Connecting the water heater to the water supply

Living without warm water is not very comfortable. Only a lucky few can count on a centralized supply of hot water, and it is not always available around the clock. Installing an electric boiler or gas water heater will help solve the problem. Installation rules, with diagrams and descriptions of important nuances, will be discussed in the article.

Preparatory work

The first thing you need to decide is the water heater model. Depending on the size of the family, where it will be located, taking into account the material of the walls and the availability of free space, as well as taste preferences, a device with the necessary parameters is selected. The main parameters of a storage water heater are its performance, power consumption, overall dimensions, as well as its location - vertical or horizontal, floor-mounted or wall-mounted.

The location of the heater should be thought out so as to, on the one hand, provide convenient access to it - both to the adjustment knobs and water supply valves, and to provide for its simple maintenance - the ability to easily remove it from the wall if cleaning is necessary, if the boiler is wall-mounted.In addition, the water heater should not clutter up the space.

After choosing the model and location of the device, proceed to the preparatory phase of installation. After reading the instructions supplied with the device, check its contents, including fasteners, make sure that the wiring corresponds to the power required to power the boiler, and prepare tools, pipes, fittings, and valves.

Connection progress

If a floor-standing version of the heater is connected, then it is placed in a place previously selected for this purpose. In this case, no special fuss with a hammer drill is required. For a wall-mounted boiler, fasteners are provided in the form of anchors, on which it is suspended. It’s worth noting right away that bulkheads made of gas and foam concrete are not a suitable place for installing boilers; it is better not to carry out such experiments.

After the fastening has been made, you should turn off the cold water supply in the system where the insertion will be made. When diverting water to the heater, a ball valve, a coarse water filter, and a check valve are installed in the system, after which the pipe is supplied to the boiler. The outlet pipe with hot water coming from the boiler is fed through the mixer along with cold water to consumers - showers, washbasins, and so on.

After water distribution has been completed, the boiler is connected to the power supply network through a separate machine. You can power it through an outlet in the usual way, but the first option is more reliable and safer. Upon completion of installation work, open the cold water valve and supply power to the water heater. The performance check is carried out as follows: wait for the thermostat to operate, then check the temperature of the heated water.

Safety valve installation

The automation does not always work, and if the thermostat fails when a certain temperature is reached, shutdown may not occur. In the best case, the owner will notice in time that the water in the boiler begins to bubble, slowly boiling. In a worse outcome, the bulb bursts due to excess pressure, and hot water floods the contacts, causing a short circuit. The result is a failed heater and wiring.

To avoid this, a safety valve is installed in the system. Install it in the cold water pipeline in front of the boiler. It operates at a pressure of 8 bar. It works like this - if the pressure in the boiler is lower than in the supply pipe with cold water, water flows into it. As soon as the pressure equalizes, the valve operates. When the heater operates in abnormal mode, with a pressure of 8 bar or higher, the small valve is activated and excess liquid is drained. You should take care of its drainage by connecting a rubber or plastic tube of the appropriate diameter to the valve outlet.

To monitor the pressure, it is recommended to connect a pressure gauge to the valve and use it to monitor the situation.

Water supply connection diagram

Below is a schematic diagram of connecting the boiler to the water supply system:

The picture shows where the cold water risers are located; they are labeled accordingly. Numbers 1 and 2 indicate shut-off valves for cold and hot water, 3 and 4 also indicate valves that regulate the water supply throughout the apartment.Tap 3 is turned off if it is necessary to turn off the water in the apartment, and the fourth one is turned off when the boiler is operating to avoid hot water escaping into the riser of the house. Number 5 indicates the location where the check valve is mounted. Number 6 is a tap for draining water from the boiler. It is used when it is necessary to clean, repair or dismantle the device.

In these cases, the water from the boiler is completely drained, and this rule should be strictly observed. The faucet is not a necessary element, but in some situations it can greatly simplify life.

To a metal-plastic water supply There shouldn't be any problems connecting.

To steel water supply:
Here, in order to avoid welding work, a special clamp for steel pipes is used.

To the polypropylene water supply - An important nuance is the quality of soldering and the use of polypropylene pipes for hot water.

Electrical connection diagram:

Important recommendations when installing a gas storage water heater

For proper operation of a gas water heater, draft is required. It can either be created forcibly or be natural. To create forced draft, exhaust and supply ventilation are used, while natural draft is based on the laws of physics and does not require additional equipment. Otherwise, the installation of a gas water heater is similar to an electric one. It should also be noted that the installation of a gas water heater must be agreed with Gorgaz, and it is better to entrust its connection to the gas pipeline to qualified specialists, since this type of device is much more demanding on the quality of installation work than a similar electric one.