Self-installation of a water heater – to help the home master

Self-installation of a water heater

The summer planned shutdown of hot water brings a lot of inconvenience to our life, and they are primarily associated with the inability to fully take a shower, wash dishes with hot water. According to statistics, every third city dweller warms water for bathing and other needs in buckets and large pots, while the installation of a water heater can completely eradicate the problem of lack of hot water in an apartment, in a private house or in a country house.

Content

• Types of equipment for heating water
• The principle of operation of the storage boiler
• How to install a water heater
• Connecting the unit to the water supply
• How to connect a water heater to the mains

Types of equipment for heating water

Water heaters are storage and flow. Both types have their pros and cons, and before making a choice in favor of one or another option, ask yourself one single question: “How often do I need hot water?” If one person lives in the apartment (at the cottage) and the need for hot water arises only a couple of times a day, or even less often, it makes sense to pay attention to the instantaneous water heater. For a family of two, three or more people, hot water is needed constantly, in this case, the purchase of an accumulation tank, it’s a boiler, will be the best option.

Instantaneous water heater is good in that it takes up relatively little space and gives out heated water instantly, after a couple of seconds after turning it on.

But do not forget about the negative side, namely: the flow heater is extremely economical in terms of energy consumption. So for an hour of use, your meter “wraps” at least five kilowatts.

The principle of operation of the storage boiler

Such a heater has a tank, it is a tank filled with water. Water enters the tank cold and under the influence of the heating element is heated to the temperature set on the thermostat. The tank has a special structure, and the air gap between the walls of the tank does not allow the water to cool quickly. Heating time – up to one and a half hours. During the day, the thermostat itself starts the water heating mechanism, so, in fact, a constantly set temperature is maintained.

Cons: the tank is voluminous and takes place, the water is not heated so quickly. An obvious plus: low power consumption, only 1.5 – 2.0 kilowatts per hour.

How to install a water heater

With a flow heater there is less trouble in the installation. The main work is to install the machine and lay a powerful three-core cable (the cable is laid directly from the shield). The wire can be run under the skirting board, or pierced with a funnel in the wall, lay the cable and sealed with a cement screed (or starting putty) of the interference with the integrity of the wall.

Installation of a storage water heater on average takes up to an hour and a half from specialists. If you are not a pro in this matter, installation will take a little longer.

It is important to know: boilers up to a hundred liters of water can be safely mounted on the wall, but manufacturers recommend boilers with a volume of more than 150 liters to be placed on the floor without hanging them on the wall.

For ease of maintenance, the boilers should be at least 30 cm above the floor. As a rule, tanks are attached, if we are talking about a city apartment, in the toilet over the toilet. At the same time, the mounting height is calculated so that the tallest of the family members do not cling to the bottom of the tank with the back of the tank, using the toilet.

The set always comes with anchor bolts “L” in the form of 2 to 4 pieces (depending on the volume of the tank). Installation begins with fixing the anchors to the wall. They are mounted at a certain distance, and often manufacturers put a paper mark for the convenience of drawing a wall. If not included, the distance is measured with a tape measure on the back of the tank.

It is important to know: the wall should be strong, strong, ideally it should be a concrete surface. If the surface crumbles and when drilling holes the pieces of the wall fall out, longer anchors will be required. The tank cannot be mounted on a weak, unstable surface!

Plastic plugs are inserted into the drilled holes and then the anchors themselves are screwed. An empty tank is hung up and checked for stability (it should sit tight on the anchors). What follows is perhaps the most important part: an electrician and a pipe insert.

Connecting the unit to the water supply

On the bottom of the storage tank there are two outlets for connecting with pipes: one outlet is red, the other is blue (respectively for connection to cold and hot water). The first step is to screw the safety valve to the blue output, it is always supplied.

If, for some reason, the safety valve was not included, it can always be bought at a hardware store. It is impossible to operate a water heater without it, since it is this valve that relieves excess water pressure in the tank.

A bronze check valve is screwed onto the safety valve, its task is to prevent the water from draining from the tank back to the water supply system. Then, two ball shut-off valves are tightly attached to the red outlet of the tank and to the non-return valve of the blue outlet. Important: always use the tape “Fum” or tow for the greatest tightness.

The boiler can be attached to pipes and the mixer either with the help of metal-plastic pipes or using flexible connectors of the required length. When choosing the latter, consider the fact that not all eyeliners are able to withstand high pressure. In any case, flexible eyeliner, even the highest quality, is inferior in its characteristics to metal or metal-plastic pipes.

If you settled on a metal plate, remember: it cannot be bent! To connect different sections of such a pipe, you will have to buy fittings of the appropriate section (corners, connecting “barrels”, etc.). If the pipe is bent, it will soon leak at the bend points.

To help the home master! There are two types of metal-plastic pipes: suture and seamless. Seamless are suitable for both hot and cold water, and suture (the seam can be seen on the cut, it is located on the inner surface of the pipe) is suitable only for cold water.

How to connect a water heater to the mains

As we already said, a separate cable is laid for instantaneous heaters. They can not be plugged into the outlet (the wiring will not stand). The storage boiler can be plugged into the socket, but with one condition: only one plug must be inserted into the socket – from the water heater. No other electrical appliances can be connected in addition, especially through the “tee”.

Ideally, you should also lay a separate wire to the main shield and turn on (turn off if necessary) the boiler “automatically.” In case of overheating of the water in the tank, a click will sound, that is, the “machine” itself will disconnect the boiler from the power supply. Overheating of water may occur due to a malfunction in the thermostat. It is always recommended to install the machine, as only this can protect the housing from fire wiring due to a malfunction or overheating of the boiler.

As a rule, the connection diagram of the water heater, in its most accessible form, is proposed to the buyer in the form of a drawing and instructions and is included in the kit for the boiler. The kit should also include a spare magnesium anode, bronze adapters and a safety valve. Everything else is bought separately.