Rules for connecting a water heater. Do-it-yourself storage water heater connection

1. Select and measure as precisely as possible the place where you plan to install the water heater.

2. Determine the number of taps for which the water heater will work (sink in the bathroom, sink in the kitchen, shower room, etc.) - this directly affects the choice of power and the connection process.

3. Be sure to find out the possibilities of wiring your apartment - the cross section and material of the cable, the maximum permissible load. If you do not know how to do this yourself, consult an electrician. This is especially important if you have chosen an instantaneous water heater. It must be understood that if the capabilities of the existing electrical wiring are insufficient, you will need to lay a new separate cable from the electrical panel in order for the connection to be safe. An important fact is the grounding of the device.

4. If your tap water is not of good quality, it is highly recommended to install filters to purify the water before entering the water heater. Otherwise, the "life" of the water heater will be significantly less than declared by the manufacturer.

5. Determine for yourself the type of water heater (storage or instantaneous), select the design (round, rectangular, flat, etc.), and also determine the performance. See advice.

6. Depending on the installation location of the storage water heater, determine whether you need a wall or floor, vertical or horizontal water heater.

7. If you plan to install the appliance yourself, you will need to purchase additional materials (electrical wire, electrical circuit breaker, water supply, faucets, etc.).

In any case, the installation of a specific storage or instantaneous water heater must be carried out strictly in accordance with the instructions attached to the device. It describes the required number of holes on the wall, the number and features of fasteners, the sequence of connecting hoses, their size and location (vertically, horizontally), as well as other important information.

8. The storage water heater must be especially firmly fixed on hooks (bolts), without the possibility of moving to the sides.

9. All water heater connections to the water supply must be tight.

10. The water connection can be made with a plastic, metal-plastic, steel or copper pipe. It is not recommended to use flexible hoses with rubber hoses due to their rapid wear.

11. When turning on the instantaneous water heater, make sure that there is water in the water supply. When turning on the storage water heater, you need to make sure that the tank is full.

2 Electric storage water heater and its installation

1. It is necessary to think over in advance and measure the installation location of the water heater with the utmost accuracy.

2. In conditions of small-sized apartments and bathrooms, water heaters are most often installed in sanitary cabinets, kitchen niches, sometimes they are hung from the ceiling in a horizontal position. If there is very little space in the apartment for installing a water heater, you can choose a model with a reduced diameter or a flat design.

3. In most cases, water heaters up to 200 liters are wall-mounted, above 200 liters - floor-mounted.

4. Wall-mounted water heaters with a volume of more than 50 liters are recommended to be installed on a load-bearing wall. The device is suspended from the housing bracket on anchor bolts (hooks) fixed in the wall (not included in the delivery set). For installation of vertical models (30-100 liters) two hooks are used. The distance between the hooks must be 180 mm. Horizontal models (50 - 200 liters) are mounted on four hooks using the loops in the EWH brackets. To maintain EWH, the distance from the protective cover to the nearest surface in the direction of the removable flange axis must be at least:
- 30 centimeters - for models 5-80 liters;
- 50 centimeters - for models of 100-200 liters.

Horizontal water heaters, as a rule, have a volume of no more than 150 liters.

It is impossible to install a vertical water heater in a horizontal position!

5. Very often, storage water heaters are installed in a niche or a sanitary cabinet, and therefore access to the device can be difficult. In this case, you should think about the quality of the water heater in order to spend a minimum of effort on maintenance in the future and avoid repairing a hard-to-reach device.

Attention!
Do not forget about the installation of a safety valve - a device designed to protect equipment (water heater) and pipelines from mechanical destruction by excessive pressure. The safety valve performs its function by releasing excess water from the system at an overpressure. The valve also ensures that water is not discharged when the operating pressure is restored.

When installing the water heater in rooms that do not have waterproofing of floors and drainage channels, it is necessary to install a protective tray under the device with drainage into the sewer and connect the drain pipe to the drain hole of the safety valve.

The drain tube and the protective tray are usually not included in the scope of supply and are selected by the consumer independently.

Water connection

Attention!
If the water supplied to the water heater does not meet the standard for tap water, a filter must be installed at the inlet to the water heater, the type and parameters of which can be selected by the service technician.

Screw the safety valve onto the cold water inlet pipe, marked in blue, by 3.5-4 turns, ensuring the tightness of the connection with any waterproofing material (flax, FUM tape, etc.). Connection to the water supply system is made only with the help of a special flexible plumbing, as well as flexible plastic or copper pipes. During installation, excessive efforts are not allowed on the water heater pipes in order to avoid damage to the pipes and the porcelain coating of the inner tank. After connecting, open the cold water supply valve to the water heater and the hot water tap on the mixer. When the appliance is completely filled, water will flow from the tap of the mixer in a continuous stream. When connecting the water heater in places not supplied with water, you can supply water to the water heater from an auxiliary tank, placing it at a height of at least 5 meters from the top of the device.

3 Electric instantaneous water heater and its installation

1. The first thing to pay attention to when connecting an instantaneous water heater is electrical wiring. It is recommended that even before buying the device, find out the maximum load of the electrical network in the apartment and, if necessary, install an additional machine on the electrical panel, run a separate wire through it and provide grounding. More information about choosing a cable was written at the beginning of this tip.

2. The performance of an instantaneous water heater directly depends on its power.

Attention!

• It is strictly not recommended to replace any components that are part of the instantaneous water heater. By replacing, for example, a hose with a watering can in the device, you will violate the throughput of the water heater, for which it is designed. For this reason, the water will not heat up properly.
• In no case should the outlet water be shut off to prevent it from boiling inside the appliance.
• When planning the purchase of an instantaneous water heater, it should be taken into account that it is able to raise the water temperature by about 20 degrees. Those. if you want to supply very cold (for example, spring) water to the device, then you will not be able to get hot water at the outlet - it will only be warm.

The advantage of an electric boiler over other water heaters is its versatility. The storage tank is suitable for any apartment and private house, since it consumes only 1.5 ... 3 kW of electricity. Permission for installation is not required, for the sake of economy, installation is carried out independently. How to install a water heater and connect it to the water supply with your own hands, we will tell in this manual.

Choosing a boiler - how many liters you need

We decided to touch on this topic, since the normal provision of the house with hot water supply (abbreviated as DHW) depends on the volume of the water heater. Buying a tank with a large supply of water is also pointless:

• the heating time to a comfortable temperature increases;
• the price of equipment rises;
• the installation of a storage water heater becomes more complicated due to the large weight of the device + a decent volume of water.

Advice. If the heater is needed only for washing dishes, it is better to buy a low-power electric flow model, which is placed under the sink in the kitchen or instead of a faucet. How to choose the right one, read in a separate publication.

The capacity of the storage tank is selected according to the consumption of mixed (warm) water per 1 tenant per day - 20 liters for hygienic needs, another 12 liters for household needs. Boiler for how many liters is needed in the end:

• with economical consumption, a family of 2 people needs 50 liters, comfortable - 80 liters;
• 3 people – 80…100 l;
• 4 family members - 100 ... 120 liters;
• 5 or more residents actively using hot water - 120 ... 150 liters.

Briefly about the principle of operation of the drive

For proper installation and connection of the water heater to engineering networks, you need to know the device and the principle of operation of the device. The design and scheme of work looks like this:

Reference. The power of the heating element is 1.5…3 kW, depending on the volume of the tank. Some flat models of storage boilers are equipped with two electric heaters.

The device of vertical and horizontal boilers is identical - the intake pipe is at the top, the supply pipe is at the bottom. Hence the main problem of servicing any storage water heater arises - it is impossible to drain the water through the tap. The issue is solved in different ways, depending on the strapping scheme, which we will consider later.

Water heater installation instructions

Before installation, or better - at the stage of purchase, we determine the location of the boiler. There are no restrictions - the device can be installed even in the attic or in the basement of a country house. These options are not excluded, but we recommend that you adhere to the following rules:

Information for thought. In the passport of the Termex water heater (Termex), the manufacturer indicates: if the user decides to install the device in a hard-to-reach place, he will be forced to pay for warranty service. In case of replacement, the heater is dismantled independently or at its own expense.

The horizontal version of the boiler cannot be placed vertically and vice versa. There are universal models that work in both positions, but in practice the water heater rarely has to be rearranged. Unless when replacing or transferring to another place.

Wall mounting methods

One of the disadvantages of storage units is a large mass. For example, a wall-mounted Ariston tank (50 liters) weighs 18 kg without water, gross - almost 70 kg. The net weight of a 100-liter water heater is 30 kg, the gross weight easily reaches 130 kg.

Attach heavy boiler tanks to different walls:

• from dense materials - concrete, brick, wooden beams, logs;
• from porous building materials - aerated concrete, foam blocks;
• to frame-type partitions sheathed with drywall, OSB plywood.

Do-it-yourself installation of a water heater on a concrete wall is done using expansion anchors equipped with nuts. The technology is simple: we mark the attachment points on the standard tank bracket, drill holes, insert anchor bolts and fasten the boiler with nuts. Hole depth and fastener length - at least 7 cm.

Note. Small devices 30…50 l with one hanging bracket can be mounted on plastic dowels and hooks (or bolts). Water heaters with two brackets cannot be hung on hooks - you will not guess the exact position of the holes so that the load is distributed evenly over 4 points.

In log and timber houses, the task is even easier to solve - a bolt or hook Ø8-10 mm is screwed into a prepared hole of identical diameter. To hang the boiler on aerated concrete or porous brick, the following methods are used:

1. Lightweight water heaters with a volume of 30-50 liters are attached using plastic dowels designed for foam concrete (shown below in the photo).
2. Heavy tanks over 80 liters are hung on special metal dowels, where bolts with ordinary metric threads are screwed.

   On the left is a dowel made of metal, on the right - made of plastic

3. In materials with large pores and air spaces (for example, ceramic blocks), chemical anchors will hold the boiler.
4. If the unit is located in a boiler room or other utility room where appearance does not play a role, a round support is welded from a strip and 2 steel pipes. The tank is fixed to the wall with simple dowels.
   

The most difficult thing is to install a water heater on plasterboard structures, especially after the repair of the apartment, when the bathroom walls are already tiled. Although GKL sheets with a thickness of 12.5 mm are able to withstand fairly heavy objects, it is impossible to mount the boiler directly to drywall, the fasteners can break out at any time.

What techniques do the masters use when installing a water heater on a drywall base:

Connecting the boiler to the water supply - 2 proven schemes

Manufacturers of water heaters recommend connecting the device to the pipes of the water supply system in a straight line. That is, there are no fittings and fittings between the safety valve and the cold water fitting. How to make the recommended boiler piping:

1. Hang the unit on the wall in the desired position. Screw the safety group directly to the cold water pipe, naturally seal the thread with flax or thread (FUM tape is not the best option).
2. Before the valve, install a shut-off ball valve with a diameter of ½“ (DN15).
3. Attach pipes to the tap thread and hot water fitting. The joints are made detachable - you need to use fittings with a union nut (American). It is allowed to use flexible connections - ready-made hoses with a braid.
4. Put a flexible tube on the outlet of the relief valve, lower the end into the sewer, or better, into a transparent plastic bottle. Then you can notice a malfunction of the element or pressure problems in the system in time.
5. To check the tightness of the joints, fill the container - open the hot tap on the faucet and water supply. Wait for the water to flow from the faucet.

Clarification. When piping a horizontally mounted water heater (with side connections), a 90° elbow is first installed on the inlet fitting, then a valve. The drain spout of the element must point downwards.

The disadvantage of the scheme is the difficulty of emptying the tank, for draining. If the boiler is placed in a country house or in a country house with periodic heating, it is worth using the piping with a drain valve shown in the picture.

A tee with a side valve appears between the check valve and the fitting, which serves to quickly empty the tank. A shut-off valve on the hot line is installed in one case - when the water heater is connected to the pipes of the centralized DHW system.

Advice. To connect the device to the water supply, try not to use flexible hoses, it is better to approach the fittings with pipes - PEX-AL-PEX metal-plastic, PPR polypropylene. Eyeliners do not last long and begin to leak in the middle of the night, when the pressure in the network rises to a maximum.

How to apply power

The accumulative boiler belongs to household electrical appliances of increased power. The device must be powered from a separate cable line coming from a common switchboard. How to properly connect a water heater to the electrical network of an apartment or a private house:

1. To supply voltage from the shield to the boiler, use a three-core copper cable of the VVG type. Select the cross section of the wires according to the power of the unit, using the table.

   The table shows the maximum power, so the cable must be taken with a margin. For most heaters, 2.5 mm2 wire will do.

2. To protect the supply line, install a two-pole differential circuit breaker with a trip current of 30 mA, as shown in the diagram.
3. Connecting a ground wire is a mandatory requirement for safety regulations.
   
4. To connect the wires to the contacts of the heating element, remove the protective plastic cover (usually held on by 2-3 self-tapping screws).
5. It is not necessary to install an outlet for the water heater. But if the device is equipped with a factory plug, then the outlet can be carefully placed on the side of the tank.

An important point. Do not mount the socket directly under the water heater, where it can be flooded with water in case of an accident. The whole process of tying and connecting the drive is shown in the video:

Conclusion

It makes no sense to hire craftsmen and pay money if you are able to install and connect the water heater yourself. The procedure is quite simple, except for one operation - hanging a heavy tank on the wall, here it is better to call an assistant. In addition, professional installation is not always the case, often installers do everything correctly, but sloppy.

For a comfortable stay in the house, when you want to constantly use hot water, and not depend on the repair schedule of monopolists that can turn off this water for an unknown number of days, many people think about purchasing a boiler.

Most often, the choice falls in the direction of a storage water heater. They come in different firms Ariston, Drazice, Baksi, etc., shapes and designs - flat, cylindrical or elongated.

The installation of cold and hot water pipes may differ for them, however, they are all connected to the 220V network in the same way.

Many mistakenly believe that in order to connect the boiler, it is enough to plug the plug into the outlet and not worry about more. However, they forget that it is in the boiler that, in the event of a violation of the insulation, direct contact of electricity with a person can occur through water.

What you should pay special attention to when connecting the boiler:

• selection of the cross section of the supply cable (depending on the power of the boiler)

• selection of a circuit breaker for powering the electric network of the boiler

• socket selection

Choice of cable and machine

When repairing in new apartments, a separate wiring is usually carried out to the boiler directly from the shield. If you want to connect the boiler to an old common wiring that already has several outlets, be sure to make sure that it can withstand the power of the boiler.

In most cases, with a power of up to 3.5 kW, the wiring must be made with a 3-core copper cable VVGnG-Ls, with a cross section of at least 2.5 mm2.

A three-wire cable is required in order to ensure a permanent connection to ground.

Choose a two-pole boiler connection machine. The rated current of the machine is 16A (enough for a boiler power of up to 3.5 kW).

With a load of up to 2kW, a circuit breaker with a rated current of 10A is suitable.

Power outlet or direct connection

If the boiler is connected from a socket, then the socket must have a degree of protection IP44. These are sockets for rooms with a high level of humidity.

Remember that the socket in the bathroom can only be placed in certain places. And there are areas where it is strictly prohibited. You can read more about this in the article "".

Although many are opposed to connecting electric heaters through a socket, this is the only way to ensure a visible break in the conductors (phase and zero) when turned off, as required by safety regulations.

And for those water heaters that initially come with plugs in the kit, if you cut them off, you can sometimes lose your warranty. So read the instructions.

If it says that this boiler can be connected in two ways

• directly

• and through the standard power cord

then you won't void your warranty.

In addition, if you need to dismantle the device from the wall, if you have a plug, you do not need to call an electrician to disconnect it from the power supply. Pulled the plug, remove, rearrange, do what you want.

Powerful boilers over 3.5 kW should only be connected directly through a circuit breaker, socket connection is not allowed here.

The cable must be wound in such a way that there are no intersections with water pipes and places for future heater fasteners.

RCD installation

In the supply line of the boiler, the installation of an RCD is mandatory. Select it by current one order of magnitude higher than the current of the machine.

Leakage current for RCD - 10mA or 30mA.

Why 10mA is better, and not more, can be understood from this table of the effect of current on the human body:

A significant minus here is that at 10mA the protection can falsely work. Especially if your water heater has been hanging for more than a year and such condensate and moisture often form at the terminal connection points.

How to check if this is a false alarm or is the heater itself faulty? To do this, use a multimeter.

Turn off the power supply or pull out the plug from the outlet and disconnect the standard ground from the titanium case.

Then remove the terminal clamps from the heating element itself, and use probes to measure the resistance between the boiler body and the heating element.

If the heating element is in good condition, the readings on the multimeter screen should tend to infinity, that is, they should be something like this:

In the event of a breakdown and damage to the heater, they will be either zero, but most often they can be several hundred or even kilo-ohm. In the photo below, just such an option is ~ 500kOhm.

Very often, in many recent boiler models, an RCD with a leakage current of 15mA is already built into the cable to connect to the outlet. In this case, it may not be necessary to install an additional leakage current protection device in the shield.

However, do not forget that such a built-in RCD will only protect against leakage if there is damage in the heater itself, but will not protect you in any way if there is a malfunction directly in the outlet or the supply wiring to it.

How to find such and other similar malfunctions and what it can lead to, can be found in the article ""

But what if you are not an expert in electricity and you yourself cannot or do not want to climb into the electrical panel in order to mount all the required protection devices there. But at the same time, you still need to protect yourself.

The easiest option is to buy an RCD outlet.

Plug it into an existing outlet in the bathroom, and then plug the plug from the boiler cord through it.

Will the residual current device on the boiler work if you do not have grounding? Will be. These two systems, when working together, are designed to complement each other.

In the event of a current leakage on a boiler without grounding, the protection device will work only when you directly touch the tank or water from it (with the heating elements turned on).

And if there is a grounding conductor, then the RCD will work immediately after the voltage is applied to the titanium, without waiting for your touch. That's the whole difference.

Wiring diagrams

Boiler connection diagram through a socket:

Electrical diagram of the water heater:

Conditional diagram without a socket directly from the shield:

Errors during connection and operation

• installation of a socket directly under the boiler itself

It is absolutely impossible to do this. Sockets should be moved away from the heater and placed above the mixers. Do not forget about the safety valve and possible leaks.

The valve will operate as a last step of protection if the thermostat fails. By the way, the thermostat must be checked first of all, when the light on the panel is not lit, and the heaters are not heating. Look at the position of the button on the element, it can be "knocked out".

• a common mistake when connecting the device directly to the outlet is the desire to turn off the device by pulling out the plug at a time when the water has not yet heated up and the heater is still working

If its power reaches 3.5 kW, then with such a break in the contacts, sparking may occur, with the formation of an arc. And since the bathroom is a room with high humidity, the consequences can be unpredictable.

Therefore, always, before pulling out the plug, turn off the load with standard control devices on the boiler itself.

• you can not connect an empty boiler without water to the network

The heater, which is installed inside, requires water cooling. Without it, it will simply burn out and fail. Therefore, before each use, check the presence of water in the boiler.

Plus, the magnesium anode, which also protects against rust, only works when the tank is full.

• connection of the water heater only through the RCD, or only through the machine

These two protection devices must duplicate each other. RCD protects against leakage current, and a simple machine from overload and short circuits.

If the budget allows, then instead of these two protective elements, you can install one differential machine, it will replace both devices.

Installing a water heater will provide owners of country houses with hot water, increase the comfort of apartments from the old housing stock such as Khrushchev and small-family hostels. The indefatigable unit will laboriously prepare and supply water to the taps so that the owners enjoy the benefits of civilization.

So it will be if the schemes for connecting the water heater to the water supply were exactly followed, do you agree? Complete answers to a wide range of questions that arise before installing water heaters and in the process of including them in the communication network, you will find on our website.

Reliable information will be useful to independent craftsmen who want to do the installation themselves. It is also necessary for customers of plumbing services to check the quality of work.

The article describes in detail the types of water heaters, their design differences are indicated, the connection specifics are indicated. Valuable tips are provided to ensure perfect operation of the equipment after installation. The information content of the proposed material is perfectly complemented by photographic images and video recommendations.

Features of connecting household heaters are directly related to the types of devices, their technical parameters, overall dimensions.

Traditionally, two are used in everyday practice:

1. Cumulative.
2. Flowing.

Both types of boiler systems differ from each other in heating technology.

Accumulative type apparatus equipped with an electric heater (TEH). Such equipment is most often used in the domestic sphere. Can be mounted directly in the bathroom, if the overall dimensions allow

storage heaters cold water is collected in a tank, heated and then brought to the water intake.

Flow units heating is carried out directly in the process of cold water flow in contact with the heater, without collecting liquid in the storage tank.

Domestic consumers mainly use storage boiler systems. A comparative overview of both types of water heaters is given in.

Technical device of the storage boiler

A storage-type water heating system, boilers, in a simplified schematic form, is a container equipped with electric heating elements or liquid heat exchangers. The storage vessel has pipe lines for cold water supply and hot water outlet.

A more powerful and voluminous design is an indirect heating installation. It is clear that the source of heating energy in this case is the water coming from the heating system. However, if desired, it is possible to connect electric heating

Often, an installation error with the filter connection or refusal to install it leads to the loss of the manufacturer's warranty.

Common mistakes in installing water heaters

The installation rules for such equipment provide for the use of insulation on cold water / hot water pipelines. At the same time, the technical requirements for installation determine the minimum possible size of the insulation thickness - 20 mm.

The level of thermal conductivity of the insulating material must be at least - 0.035 W / m 2.

An example of the insulation of the heater system, where obvious errors are noted. It is necessary to insulate not only the pipes, but also the working components installed on the pipeline section. With modern insulating materials, this is done easily.

When installing water heaters, they often violate the scheme for connecting a home unit to a water supply system, using insulating material of small thickness, or not using insulation at all.

As a result, when the full operation of the device begins, significant losses of thermal energy are noted. These losses are reflected in the heating time, which increases significantly.

Incorrect or missing insulation is the main cause of condensation on the cold water line. This state of the system reduces the level of user comfort, contributes to the formation of an unsanitary environment inside the premises where the equipment is located.

Thanks to the expansion vessel, it is possible to compensate for the increase in pressure caused by the increase in the volume of water in the boiler storage.

Installed expansion tank in an indirect heating system. In fact, the installation of the expansion vessel is made with an error. This element of the system must be located above the line of the top cover of the boiler. In addition, there is no pipe insulation

As a rule, the installation of storage-type heaters is limited to turning on the safety valve in the section of the cold water main. Such a peculiar replacement of the expansion tank with a safety valve is permissible, but, from the point of view of correct installation, this is a technical error.

In fact, on storage boilers, an expansion vessel must always be installed along with a check valve.

List of other installation errors:

• the electrical cable is laid on sharp metal edges or on high temperature surfaces;
• the order of connecting trunk lines does not correspond to the order indicated in the diagram;
• the installation level of the water heater relative to the horizontal and vertical is violated;
• there is no grounding circuit of the water heater;
• the parameters of the electrical network where the equipment is connected do not meet the passport requirements;
• installation is carried out in a room where there is no water supply and sanitation system.

Any, even an insignificant mistake in the installation of water heating equipment can play a fatal role after the start of operation of the device.

We offer you to familiarize yourself with the detailed instructions for installing a storage and instantaneous water heater:

Often, users mount the system without bothering to look at the attached diagram. Connecting two water pipes and inserting the plug into the socket - such actions seem to be commonplace for them. But technology does not forgive mistakes.

After a long procedure of choosing a suitable model, the crucial moment comes to install the water heater and connect it to the mains. If you do not know how to install a storage electric boiler, then it is better to contact a specialist. The service will cost around $100. If an old electrical appliance is installed in the house and needs to be replaced, you will have to pay extra for dismantling. Those who want to save their home budget can use the instructions on how to install and connect a water heater without outside help in a couple of hours.

If you decide to install a boiler with your own hands, then you need to clearly know how to do it. Mistakes made during installation will lead to burnout of the wiring, flooding of housing, as well as failure of the device. Consider the basic rules for installing a water heater:

• First you need to choose the optimal location of the device. The boiler is usually installed in the bathroom, toilet or kitchen. The electrical appliance is freely accessible.
• The wall or any other support under the boiler must withstand double the weight, for example, with a capacity of 80 liters, the load indicator is 160 kg.
• Old wiring must be replaced, otherwise it simply will not withstand the load.
• The layout of metal pipes ten years ago will have to be changed in the same way.

Other rules and installation nuances will be specified in the installation instructions.

Necessary tools and materials for installation

When it is planned to install a water heater with your own hands, tools are indispensable. It doesn't matter what brand the boiler is. Let it be "Termex", "Electrolux" or "Ariston". The principle of installation of storage water heaters is the same.

You will need the following tool:

• adjustable and a set of wrenches;
• impact drill or hammer drill;
• straight, as well as curly screwdriver;
• pliers;
• roulette;
• level.

You will need the following materials:

• flax or fum tape for packing threaded connections;
• Ball Valves;
• connecting tees;
• two flexible hoses or a plastic pipe for connecting to the water heater nozzles.

If the installation of the boiler cannot be done without replacing the wiring, you will need a cable, an RCD, a socket, a 16 A machine.

Choosing a place where it is better to install a water heater

The choice of installation location for the water heater depends on the type of appliance. Storage boilers are floor, wall and built-in models. By the name it is already clear where to install them:

• Storage-type floor water heaters are designed for a large volume of water and are most often used in large country houses. Floor type boilers are installed on a stand.
• The volume of the built-in type device is small. Such water heaters are placed under the sink or in a specially designated niche.
• For an apartment, the installation of a vertical or horizontal wall-mounted water heater is optimal. The device does not occupy a useful floor area, and the volume of hot water is enough for a kitchen sink and a bath.

A water heater of any type is located as close as possible to the draw-off points. The air temperature in the room must be above zero, otherwise the water will quickly cool down, and when the power is turned off, the liquid will turn into ice.

The installation height of the boiler on the wall does not play a special role if it is connected to the central water supply. Choose a convenient place that is easily accessible for maintenance. In the case of autonomous water supply, the height of the water heater mounting on the wall depends on the location of the water storage tank.

Wall Mount Features

Wall-mounted water heaters are the most common and their installation should be considered in more detail. Fix devices to the wall with metal brackets. For vertical models, two fasteners are used, and a horizontal boiler is fixed with four elements. The manufacturer's instructions are attached to the device, where all the nuances of installation are specified.

When installing a horizontal water heater, fasteners with loops are used. Storage heaters cannot be installed in the reverse order, that is, horizontal models in a vertical position and vice versa. Incorrect location will lead to damage to the device, as well as flooding of the room.

Mounting brackets are screwed into the drilled holes, having hammered plastic dowels before that. The water boiler is heavy and only a solid wall made of concrete, brick, cinder block or wood can withstand it. Mounting on plasterboard partitions is prohibited. The exception is a plasterboard wall, behind which the supporting structure is located. For fastening, elongated brackets are used that can pass through the gypsum and sink into a durable material.

Connecting the boiler to the water supply system

When the fixing of the boiler to the wall is completed, the important process of connecting to the water supply begins. It is important to consider the type of water supply here. There is a scheme for connecting the water heater to the central water supply and an autonomous system. To obtain hot water from the tap immediately after it is opened, recirculation is provided. In this embodiment, the boiler piping is performed according to a special scheme.

Water connection

First, let's look at how to connect a storage water heater to a centralized water supply, since this option is most common for apartments. The system constantly has a water pressure of at least two atmospheres, which allows the owner to fix the device to the wall at any height and this will not affect the performance of the boiler.

The boiler is connected to the water supply with flexible hoses or a plastic pipe, but first a security group is assembled. The assembly consists of a set of tees, valves, taps and fittings. The cold water and hot water pipes of the appliance protrude from the bottom of the housing. From here they begin to connect the water heater to the centralized water supply:

• A detachable adapter of two nuts is screwed onto the thread of the cold water inlet pipe. Plumbing fitting is called "American".
• A tee is screwed onto the thread of the adapter. A non-return valve is mounted to the lower outlet. It has an arrow on its body indicating the direction of the water, and it should be pointing up. The valve allows liquid to enter the tank, but does not allow water to drain back into the pipeline.
• Another tee is connected to the side outlet of the tee. The side hole of this element is directed down and the compression fitting is screwed on, and a piece of plastic pipe is attached to it, which is diverted into the sewer. Excess water will be drained through the pipe at excess pressure.
• They put on the free exit of the second tee.
• A cold water supply tap is connected to the inlet of the check valve.

To simplify the circuit, the safety assembly can be replaced with one element that has a check and safety valve inside the body, as well as a spout for draining water. The part is immediately wound onto an American, and a cold water tap is placed behind it.

On the second branch pipe of the water heater, designed to exit hot water, they wind the "American" and put a tap. Between these two elements it is reasonable to put a tee and screw another tap to the side outlet. Shut-off valves are useful for supplying air to the tank when draining water from the boiler. If the manufacturer has provided an air supply plug, an additional valve is not needed.

After the installation of the security group, as well as the shut-off valves, they begin to deal with pipelines of cold and hot water. To connect to the system, it is optimal to choose plastic pipes. Pieces of the desired length are connected to the taps on the water heater using compression fittings. The second end of the pipes is connected to tees embedded in the plumbing system.

The correct boiler piping scheme provides for the tie-in of two more taps that disconnect the cold water and hot water apartment pipeline from the common risers of a residential building. During operation of the water heater, the cold water tap will be constantly open. Shut-off valves near the DHW riser are transferred to the closed position. If this tap is not closed, hot water from the boiler will go through the riser to neighboring apartments.

Connection to the autonomous water supply system

In an autonomous water supply system, the boiler connection scheme is of two types, depending on the location of the storage tank. The tank in a private house is located in the attic or inside one of the rooms on the second floor.

To know which scheme to choose, measure the distance between the bottom of the storage tank and the water heater hung on the wall. If the indicator is less than 2 m, then the tee for connecting the branching of the cold water pipeline is placed above the level of the boiler. The safety group is mounted on the nozzle of the device.

When the distance between the storage tank and the device is more than 2 m, the branching tee of the cold water pipeline is placed below the level of the water heater. The safety group is wound onto the inlet pipe.

Any of the considered schemes can be supplemented with a reduction gear. The unit is designed to reduce the water pressure in the pipeline if the indicator exceeds 6 bar.

Wiring diagram with recirculation

When installing an indirect storage water heater for a private house, a scheme is used where recirculation is provided. The system allows you to get hot water from the mixer immediately after opening the tap.

The system is a closed loop. Usually it is done through a heated towel rail. In the absence of this element, blunt recycling is allowed. Instead of a heated towel rail, use a flat pipe. The main thing in the scheme is to close the ring. The circulation pump drives the hot water around. The system has an expansion tank, as well as three valves: a check valve, a safety valve, and an air bleed valve.

Recirculation constantly keeps the water hot, even if a person does not use the appliance for a long time.

Electrical connection

To connect the boiler to the mains, you will need an electrical circuit and an accurate calculation of the wire cross section. Any cable will not work. When calculating, it is necessary to take into account the power of the heating element, and take a wire with a small margin of section. Typically, household models are equipped with heating elements with a power of 1–3 kW. The connection of such a water heater to the mains is carried out with a three-core copper wire with a cross section of 2.5 mm 2. For the convenience of cable selection, use the mounting table.

There are three important nodes in the electrical circuit for installing a water heater: an RCD, an automatic machine, and a socket with a plug. All elements are designed for a rated current of 16 A. Regardless of the presence of a circuit breaker, connection through a socket is mandatory. For safety reasons, during the repair of electrical equipment, there must be a visible break in the electrical circuit.

Let's take a closer look at how to connect the boiler to electricity without seeking help from a specialist:

• A socket with a protection class of at least IP44 and an RCD is placed on the wall. To get to the contacts of the water heater, remove the decorative cover from below. From the boiler to the outlet, measure the distance to calculate the length of the cable.
• According to the measurement, a piece of three-core wire is cut off with a small margin. A chain is assembled from a plug, an RCD and the last connection is made on the contacts of the water heater. When connecting, it is important not to confuse the third wire - grounding. It is usually marked with yellow stripes on a green background.
• A three-core cable is laid from the outlet to the circuit breaker, and a line is led from it to the electrical panel.

Even before the boiler is connected to the network, the resistance of the ground loop is measured. The optimal indicator is within 4 ohms. If the question arises whether it is possible to connect a boiler without grounding, it is better to discard a bad idea. This is personal security. Grounding protects a person from electric shock during a breakdown of the heating element and the metal parts of the device from destruction by stray currents.

Some craftsmen adapt to turn off the heater from the outlet while swimming, if there is no grounding. The option is not bad, but this will have to be done every time you wash your hands or dishes, which is extremely inconvenient.

Turning on and checking the boiler after installation

Upon completion of the installation and connection of the water heater, the last question remained - how to check the device for operability:

• after the risers close the hot water tap and open the cold water tap;
• at the inlet of the boiler, the shut-off valves and the hot water tap of the mixer are opened;
• under pressure, water will fill the tank, forcing air out of the system through an open mixer;
• when the water pressure goes continuously without air pops, the mixer tap is closed.

The device is under pressure. It remains to check all the joints for leaks.

After successful filling with water, voltage is applied to the water heater and the desired operating mode is set. The heating time depends on the power of the heating element and the capacity of the tank. If after about 1 hour hot water appears from the mixer, the installation has been carried out correctly.