Help turning on the water heater

[Sweetlullaby31]

the time of the year has come for us to start using hot water in our apartment, but even after turning on the water heater, it is still coming out freezing cold, can anyone help me translate the following? my fingers end up pretty numb after each shower

 

any help will be greatly appreciated

[Kamille]

The one one the left controls the fire, the more to the right the hotter. The third one controls the water temperature, same as first one: the more to the right the hotter. The one in the middle is for seasonal variation: left is for Winter, middle is for Spring and Fall, and right is for Summer.

 

They all look like they control water temperature in some way though. I don't know why the machine needs three (and don't ask me what they mean by "fire"). But anyways, it's no wonder the water comes out cold: they're all switched to cold. Try switching each one to the opposite side, that should solve the problem. And then just make experiences to know exactly which one does what.

[imron]

and don't ask me what they mean by "fire"

looks like a gas heater so the amount of flame will directly affect the temperature of the water.

[liuzhou]

My gas water heater also has three controls. One summer-winter switch, one flame control and one for water pressure. They each have control over the temperature. I strike a balance between flame and water pressure.

 

Is the heater firing up when you turn on the water? If not you need new batteries.

If you are still only getting freezing water, try turning on the gas.

[skylee]

I find it hard to understand why we need three switches to control the water temperature (there must be reasons but I don't understand). Why are there three variables? Why can't there be only one variable (the flame) assuming that the flow of the water is constant? Does it have to do with the freezing of water pipes in winter etc?

Mine is a newer model of gas water heater and the only thing I do is turn it on/off.

[edelweis]

It seems the season corresponds to the number of gas burners, the flame control corresponds to the gas pressure, and the water temperature corresponds to the hot water output. (from this page: http://product.pchome.net/pk_269391_274108.html)

 

So setting all to the minimum/summer setting could mean:

use only 1 burner (summer), with lower gas pressure (small flame) and small hot water output (you will mix it with cold water at the tap, so your basin will fill with lukewarm or cold water).

 

And setting all to the maximum/winter setting could mean:

use all burners (winter), with higher gas pressure (big flame) and big hot water output (you can get more hot water at the tap, so you can turn off the cold water tap entirely and your basin will still fill quickly with hot water).

 

Modern heaters would have electronic control for these features so you don't have to wonder "what's the difference between using fewer burners with high gas pressure, and using all burners with a lower gas pressure".

[imron]

Not necessarily much difference in heat, but difference in ease of management.  Let's say summer is coming up and now my water temperature is getting a little too hot.  Switching the dial from winter to summer drops the heat by a few degrees.  Come the following winter, switch the dial back and I get my preferred winter temperature.

 

Trying to control that and get back to the same temperatures is considerably more imprecise using the other dials.