Korean Job Discussion Forums

[ppcg4]

Really. I do. When I come home after a 10 hour day of teaching 7 and 10 year olds, I like to hop into a nice, cold shower.

Well, sometimes the water is hot. Hot enough to cure cancer, or perhaps create an atomic reaction powerful enough to create a black hole. But that is short-lived, thank god. Because who wants a warm, or even mildly hot shower in the winter anyway, right?

[Bigfeet]

This just-in-time hot water boiler isn't doing it for me either. I think I spend more time trying to get the water to come out at a decent temp than actual showering.

[Davew125]

man, i feel sorry for you guys. I get a full 60 seconds of hot water in my shower. Its true bliss at the end of the day. Mind you i do have to press the hot water button and wait for an hour and half before i can enjoy it so i guess it's not all roses. But hey, you can't have everything, right?

[Underwaterbob]

I feel sorry for the people who haven't figured out how to use the hot water heaters here yet. I little bit of finagling and everyone I've had to use can produce a perpetual steady stream of water anywhere from tepid to boiling.

It's all about flow control people!

[Panda]

[Panda]

[sojourner1]

I'll take cold shower in the tropics and during the Korean Summer, but not Winter. brrrrr. It's a wee bit chilly.

[strange_brew]

[Bigfeet]

[KoreaninKorea]

My stupid apartment turns on the boiler every once and a while. It should be turned on from 11pm-12pm but it always seems luke-warm (at best). I think it's hot in the morning around 5-8am (I go to work at 1pm). Why the hell I pay for them turning the boiler on when I'm not home?! It's because I don't have a choice.

[bassexpander]

As was mentioned before, it's all about flow control (provided your boiler's water heating function is turned on).

When you turn on the shower water, don't turn it on and leave it full blast at it's hottest. Turn it to its hottest setting at full-blast, then push the handle down maybe half-way so that the water is still at its hottest setting, but putting out a lot less water. After 10 seconds or so, the water should warm back up.

The reason for this is that your boiler can only heat so much water at a time. If you have your shower turned on at too much water flow, then the water rushes through the boiler's heating mechanism too quickly to become heated. If you slow the speed/amount of the water flow, it WILL heat up, provided all is working correctly.

Showerheads can make a big difference here. If you have more of an energy-saver model, which doesn't allow as much water to flow though as quickly, more back-pressure is created in the system and the water heats more evenly.

You can enjoy a hot shower in Korea, but depending on your system, maybe not with a great deal of water pressure. You get used to it. It does help to change the shower head to one which is a bit more conservative with water (about 10,000 won or less for just the head).

I actually appreciate the system, and would probably add one to my house in the US to save money on bills.

[jajdude]

You guys have showers?

Luxury!

[sojourner1]

[Michael_75]

At least you guys can take showers. There is no running water for the majority of people where I am. I had to run out this morning to buy the last bottle of water in 7-11, boil it, and then scrub down in front of the sink. There was no running water for most of yesterday either.

When there is water my shower is amazing though.

[SOOHWA101]

Took me a while, but I learned that you can't just switch from ondol to shower, at least not in my apartment. I get the fluctuating hot/warm/cold streams if I forget this.