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СToday we will tell you how to install a water heater at home with your own hands.
About the signs of living comfort
The presence of hot water in the house is one of the main signs of a comfortable home.
In apartment buildings, hot water supply is often centralized. Water is heated separately in the boiler room and is supplied to all apartments.
However, now such water supply is economically inefficient, moreover, it has many disadvantages in the form of a possible shutdown of the hot water supply during pipeline breaks or maintenance work in the boiler room.
The owners of private houses, however, are not able to provide such provision with warm water, so they have to solve the problem with the supply themselves.
This method of providing hot water is becoming so popular that apartment owners often abandon centralized supply in favor of an autonomous one.
Water heaters provide housing with hot water in the right amount, it is available at any time, and this is cost-effective.
Types of Water Heaters
The main types of water heaters currently in use are electric and gas.
In turn, electric water heaters are divided into storage and flow.
However, they have one method of heating water – with the help of heating elements.
In gas heaters, the increase in water temperature is carried out due to the combustion of gas.
It should also be noted that the installation of a water heater in the house is not so complicated, it is quite possible to do it yourself, having not very many tools and equipment at hand.
Of course, the situation with gas water heaters is somewhat more complicated, but more on that below.
Positive and negative qualities
By installing your own water heater, you can save a lot of money, this is the main advantage. But self-assembly has other advantages.
Since the work is carried out by the owner of the house himself, when servicing or needing to replace a faulty water heater, it will not be necessary to understand the connection system.
In the future, replacing the heater will be completely simple. In addition, installation work will increase skills in performing various household tasks.
In addition, incorrect work can lead to the fact that the system will not work.
There are several factors to consider before installing a water heater.
An electric storage heater, also known as a “boiler”, consumes less electricity, but it has rather large dimensions, so you should immediately decide whether there is a place for its installation.
A flowing electric water heater is much more compact and it is easier to find a place for it. But it consumes more electricity.
To calculate whether the wiring can hold the load, the wire size will help.
So that the wiring can withstand the load created by a 2 kW boiler, a wire with a cross section of at least 2,5 mm is required. If a flow heater is installed, the wiring must be even thicker.
If they are not there, but the system consists of plastic pipes, then it is not so difficult to insert the leads. The most difficult thing will be with metal pipes.
But if the water supply system is already outdated, then it is quite possible that it will have to be completely changed. It is also important to know how to install an outlet in the bathroom.
Required tools and materials
If the wiring of the house is quite capable of working with water heaters and it is possible to connect it to the water supply system or make a tie-in, then you can start work.
Of the tools you need:
- Perforator with a drill of the required thickness;
- Roulette;
- A set of keys;
- Screwdrivers;
- Pliers;
- Hammer, etc.
Additionally, you may need a soldering iron for plastic pipes or a die for threading metal pipes.
These tools are needed if necessary, tie-in with the water supply system.
You will also need the following materials:
- Tow with paste for sealing the joint or fum-tape;
- Stopcocks (quantity – from 1 to 3 pieces);
- Tees (plastic or metal);
- Mounting hooks;
- Connecting hoses (if they are not included);
- Safety valve (for boiler);
- 3-core cable (its length should be enough to the meter);
- Circuit breaker or socket.
Next, consider the sequence of actions for installing and connecting water heaters of various types.
Installation of instantaneous water heater
The first will be flow type water heaters. These heaters are divided into portable and stationary.
With portable water heaters, installation problems should not be at all. Often, water is supplied to them from a shower hose with a previously removed sprayer.
To install, just select its location. Then measure the attachment points. In this case, you need to take into account the length of the wiring, it should be enough to the nearest outlet.
Next, in the marked places, you need to drill holes in the wall with a puncher and screw mounting hooks into them.
After that, hang the heater on hooks, connect the hose from the shower to the inlet outlet and connect it to the outlet.
This completes the installation. Below are examples of work.
The complexity of installing a stationary instantaneous water heater depends mainly on the water supply system at home.
If only a pipeline with cold water enters the house, then installation will be easier, and if it is with cold and hot, additional work will be required.
See also:
The first step, again, will require determining the location of the heater. But here you need to focus on the pipeline with water, the heater should be located not far from it.
Next, the device is fixed in the selected location. The installation process is identical to that described.
If the pipeline with water has an outlet with a shut-off valve for connection, then it will not be difficult to provide water supply.
It is enough to connect a flexible hose to the stopcock and to the supply outlet of the heater itself.
But you should also worry about the outlet of the heater. A flexible hose must also be connected to it, and the other end to the mixer.
If there are several water intake points, then it will be necessary to lay plastic pipelines to them, and then connect the hose from the heater to this pipeline.
If there is no separate output in the support system, then you will have to make it.
If the pipes are plastic, then from the tools you will additionally need a soldering iron for plastic pipes, scissors for cutting them, and from materials – a tee and a stopcock.
Before starting work, you need to shut off the water supply to the system and drain its remnants.
Then cut the pipe in the place closest to the location of the device.
Using a soldering iron, solder the tee into the cut, and connect the tap to it. Then connect the hoses to the device.
If the pipes are metal, then for tapping you will need a die for cutting threads on pipes.
The sequence of work is the same as for plastic ones: the pipe is cut, threads are cut at its ends, a tee is screwed in, and a stopcock is screwed onto it.
After installation, check the tightness of all connections. To do this, the water supply is turned on and the connections are checked for leaks.
Next, the device is plugged into the outlet and the system is checked for performance.
If a pipeline with hot water also enters the house, then in addition to connecting the supply to the heater from the pipeline with cold water, it will be necessary to install two additional shut-off valves and one tee.
The tee cuts into the hot water supply pipe. Before it, the first valve is installed, and the second – at the outlet of the heater.
This will ensure the connection and disconnection of hot water from different sources.
When using hot water from a centralized supply, the taps at the inlet and outlet to the heater are closed.
If water heated by the device is used, then the taps leading to it open, and the tap installed in front of the tee, embedded in the pipeline with hot water, is blocked.
Installing a storage water heater
The installation of a storage water heater is approximately the same.
First, the location of the boiler is selected. It must have good access for maintenance.
Then all measurements and drilling of holes for mounting mounting hooks are made.
Additionally, it may be necessary to install safety bolts.
Another way.
Then the water supply is connected. If only a pipeline with cold water enters the house, then a tee crashes into it, and a shut-off valve is already on it.
A safety valve must be located on the inlet outlet to the boiler, which ensures that the required pressure in the boiler is maintained.
Since this valve has a water outlet, a silicone tube will need to be connected to it, the end of which should be connected to the drain.
A hose is connected to the outlet of the boiler, through which hot water will be supplied to the pipeline leading to consumers.
Therefore, it is desirable to lay this pipeline in advance.
Now for these purposes, you can use smart sockets, but you need to know models that can withstand heavy loads.
It is desirable to lay the wire in a strobe with its subsequent termination. A circuit breaker must be installed in the wiring near the boiler.
Schematic diagram of the installation of the boiler.
If a pipeline with hot water also enters the house, then it will be necessary to insert the outlet pipe from the boiler into this pipeline and install another tee and two additional taps.
After you need to pump the heater with water. To do this, you need to open one of the taps of the point of consumption, and after that – the tap for supplying water to the heater.
If there is a connection to the centralized hot water pipeline, the valve installed in front of the tee must be closed and the valve at the boiler outlet must be opened.
Water, filling the system, will push out the air in the system and it will exit through the tap of the point of consumption.
During injection, all piping connections should be inspected for leaks.
If necessary, the connections can be tightened. If the leak persists after tightening, it is better to repack the connection, having previously closed all supply taps and drained the water from the system.
Boiler Installation Examples.
After filling the systems with water, the boiler is connected to the network.
Installing a gas water heater
With gas water heaters, everything is somewhat more complicated. If such a heater has not been used before, it will not be possible to install it yourself.
Installation will require coordination with the relevant authorities, the installation of the water heater is also carried out by them.
But it is quite possible to replace a faulty gas water heater yourself. Moreover, all connections are already in place.
To replace it, you will first need to completely shut off the gas supply to the water heater.
Usually, when installing such a heater, a valve is installed in front of the gas pipeline entering it.
You also need to turn off the water taps and drain the remaining water.
Next, you need to unwind all the pipelines suitable for the water heater – gas and water.
Then the faulty water heater is removed, and a new one is fixed in its place.
Next, a corrugated exhaust pipe is put on the heater.
It is important to ensure that the fit of this pipe is tight.
If there is a gap and it is worn loosely, it may need to be replaced with a pipe with a smaller diameter.
Next, the pipelines are connected. First, the gas pipeline is connected.
To do this, you may need a special rubber hose with adapters at the ends.
After connecting, you should immediately check the connections. To do this, they need to be moistened with plenty of soapy water and open the gas supply valve.
If the connection is made correctly, no bubbles in the soap solution should appear at the connection points.
If they are, you need to shut off the gas supply, and tighten the connections and re-check.
The last connection to the heater is water pipelines. You can do this earlier, but the water supply must be shut off.
Again, after installation work with pipelines, they should be checked for leaks and, if necessary, eliminate it by tightening the connection or completely repacking.
Next, a test run of the system is already in progress. But before that, you need to study the rules for operating the water heater and putting it into operation, perform it according to the instructions.
These are all the main points that are important when installing and connecting different types of water heaters on your own.
Form edge.
Of course, certain nuances may arise when connecting one or another type of water heater, but most of them depend on various factors.
Read on the topic – what tools you need to have at home.
These are the installation sites, the layout of the apartment, the features of the water and power supply system.