The water heater does not turn on: reasons

A breakdown of a water heater can cause headaches for its owners if the device is installed in a country house, and calling a repairman is difficult or very expensive. Dismantling and transporting the device, especially if it is a large-capacity drive, is also not an easy task. In addition, the reason that the water heater does not turn on may lie in external factors that have nothing to do with it.

Why doesn't the water heater turn on?

If the attempt to turn on is unsuccessful, it is advisable to independently diagnose the heater and try to fix the problem on your own. In total, there are 4 main types of breakdowns associated with malfunctions of this household appliance:

• Electrical networks;
• Thermal protection (typical for boilers);
• heating element;
• Pressure sensor (typical for flow-through devices).

Electrical network diagnostics

First you need to make sure that the electrical network is working properly. Perhaps there is no voltage throughout the house. If this is not the problem, you need to diagnose the outlet into which the device is connected.

The indicator screwdriver should show the presence of voltage on one of the contacts. The second option to check the functionality is to plug a known working device into this outlet. If it does not work, the circuit breaker in the distribution panel may have tripped.When you turn it on, the heater may also start working.

The next step is to check the operation of the RCD, which in many drive models is placed directly on the electrical wire to turn on the device. You need to make sure it is working by pressing the “test” button and returning it to its original state.

Attention! Before disassembling the heater, you need to disconnect it from the electricity, turn it off and drain the water from the tank.

The next step is to diagnose the internal connections of the device, for which you will need to remove the housing cover. A visual inspection of the wires and contacts will tell you which part has failed or which wire needs to be returned to the terminal and secured with a screw. A characteristic smell will also help determine the location of the breakdown.

The weak link in the electrical circuit may be the power buttons. Use a tester to check that the appliance's switch is working. Otherwise, you need to replace it with a similar one.

For deeper diagnostics, you will need to study the electrical circuit of the device.

Problems with thermal protection

Another common reason why a water heater does not work is a failure of thermal protection. It is triggered when the heating element is heated above 900 degrees. This may be caused by the fact that for some reason the thermostat did not work in a timely manner, but most often this is due to the fact that the electric heater is overheating due to scale accumulated on it.

In this case, you need to carefully disconnect the heating element, remove it from the device and place it in a container with a descaling solution for 1-2 days. For these purposes, you can use citric acid.

On the thermal protection, you must press a button that closes the electrical circuit.After cleaning the heating element, assembling it, supplying water and turning it on, the device should work.

The heating element does not work

If the problem is not in thermal protection, the heating element itself may have burned out. To diagnose it, you will have to use the tester again. If, when trying to ring, the tester does not emit a sound signal, and in the resistance measurement mode the indicator displays a gap or infinity, there is a gap inside the heating element, it must be replaced. And this is much easier to do than replacing the entire device.

The pressure sensor is broken

For instantaneous water heater models, there is another common malfunction - the pressure sensor does not work. The principle of its operation is based on the use of an elastic membrane, which stretches under the influence of water pressure and mechanically closes the contact that supplies current to the heater. When worn, the membrane may tear or stretch. In this case, it is advisable to replace it with a more durable silicone one.