How does the water inside pipes get so cold?

[Rand]

I have it lucky, Pex for water and the tub is literally 10ft or so above my hot water tank.

Now the bathroom sinks and kitchen sink take a 15-30sec to go warm.


Tiny piece of info if you have pex pipes.

1" OD = 3/4" pex

3/4 OD = 1/2" pex

Had to recrimp half the house.. "hilljack and son" who installed it during the home renovation after it was looted of copper.. did a really poor job.

 

[ARB1977]

Don’t forget there’s pipes running through your attic. Ours runs cold for a little bit.

 

[javacontour]

It's all relative. I've gone trout fishing, wading in the water. The water is always low to mid 50's coming out of the spring hole. So on 1 March, opening day of trout season, when ambient air temps may be freezing or below, the water feels warm. In July, the same spring feels cool relative to the 90+ degree ambient temps.

The water is largely the same temperature, but feels different based on the ambient temps.

 

[javacontour]

Originally Posted By: redhat
Well that water that isn't moving will at some point get down to ambient temperature. Since most of us run around 98.6 degrees F, 70 would seem pretty cold.


Bingo, see above.

I also know, if you are treating someone who has been exposed to cold temps, you don't use warm water, but cold. That person will tell you the cold water feels warm on their nearly frosty skin.

 

[Kestas]

Michigan set a record cold a couple years ago. Many pipes that were properly laid in the ground froze, giving all kinds of fits to homeowners. They may have since revised the codes here for what constitutes the frost line.

On the other hand, I lived in an Ann Arbor frat house one summer, where the summer was so hot, the cold water coming from the pipes in the shower never really got cold.