Leaving urn plugged in all week

amother

Wine

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 8:54 pm

First, let me say that I tried getting an instant-hot that will give hot water on demand. Unfortunately some kind soul decided to unplug if for Pesach one year and it seems the tank grew mold. Anyhow, not likely to replace.

So I use my urn because when I want hot water I have no patience to wait.

I also got one for my Mom to avoid burned kettles etc but just now I saw her using a small electric kettle. And she told me she won't use the urn because the water sits there for a week.

It never entered my mind that this could be a problem. I tried googling, I can't find anyone saying whether or not there's a problem using that hot water.

Anyone?

Tzutzie

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 9:00 pm

Never thought of it either.
Maybe get a smaller one.
Mine isn't so big and needs to be refilled at least twice a week. I also only use bottled water.

amother

Silver

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 10:29 pm

the longer the hot water sits in the urn, the more exposure it has to the metal of urn (or the plastic). The cheaper ones are aluminum - not great for health.

urns for household use aren't designed to be on all week - the heating element life will likely shorten.

electricity bill.

amother

Silver

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 10:53 pm

amother wrote:

Leave it on 365...it better not be a prob!

never clean it? do you use distilled water?

amother

Maroon

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 10:54 pm

I leave mine on and I'll tell you that the water is ok at least while it's plugged in and hot.

Once you unplug and the water cools off, you will see all the particles floating around.

So once a week I spill out the water, rinse out and refill.

While urns are meant to last for years, mine only last for around 2 yrs since it's always being used.

I started leaving the urn on all the time when I had babies who needed warm bottles.

Now I just enjoy the convenience.

One summer we went away for 2 weeks. I did not want to shlep my urn so I purchased a kettle. It took all of 2 min to heat a small amount of water. No big deal really

amother

Silver

Thu, Nov 30 2017, 11:02 pm

penguin wrote:

But if the urn is stainless steel, does that get into the water?

stainless steel is an alloy - mainly carbon but a bunch of other elements (not always the same ones). I know some people avoid stainless steel water bottles in favor of glass - so I figure there are some concerns.

amother

Orange

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 12:07 am

amother wrote:

never clean it? do you use distilled water?

No! Now ur freaking me out. Im health concious but never thought bout this!

amother

Silver

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 12:11 am

amother wrote:

No! Now ur freaking me out. Im health concious but never thought bout this!

Don't freak out. I'm just imagining that the urn must be covered in calcium deposits.

amother

Denim

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 12:35 am

amother wrote:

Don't freak out. I'm just imagining that the urn must be covered in calcium deposits.

How do you clean it out? Mine is also always on.

happinessseeker

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 12:46 am

Every other week, I boil a mixture of vinegar and water in the urn and then wipe it down and rinse it. It's incredible - it gets rid of all the mineral deposits. I learned the trick from someone who works in a housewares store.'

amother

Wine

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 12:49 am

Gah, I'd be afraid of not getting the vinegar out. I once tried scrubbing with baking soda, lots of rinses. My kitchen has those nice sensitive ground fault interrupter outlets, and I think the baking soda created some sort of conductivity, because when I plugged in the urn the fuse blew. It works okay in other places, but I had to get a new urn for the kitchen.

I think I have tried lemon juice. But weekly is way too much work for me. Plus so much time while the urn cools and get it clean and refill, all that time what do I do when I want a hot drink immediately?

I'm hoping one of our scientist amothers will tell us more about stainless steel.

Raisin

Fri, Dec 01 2017, 3:48 am

I think you only get those deposits if you live in a hard water area. I don't so my urn never needs cleaning. I only use it on shabbos anyway. During the week we have an electric kettle.

jkw

Sat, Dec 02 2017, 11:14 am

In Jerusalem, the water is VERY full of calcium deposits so I use filtered water and every week dump and wipe. Once a month run citric acid through. That seems to help.

Bnei Berak 10

Sun, Dec 03 2017, 2:57 am

OP, the more expensive electric kettles boil your water in zero time. Those Shabbat water urns are not made for 24/7 and they drive up your electricity bill.

LisaS

Sun, Dec 03 2017, 4:02 am

You don't know you need an electric kettle, but once you have one you won't want to go back to using an urn during the week. It's quick and easy, fresher water, and safer for young kids.
Here in Israel it's a pretty cheap product. I don't know how much they cost in chul.

amother

Tangerine

Sun, Dec 03 2017, 4:28 am

LisaS wrote:

Yeah I have one and I love it.

Pretty cheap on amazon too.
https://www.amazon.com/Ovente-.....ettle

In Israel you could even get them with a shabbos mode. When I was there once, I shlepped one back to America, but it didnt work with the 110 volt. Mad