How to install and connect the water heater with your own hands

In the electric water heater market, storage models( boilers) are beyond competition, so let's talk about them. Accumulative water heaters are electrical appliances that are designed to automatically heat domestic water to a temperature of 55-75 degrees. In a word, such a device is called a boiler, and it consists in principle of 2 elements - a heating electric element and a water tank. But mounting( mounting) of different models is significantly different.

What is better than storage water heaters?

The most important advantage of boilers over flow heaters is simple installation, they can be hung on the wall in the immediate vicinity of the hot water intake points. And since there is always a supply of hot water in the boiler( depending on the volume of the tank), the hot water is always at hand and you do not have to wait for a long time until it reaches the tap, as is the case with the flow heater. The fact is that flow-through heaters require the fulfillment of much more stringent conditions for connection and requirements for the location, and their installation should be trusted only to specialists.

It’s not always possible to hang them where you want - but you always want to get closer to the tap so that you don’t have to let the cold water out of the tap for a long time while the hot one runs. But this is extra time for waiting, which is annoying, and an uneconomical consumption of resources - drinking water and electricity. In addition, the storage water heater does not react at all to drops or lack of pressure in the water supply system, which is very important for normal operation of the instantaneous water heater. That is why unpretentious accumulative water heaters traditionally remain bestsellers, especially since they can be installed independently.

The main disadvantages of storage water heaters.

Whatever type of energy a boiler has, it will always have three drawbacks:

• The necessary amount of time to heat water with full flow of hot water from the tank. Depending on the volume of the tank, it may take an hour or more, the minimum time is 20 minutes. That is, two people can not take a shower one after another, they will have to sustain a pause.
• The impressive size of the tank, which clearly requires space.
• In case of shutdown of heating, the water in the tank quickly begins to deteriorate, and before using it, it must be replaced, or not turned off, the tank, then when heated, all bacteria are killed by high temperature.

How to choose a storage water heater?

Three main selection criteria:

1. The family's need for hot water, it is calculated from the rate of 40 liters per day per person. Bathroom lovers should know that 120 liters of hot water is needed for it once.
2. Power consumption and compliance with this power home network,
3. The presence of sufficient space to accommodate a tank of a certain size. It should be remembered that the outside of the boiler is always more than the inside - because the obligatory insulation of the walls gives volume.

Additional selection criteria:

• Is there a safety switch in the boiler triggered by an automatic switch?
• Is there any overheating protection?
• The water tank should be made of stainless steel( food or medical), the inner surface of the biofibre prevents water damage.
• Does the copper heating element protect against corrosion in the form of a nickel coating?
• The material for thermal insulation must be environmentally friendly.
• Is there a half power function to save electricity.
• Availability within reach of service centers and warranty from the manufacturer.

So, the storage water heater is selected, purchased and brought home. How is the correct connection of the storage water heater already in place? Of course, this business is better to entrust plumbers to specialists, but in principle, there is nothing difficult in this and everything can be done on your own.

Before connecting the electric heater to the water supply system and the electrical network, it is necessary to thoroughly study its instructions and deal with its structure. There are four main elements in an electric water heater - a water tank, an anode as a heating electric element, a safety assembly that prevents the mixing of already heated water and cold water. At the bottom of the boiler there is a safety valve for draining water at overpressure( overheating).

First of all, you need to check the strength of the walls, whether they are able to withstand the entire mass of a tank filled with water, and from this choose fasteners. If the walls are weak, it is better to initially choose floor water heaters, although they work more slowly than vertical mounted ones. Next, you should look at the places where the supply line to the water supply system is located in the tank and how efficiently to ensure the connection, at what height to place the tank.

If you do not have a central water supply and cold water is taken from a well or well, you need to put a separate filter before entering the tank. It is not included in the delivery package, and you need to buy it separately. Before fixing the water heater, you need to take care of where the water will flow from it, you may have to install a drain pan with drainage pipe to drain to the sewer.

The algorithm for connecting an electric water heater

1. Fasten the boiler to the wall. Heaters larger than 50 liters can be hung only on strong load-bearing walls. The fastener( purchased separately) is screwed to the wall with powerful anchor bolts. The tank itself is hung on hooks, for vertical models of 30-100 liters, 2 hooks are enough( at a distance of 180 mm from each other), for horizontal models of 50-200 liters - 4 hooks are required.
2. The nozzle, which is responsible for draining excess water, should be fitted with a safety valve, while ensuring absolute tightness with a fum-tape or other means. It is necessary to twist the valve accurately, without pressing, so as not to break it. This is a mandatory element, because the operation of the heater without a safety valve is strictly prohibited.
3. If necessary, attach a water filter.
4. The water supply system can only be connected using flexible pipes, usually metal-plastic or copper pipes.
5. After connecting the inlet tube, the outlet that goes to the hot water tap is also mounted.
6. The tap opens, the tank is filled with water, while in the mixer it is necessary to open the tap of hot water until water flows out of it( the tank is filled).If there is no running water, the water heater should be connected to a storage tank, which should be located at a height of 5 meters and above.
7. When the water inlet and outlet pipes are connected and their tightness is checked, it is time to connect the electrical wires with accurate phasing.
8. The next step is to connect the ground wire, without which the operation of the boiler is also prohibited.
9. The installation of the water heater is being completed with its own hands by closing the protective cover; now it is possible to turn on the heater in the electrical network.

Features of connecting an instantaneous electric water heater

As mentioned above, water heaters of this type are very demanding on the pressure in the water supply system( it must be even and at a sufficient level, as in urban central water supply systems).They also need special wiring. Most likely, you will need to connect the third phase. To understand all these nuances, you need to have an appropriate education, because the connection of a flow-through water heater is a task only for professionals.

And most importantly, it should be remembered that the flowing electric heater due to the high speed of the water movement is simply not capable of heating water more than 20 degrees. Thus, if ice water from a well or a well is supplied to it, it will not be able to heat it even to a warm state, not like hot water.

Tips for correct operation of an electric water heater

Remember that the water from the boiler in principle is not suitable for use in food. If you are a happy owner of a two-phase meter, then to save electricity, you can turn on the heat only at night. Manufacturers recommend changing the heating element annually, although this can be done less often.

During operation, it is desirable to set the power regulator to 80%, not more. If you leave the house for a few days, the tank should be emptied of water and disconnected from the network. This is especially important if the tank is located in an unheated room in winter. If the water freezes, the expensive electric water heater will fail hopelessly.