Can you start with HOT - 120-140 degree water?

Any reason why you wouldn't want to use HOT water out of the faucet to start your boil? My tap water is about 120 degrees or so and it would cut my boil time down some. I currently only do extract brewing and am doing 5 gallon full boils (starting next week) and after a that 10-12 gallon batches.

What do you all think? I'm just thinking it would save me time and get up to 150-170 steeping temperatures that much faster.

Depends on the health of your water heater. Pour off a glass, let it cool and taste it. If it's good, you're golden.

i can get water out of my tap at 135. works perfectly.

Anything to speed up the process, right?

Remember, though, that if you have a water softener, the hot water tap may be different than the cold. If that matters to you, then you might want to rethink using the hot. If it doesn't matter to you , then go for it.

I would agree with the others about possibly not wanting the water from the water heater.

MBasile said:

I would agree with the others about possibly not wanting the water from the water heater.

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I would agree if the heater sits stagnant for long periods. With me, the wife, 2 kids, her friends, my friends, all using the hot water, we easily cycle the tank 2-3 times a day.

For me, everything runs through the water softener. I don't if that's good or bad for brewing water but I considered starting to use my own water. Normally I just buy spring water. What I planned on doing though was using a Culligan Filtration system through a white water drinking hose for the camper and using that to fill up my kettle out in the garage.

I've always been told never use hot water for cooking, drinking, etc. I never was (and still not) sure if it really is an issue or not. This is what I dug up with a quick google search for "don't cook with hot water"

Get the Lead Out: Don't Drink, Cook with Hot Water From the Tap

Giving the article a quick scan, it says homes built before 86 (mine was built in '62) probably contain lead pipes and the US EPA recommends not using the hot lines for drinking.

I myself TRY not to just based off of a superstition. I vaguely remember my mother telling me many moons ago not to use the hot water, so I never do.

I always use hot water when brewing. It saves a good 40 minutes out of my brew day for sure. I have to let the water run for just a little bit though, to make sure there's no, ah, 'colorations' to the water. I live in a 1916 house and we don't have to use water softeners in Portland.

Since water comes INTO our house soft (we have no choice) I run everything through a carbon filter on a faucet. I use hot water and have no problems. New water heater though.

I use water from the heater. The chances of there being more than trace amounts of lead in your water are minor. Copper pipes and brass fixtures can leach lead, but after a few years it stops. The last problem I saw concerning lead in water involved water purifiers with brass faucets.

Our hot water heater has this magnesium (I think?) rod in it and the water tastes like crap. So for me the answer is no.