I live in S. Daytona, FL. We just purchased a home. First question is how do we trun up the temp on hot water? We have a hot water heater but I have not seen any dials or anything but plumbing connected to it. It takes forever to get the hotwater flowing . We waste more water waiting for it to get hot..
Second question. At one time this house had a well. The pressure in the yard spicket is very very low. The rest of the house seems fine. I can't find any evidence of a well. How can we find out if the back yard spicket is still hooked up to a well?



Thank you

I'm guessing you have an electric water heater. If so there should be a panel attached to the heater with a couple of screws. Take this panel off and behind it you will find the temp adjustment. If you have an old heater it may be full of sediment and in that case it will not mattter how much you turn the temp up... the water can't get heated efficiently through all the sediment.

As for the well/spigot question question.. I'm not too sure... Try to turn off the water to your house at the utility. If the spigot still runs the water isn't coming from the utility.

Good morning Janie and greetings from Sarasota,
With these words, "we waste more water waiting for it to get hot." you have just told me that raising the water temperature isn't going to help with your problem. Raising the temperature isn't going to get you hot water any faster, you will still have to wait. It simply means that when it finally arrives it will be hotter and that costs money. Let me explain.
I have asked developers and builders for years to at least install (1) stubouts for a "small volume kicker heater or (2) to run a additional 1/2" line to the master bath for a optional recirculating system.
In Florida our homes are built on slabs and we install the water heater in the garage, about as far away from the master bath as you can get. The 3/4" main runs under the slab and untill a draw is made the water that fills the main cools off to ground temperature. When you draw from the master bath you have to evacuate all that cool water out of the main back to the heater before you can get hot water. Your problem can be resolved by installing a recirculating system. This consists of looping a 1/2" line through your attic and connecting it to the feed to the master bath on one end and a small recirculating pump connected to the water heater on the other. This will insure a steady flow of hot water to the master bath with no delay when you make a draw. Your plumber can explain further.
As to the well, do you have a sprinkler system? Tommy had the correct solution. Shut the water off at the meter and turn on a cold water faucet to relieve the house pressure. Now open the back yard hose bib. If you have pressure then it's on a pump0 system and if you can't see the pump it's most likely a submersible pump. Look for a electrical box with pump controls , usually on the outside. Good luck in your new home. Tom