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Post by fauxmaha on Mar 23, 2015 18:07:50 GMT -5
Our water heater(s) are slowly giving up the ghost after 18 some years of service.
So off to Lowes and Home Depot I go, looking for a replacement unit.
They have water heaters with a WIFI module and a smart phone app you can use to remotely control it, monitor its status, etc.
That struck me as the most gratuitous bit of technology I've seen in a long time. The only interaction I want with my water heater is that when I turn on the tap, hot water comes out.
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Post by brucemacneill on Mar 23, 2015 18:26:30 GMT -5
" remotely control it, monitor its status, etc."
That's what they tell you it's doing but it's really tied into the White House so Barry can tell when you're taking a shower and turn the temperature down.
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Post by dradtke on Mar 23, 2015 20:01:41 GMT -5
Our water heater(s) are slowly giving up the ghost after 18 some years of service. So off to Lowes and Home Depot I go, looking for a replacement unit. They have water heaters with a WIFI module and a smart phone app you can use to remotely control it, monitor its status, etc. That struck me as the most gratuitous bit of technology I've seen in a long time. The only interaction I want with my water heater is that when I turn on the tap, hot water comes out. C'mon, admit it. Don't pretend there aren't days when you're sitting at work wondering what your water heater is thinking about. But seriously folks, wouldn't this be an example of something that improves profit for producers that doesn't benefit consumers?
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Post by aquaduct on Mar 23, 2015 20:36:52 GMT -5
But seriously folks, wouldn't this be an example of something that improves profit for producers that doesn't benefit consumers? Has anyone bought one yet? What do they think? I'd say I could find it useful if I had rentals.
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Post by Village Idiot on Mar 23, 2015 21:45:57 GMT -5
WTF? Even with rentals, I have a hard time with that.
On the other hand, have I ever told the story about the man who lived under the swimming pool.
Back in the 90s when the Braille School was residential and 150 of kids were there there was a maintenance man who lived under the swimming pool, so we called him the man who lived under the swimming pool. Everyone knew it. The teachers knew it, the kids knew it, everyone knew it except the people that should have known it.
The swimming pool at the Braille School is called, ridiculously, the natatorium, as it is an indoor affair and housed in a separate building. There is an outside set of steps leading down to a room that is under the pool and when we had kids outside at the track, or were parking our cars arriving at work, we'd see the man who lived under the swimming pool either coming up those stairs or going down those stairs, leaving or entering his domicile. The man who lived under the swimming pool was a nice guy, and would give anyone a friendly wave no matter which direction he was going, and we found it amusing that there was a man living under the swimming pool, so no one said anything because that meant that we could make jokes about the man who lived under the swimming pool.
But little signs that there was a man who lived under the swimming pool started showing up. The kitchen staff would find an unwashed plate in the sink. The kids would do their laundry and find clothes in the dryer that no one could recognize. Wet towels were found in the men's shower area. The man who lived under the swimming pool made those occasional errors, as all of us would over the course of a year, because that's how long it took for the higher ups to discover the man who lived under the swimming pool. And when they did, they found a couch, a dorm fridge, a dresser and a twin-sized bed under the swimming pool, all belonging to the man who lived under the swimming pool. But that was not the end of the man who lived under the swimming pool. They did not fire him. They simply told him that he could no longer live under the swimming pool. So, in the end, he was no longer the man who lived under the swimming pool, he was just Jerry, the man who used to live under the swimming pool.
Anyway, Jeff, Please don't think I'm hijacking your thread. Having a WIFI module and a smart phone app to monitor your water heater might alert you to the fact that there is a man living under your swimming pool. So there is a use for which you speak.
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Post by fauxmaha on Mar 23, 2015 22:07:20 GMT -5
But seriously folks, wouldn't this be an example of something that improves profit for producers that doesn't benefit consumers? Just because I don't see any value in it doesn't mean no one else would. I can see how someone who is seriously into tech gadgetry might find this incredibly nifty. That someone is not me. But that doesn't mean this feature does not "benefit consumers".
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Post by fauxmaha on Mar 23, 2015 22:08:02 GMT -5
Living under a swimming pool almost has a "Hobbitian" feel to it.
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Post by Marshall on Mar 23, 2015 22:10:41 GMT -5
Yeah, but will it post water temps to facebook?
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Post by aquaduct on Mar 23, 2015 22:32:12 GMT -5
WTF? Even with rentals, I have a hard time with that. In my business for our customers, data collection and reporting is huge. Truck fleets can monitor the operating conditions of all their vehicles and drivers and develop preventative maintenance programs that will anticipate issues and head them off before a load of expensive refrigerated something or other rots on the side of the road because the truck won't run. And they still save money doing the work when it's actually needed. An efficient balance. The house I rent has the hot water heater mounted horizontally in the crawl space. It's a major bitch to get at. The landlord lives in New York. I would guess that he might be interested (particularly if he's got a lot of units) in being able to trace performance of the water heater so that he can have maintenance done while it's warm rather than have the damn thing blow a gasket and maybe self destruct when it's 12 below.
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Post by millring on Mar 24, 2015 5:22:55 GMT -5
It's a security measure. What it does is reaches out and zapps anyone who calls it a "hot water heater". It's a "water heater".
Finally, technology to improve language usage. Now if we could get them to work on zapping "dinnent" and "schtrenth".
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Mar 24, 2015 7:09:51 GMT -5
Yeah, but will it post water temps to facebook? There's an app for that. Mike
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Post by drlj on Mar 24, 2015 7:37:12 GMT -5
Great. Hackers will give me a shot of cold water mid shower and my water heater will be buying expensive stuff on line. Just what we need. I am going back to heating a cauldron of water over a wood fire.
Instead of the WIFI apps, why not just make a water heater that lasts longer than 5 years?
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Post by Doug on Mar 24, 2015 8:02:07 GMT -5
I just want water heaters to come with easy to adjust temp controls. The factory set is way too low. I know it's so your toddler doesn't scald himself. But I'm not a toddler and I want a hot shower. Every water heater I've had the temp controls were a pain to work with and hard to get to.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 24, 2015 8:42:15 GMT -5
I just want water heaters to come with easy to adjust temp controls. The factory set is way too low. I know it's so your toddler doesn't scald himself. But I'm not a toddler and I want a hot shower. Every water heater I've had the temp controls were a pain to work with and hard to get to. Keeps old farts from getting scalded.
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Post by mnhermit on Mar 24, 2015 8:54:14 GMT -5
This post makes me realize how much of a conspiracy nut I am. The first thought that came to mind as I read about WIFI hot water heaters was how the government could now enforce conservation rules by monitoring and fining anyone that ran their hot water too long or too hot.
A sad thing to realize the depth of my paranoia.
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Post by Marshall on Mar 24, 2015 8:58:58 GMT -5
Great. Hackers will give me a shot of cold water mid shower and my water heater will be buying expensive stuff on line. Just what we need. I am going back to heating a cauldron of water over a wood fire. Instead of the WIFI apps, why not just make a water heater that lasts longer than 5 years? No. This way the thing will automatically order a deluxe replacement unit in 4 years 9 months. The doorbell will ring and the installers will roll in with the new unit and install it. The thing will probably turn off your security system, if you're not home, so they can get in and get the job done. It'll just show up on your credit card statement. The replacement unit will probably only last 4 years.
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Post by Cosmic Wonder on Mar 24, 2015 9:47:18 GMT -5
I don't know why you guys are worring about any of this. We are all going to run out of water soon, so you might as well get your wifi water heaters now so you can use them to play games while you remember the good old days of hot and cold running water.
Mike
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Post by epaul on Mar 24, 2015 9:51:30 GMT -5
I actually could use such a control (but I won't, as I just got a new water heater a couple years ago).
The water heater I do have at the farm is programable, so I have it set to maintain a low temperature setting during the week when we are in Grand Forks and to kick up the temperature Friday afternoon so we will have hot water at the farm over the weekend. Come Sunday afternoon, it powers down to its maintenance level (40 degrees).
Problem is, lots of time, we just don't make it back to the farm for the weekend (more times than not). And other times I head up mid-week just to check on something or get something.. It would be economical and handy if I could just call it up and tell it when to crank up the water heat and when not to bother.
This seems to be in line with the "smart house" idea. It would also be darn handy to control the house heat remotely (kick it in gear, boys, I'm coming home).
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Post by drlj on Mar 24, 2015 9:57:16 GMT -5
When we remodeled our bathroom a couple if years ago, I was surprised to learn the water control on the shower had a feature to restrict the temperature. An inspector from the village had to come out and check the temperature, using a meat thermometer no less, before it passed final inspection. The plumber showed me how to adjust it to allow hotter water but said only do it after they left and not to tell anyone. I have fears of the inspector making a surprise check during mid shower and pulling my soapy self out onto the bath mat, so I left it alone. I used to be such a rebel, too.
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Post by Marshall on Mar 24, 2015 10:00:22 GMT -5
I don't know why you guys are worring about any of this. We are all going to run out of water soon, so you might as well get your wifi water heaters now so you can use them to play games while you remember the good old days of hot and cold running water. Mike In the Great Lakes States, we'll be sipping Scotch on the rocks in our hot tubs and feeling sorry for you.
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