I rent in Tucson, Az, and have a gas hot water heater, its outside enclosed in a shiny like insulated box, the sun hits it quite a bit and of course with tripe digit temps, the ground water is a lot warmer. I opened it up and found the temp control, I turned the dial to the right and set it just before the "vacation mode" Will this drop my temp down? Or do I turn it the left? There are no temps or warm or hot labeled on it, prob worn off. It was set a little below normal, which use to be o.k. but now that its hot out all the time, its scorching hot! Thanks

Turn to right to lower temp. However, why not just temper with cold water at the tap? Read your lease to see if what you plan to do is permitted.

I know what Tony's is trying to do. I did the same thing with my electric how water heater. I set the temperature in my shower to as hot as it was comfortable without tempering with cold water. When you temper with cold water you are wasting money. You pay good money to use the water and then pay more to cool it off. I found that the temperature I was comfortable with was110 degrees Fahrenheit. Perhaps this will help Tony set his temperature.(see image). Good luck, Tom

On my valve, vacation is on left, hotter on right. Go figure!

The dial controls thermostat. If you change the setting, the temperature read will change accordingly. Yes, when turned down ( closer to Vacation setting ) heater will keep water lukewarm ( or as per setting )

Hope that helps

Milo