required periodic maintenance, servicing and replacement. A tempering valve is at the upper end of any risk assessment and for this reason requires regular field testing and maintenance regime as per the requirements of AS 4032.3 – 2004 which requires frequency of field tests to be carried out at intervals not exceeding 12 months.
For plumbers, home owners and property investors hot water is increasingly becoming a legal mine field with duty of care provisions. This has been further clarified in AS/NZS 3500.5-2012 which states in clause 3.2.3 Acceptable solutions for control of delivery temperatures the following:
- Temperature control devices require routine maintenance and performance
testing. For maintenance, see AS 4032.3 - It is the property owner’s responsibility to ensure that the routine maintenance is carried out.
It is for this reason AS 4032.3 – 2004 sets out the scope of testing along with the procedures and what shall be in a final report.
At Whywait Plumbing we ensure our suitably qualified and licensed plumbing technicians are trained to test and maintain your tempering valve. The bottom line is that without an annual report you could be liable if anyone suffers burns from your hot water and an even greater risk is that you may not have the protection of insurance coverage.
Contact Whywait Plumbing Services now for compliant testing, maintaining and reporting of your tempering valve.
Gold Coast & Tweed: (07) 5580 4311
