We have a combi boiler. Its it ok to fill the kettle from the hot tap? Or is the water contaminated for drinking by being in the combi?

It's just mains cold water, heated. I don't see that it could be a problem.

Scott.

Minerals dissolve faster in hot water. I would NEVER use hot tap water for consumption myself.

Minerals dissolve faster in hot water. I would NEVER use hot tap water for consumption myself.

What minerals? Do you mean the copper from the pipes or the steel in a heat exchanger?

And some substances get dumped (precipitate out) when water is heated. That's why boilers and kettles get coated in limescale.

I mostly use hot water to fill our kettle.

Loir

What minerals? Do you mean the copper from the pipes or the steel in a heat exchanger?

Lead from old solder. Heavy metals from damaged heating elements. Take your pick. I expect this contamination is less of a problem these days than it used to be, but I wouldn't risk it lightly.

Mostly, though, the reason I don't do it because the water just tastes bad. Not so bad if you're drinking coffee, but it makes ruddy awful tea.

BJ

I wouldn't drink hot water from a hot water tank. It might have been sitting around for a while and could have various nasties dissolved or growing in it.

However, if the water has come out of the water main, through a combi boiler and then into the tap, then it won't have any bugs growing in it, and there won't have been much time to get nasty minerals dissolved into it.

I wouldnt drink tap water full stop!

Cheers - Col

What's your reasoning? Is it economy or convenience?

If it's economy you may make a marginal saving if the boiler is a gas boiler. If electric It probably doesn't make a tremendous amount of difference.

If it's for convenience there is no real health hazard to putting hot water in the kettle, especially if the rest of your plumbing is modern. The cold water will be running over much the same terrain as the hot.

The main reason for not using hot water for filling a kettle is one of quality. Hot water has less dissolved gases than cold and makes a 'flat' cup of tea. Tea experts suggest always using fresh cold water and bringing this to the boil. They even say you should empty the kettle of previously boiled water as this will have lost it's brightness. Anecdotally I agree with this. If you taste fresh tap water and cooled water which has been boiled; the tap water (assuming it's not too heavily chlorinated) invariably tastes brighter.

So in answer to your question, it depends how much you value the enhanced experience of marginally nicer tea over the few moments you'll save by using hot water.

KG

I wouldnt drink tap water full stop!

What do you use to make tea then? Bacteria and salt-laden bottled water?

Scott.

The main reason for not using hot water for filling a kettle is one of quality. Hot water has less dissolved gases than cold and makes a 'flat' cup of tea. Tea experts suggest always using fresh cold water and bringing this to the boil.

Remember we're talking about a combi boiler here. The water is freshly heated.

Scott.

"I wouldn't drink tap water full stop!"

Which is a shame as many good people have gone to extraordinary lengths to make this feat possible. It depends which part of the country you live in but in Kent the tap water is perfectly palatable. Further filtering in home where there are localised problems with chlorination (although standing drinking water for 10 minutes gets rid of this alone) or mineral content renders it virtually identical if not better than bottled water.

Bottled water is THE biggest marketing con of the century and the ultimate consumer vanity.

KG

Remember we're talking about a combi boiler here. The water is freshly heated.

Other than that which has sat in the pipes between boiler and tap, which could be well more than a kettle full, depending on pipe runs.

Slarti

Other than that which has sat in the pipes between boiler and tap,
My dad used to make fun of my mum when she ran the cold water tap for ages before using it to drink from. She used to say she didn't want to drink water that had been sitting around in pipes. He used to say you'd better run it for a very long time then because it'll have to get here from the lake district. (about 50 miles away)

"Bottled water is THE biggest marketing con of the century and the ultimate consumer vanity"

Agreed - Peckham Spring Water anybody ;)

My dad used to make fun of my mum when she ran the cold water tap for ages before using it to drink from. She used to say she didn't want to drink water that had been sitting around in pipes. He used to say you'd better run it for a very long time then because it'll have to get here from the lake district. (about 50 miles away)


Running the taps may have been not such a bad idea a few years ago when house pipes were made of lead.

Thanks for the replies. In the absence of further evidence this would be my feeling too:

Lead from old solder. Heavy metals from damaged heating elements. Take your pick. I expect this contamination is less of a problem these days than it used to be, but I wouldn't risk it lightly.


I just need to persude Mrs GB54. :-)

I wouldn't drink hot water from a hot water tank


Neither would OP, as OP has a combi boiler, hence no hot water tank.

If the motivation is cost, the distance between the boiler and the tap, and therefore the length of time the boiler has to fire up before the water comes out hot, would be a factor.

Additionally, if you have a water meter the bill will go up (not by a lot).

Bottled water is THE biggest marketing con of the century and the ultimate consumer vanity.

Not only is it an absurd waste of money, the environmental damage caused by the plastic bottles is devastating. This article should be required reading for anyone who buys this rubbish - http://www.bhatt.id.au/blog/bottled-water-or-bottled-environ...

In my extremely un-humble opinion it should be banned immediately!

It's also worth remembering that bottled water comes from the same place as tap water!

Personally I wouldn't buy bottled water as it's a dubiously marketed fad product and in many cases is nothing more than processed tap water.

Hi all

The original question essentially having been answered, please would everyone now consider this thread closed.

Thanks & Foolish regards

Tarantula