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Old 08-17-2009, 06:53 AM
 
Location: Knoxville
4,705 posts, read 25,187,887 times
Reputation: 6129

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You also may want to check under the kitchen sink and make sure the dishwasher is actually connected to the HOT water line. You should be able to see the two valves under the sink, and the one on the left should be the HOT. There should also be a small pipe going in the direction of the dishwasher.

Turn on the kitchen sink to HOT until the water runs hot. Then feel the valves under the sink and you will be able to tell which one is HOT and if it connected to the dishwasher.

It would not be the first time someone connected a dishwasher to the COLD supply.

There is also a chance that the dip tube in the water heater has failed, come loose or was not installed. This can make hot water delivery pretty poor even though the water heater burner is operating fine.

Hot water taking a long time to get to a fixture is a different problem than just not getting water hot enough. Taking a long time to get somewhere can be from pipe size (smaller 1/2" pipes carry less gallons per minute than 3/4"), to length of pipe run.

Water not getting hot enough has to do with the function of the water heater itself. You have two issues that may not be related.
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Old 08-18-2009, 03:25 PM
 
Location: The beautiful Rogue Valley, Oregon
7,785 posts, read 18,734,906 times
Reputation: 10783
Are you sure the water really isn't hot enough? Run the water on full hot and use a kitchen thermometer to check the temp.

When we put in our solar thermal hot water, we didn't have an anti-scald valve plumbed in for the first week or two. We were getting water - at the tap next to the dishwasher - around 165 deg F, and we were STILL getting the "water heat" message. We checked the plumbing connections to be sure that the dishwasher hadn't been connected to only the cold tap, and it hadn't.

The only thing we can figure are: that the dishwasher either reuses the water and has to reheat it; it uses so little water that the 18" or so of pipe that connects the dishwasher to the main hot water into the tap is all the water it gets and hence is NEVER warm; or it's some kind of attempt on the manufacturer's part to claim that the reason it doesn't get dishes sparkling clean is our plumbing's fault and not a design flaw in the machine.
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Old 08-18-2009, 03:54 PM
 
29,939 posts, read 39,330,273 times
Reputation: 4798
The warning is at 125° F on every electric water heater I have seen.

Try this OP. Run the hot water until it runs out. If it only takes 5 minutes or so you may have bad element or t-stat. If it goes longer try this. Run the hot water near the sink (or the closest supply to the dishwasher) till it get's hot. Then run the dishwasher and keep the water running in that sink until it fills up. After it fills and starts washing open the door and make sure the water is hot, it should be steaming. If the DW passes all those steps then check to make sure you are not covering the opening that allows the sprayer in the bottom, and sometimes top, so that it can effectively spray water completely in the dishwasher.
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Old 08-18-2009, 03:59 PM
 
Location: Maine
2,272 posts, read 6,644,262 times
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I think now that there are two issues:

1) really bad dishwasher;
2) completely separate issue: it just takes a long time for hot water to get to our faucets in this house. I've been hand washing the dishes since it's so frustrating using the dishwasher. I turn on the hot water at the sink, and it takes about 5 minutes for it to get hot. Then it does get really hot, so I do need to turn the heater back down some.
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Old 08-18-2009, 04:02 PM
 
29,939 posts, read 39,330,273 times
Reputation: 4798
You need to get a circulation pump or have a tank-less water heater installed closer to your sink. The land lord may pay for these or, at minimum, offer to pay for half of it.
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