How to install a water heater with your own hands

How to install a storage water heater

1. Prepare tools and materials

Water heater;
hammer drill or hammer drill;
drill for concrete;
level;
hammer;
wrench and pliers;
screwdriver;
roulette;
pencil;
anchor bolts or hooks;
FUM tape;
safety valve;
2 flexible hoses;
3 tees with a diameter of ½ ";
3 taps DN15;
PVA cable 3 × 2, 5;
difavtomat 16 A.

2. Select the installation location

Select the installation location for the water heater

It is better to place the storage water heater closer to the cold and hot water risers in order to shorten the length of the supply pipes and ensure a good head. Small boilers can be mounted on any walls, for models with a capacity of more than 80 liters, only load-bearing partitions made of brick and concrete are suitable: the water heaters themselves weigh a little, but together with the water, the load is significant.

With this in mind, there are not so many suitable places in the apartment. Typically, the choice comes down to four options:

above the toilet in the toilet - next to the risers, does not take up space in the bathroom, can be hidden behind a false wall in a box with communications;
above the bathroom - for combined and small bathrooms, almost does not interfere with a bath length of 160 cm;
under the sink in the kitchen - only for small models of 10-15 liters;
under the ceiling in the hallway or corridor - mainly used with horizontal boilers and to save space, but requires additional piping.

3. Fix the water heater

Installation is carried out using hooks that are attached to the wall, the drive is put on them. Or a special strip, it is mounted to the surface with anchor bolts, and the boiler is already fixed on it.

Measure the dimensions of the water heater

Having measured the dimensions of the tank, estimate the location on the wall so that there are 2–3 cm gaps from the corners and edges of the niches, and the protective cover can be removed for repair and maintenance. It is necessary to make a gap of at least 5–7 cm from the ceiling in order to hang the tank on hooks or a bar.

Using a template, mark and drill holes for hooks or anchor bolts. If there is a tiling, first go through it with a special ceramic drill. Then drill the main part of the wall with a hammer drill or hammer drill into the concrete.

Place hooks in the holes or screw in the anchor bolts

Install dowels into the holes and screw on the hooks. Alternatively, insert the anchor bolts through the holes of the mounting plate into the wall and tighten them with a wrench.

Hang the boiler onto the fasteners. Use a spirit level to check for horizontal and vertical deviations. Otherwise, there will be a risk of air congestion and failure of the heating element.

Important! Vertical water heaters should never be mounted horizontally to save space.

4. Connect to the water supply

The hydraulic connection is carried out according to the following scheme. The connections themselves can be made both with the help of a flexible hose, and with metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes. The first option is simpler, so let's consider it.

Screw a tee onto the cold water pipe of the boiler

Thread a ½”tee onto the blue boiler cold water pipe. Connect the safety valve to the lower outlet (arrow in the direction of the water heater), and connect the ball valve to the side outlet. It will come in handy when you need to drain the water. Seal all threaded connections with FUM tape.

Install a tee on the inlet tap of the cold water riser and connect a ball valve to it, having previously wound the FUM tape on the thread. Connect the new tap to the safety valve on the boiler using a flexible hose. Place rubber washers under the flare nuts and tighten with a wrench.

Screw a ball valve onto the hot water pipe of the boiler, and a tee onto the inlet valve of the hot water riser. Seal all threads with FUM tape and connect the new valve to the tee using a flexible hose with gaskets installed under the nuts. Tighten the connection first by hand and then with a wrench.

If it is not possible to install tees on hot and cold water risers, then connect the boiler to the nearest mixer. In this case, the tees are installed on the hot and cold water fittings of the washbasin, and then the flexible connections of the mixer and water heater are connected to the tees.

Put a hose on the spout of the safety valve and discharge it into the sewer

Put a hose on the spout of the safety valve and discharge it into the drain. Water will sometimes drip through it when it heats up and expands - this is normal. If the boiler is located above the bathtub, you do not need to remove the tube: the drops will simply fall into the drain.

5. Connect to the mains

If the water heater already has a ready-made cable with a plug, it is enough just to plug it into a grounded socket. In this case, extension cords and tees cannot be used, since the load on the network is quite high: all additional contacts will be very hot, which can lead to a fire.

In other cases, the cable will have to be connected independently. If it is not included in the kit, use a three-core wire with a cross section of 1, 5, or better 2, 5 mm². It is advisable to connect directly from the electrical panel.

Route the cable from the apartment panel and connect to the boiler

Before starting work, disconnect the electricity supply by turning off the switch in the entrance. Route a cable 3 × 2.5 mm² from the apartment panel and connect it to the boiler through a differential circuit breaker of 16 A. Then connect the wires to the terminal block on the water heater: phase - to terminal L, zero - to N, and grounding - to the PE contact or to frame.

6. Do a test run

Before turning on the boiler, it is imperative to fill the tank with water. To do this, turn off the tap on the DHW riser, and then open the valves at the inlet and outlet of the water heater. Turn on hot water at the nearest mixer and wait a few minutes until an even stream comes out of the tap without interruptions and air.

Turn on hot water and wait until a steady stream comes out of the tap

Close the mixer. Carefully inspect all connections on the boiler and make sure there are no leaks. Plug the water heater into an outlet or through a difavtomat and start heating using a button or a temperature regulator.

How to install a flow-through gravity water heater

1. Prepare tools and materials

Water heater;
spanners;
hammer drill or hammer drill;
drill for concrete or wood;
dowels or screws.

2. Select the installation location

Non-pressure flow pipes, as a rule, are able to provide only one point of draw-off, so the issue of choosing a place is not worth it. The appliance is installed instead of the mixer on the washbasin in the bathroom or in the kitchen, as well as next to the tap in the shower.

3. Fix the water heater

The device in the form factor of a tap is the easiest to mount. To do this, turn off the water on the mixer and remove the flexible pipes from it. Unscrew the fixing bracket for the faucet and remove it from the sink.

Assemble the water heater according to the instructions: attach the spout, screw the inlet fitting and insert it into the hole in the sink. Screw on the retaining nut and tighten it to secure the flow pipe.

Wall-mounted models will have to be fixed with dowels or screws, depending on the type of wall. Using a template or measuring the distance between the brackets, mark and drill the holes. Fix the water heater with dowels or screws.

4. Connect to the water supply

Here, too, everything is simple. The connection is reduced to the connection of the flexible hose, which you removed from the mixer, to the connection of the water heater. Place the rubber gasket under the union nut and tighten it first by hand, and then with a little effort using a wrench.

The wall-mounted spout can be powered from the same flexible mixer hose or from the shower. To do this, unscrew the watering can from the hose and connect the free end to the water heater inlet.

An important point! There should be no shut-off valves after the water heater. The water is shut off exclusively by the flow pipe itself or the tap to which it is connected. Otherwise, due to the lack of a duct, the heating element may overheat and fail.

5. Connect to the mains

Compact free-flow models usually have a ready-made cable with a plug, so the connection is reduced to the fact that you need to insert the plug into a grounded outlet. Since the water heater belongs to powerful devices, it is prohibited to connect it through tees and extension cords. Due to the high current, the contacts in them can overheat, melt and cause a fire.

6. Do a test run

Turn off the tap on the hot water riser. Open the mixer and run water through the appliance. Wait a few seconds for an even stream to flow. Switch the appliance to heating mode by turning the lever or pressing the button. Check that the water is heating up.

How to install an instantaneous pressure water heater

1. Prepare tools and materials

Water heater;
hammer drill or hammer drill;
drill for concrete;
drill for ceramics;
level;
hammer;
spanners;
screwdriver;
roulette;
pencil;
dowels or screws;
FUM tape;
2 flexible hoses;
2 tees with a diameter of ½ ";
2 taps DN15;
PVS cable 3 × 4;
difavtomat 25 A.

2. Select the installation location

Unlike compact free-flow models, pressure flow pipes are able to provide several points with hot water at once. They can be installed anywhere, based on the possibility of connecting to the water supply, but it is better closer to the device, where hot water will be used most often.

In an apartment, the space under the sink, in a niche with communications in the bathroom, or just on one of the walls next to the pipes of cold and hot water is suitable for this. The main thing is to exclude splashes on the case and provide free access to it in case of repair.

3. Fix the water heater

Using the template from the kit, mark and drill the holes for attaching the water heater with a puncher. Insert the dowels into them and securely fix the duct on the wall with screws. Check with a spirit level that the device is installed level horizontally and vertically.

On some models, you first have to remove the front panel in order to install the water heater on the mounting plate. After connecting to the water supply and electricity, it will need to be returned to its place.

4. Connect to the water supply

Like a boiler, a pressure-flow instantaneous water heater must be supplied to the inlet with cold water directly from the riser or anywhere in the wiring apartment, and a flexible hose must be connected to the outlet to connect to the hot water line behind the tap of the DHW riser.

Install ball valves on the flow pipe fittings

Install ball valves on the flow pipe unions to turn off the device if necessary. Seal the threads with FUM tape. Put tees on the pipes of cold and hot water and connect their outlets to the corresponding taps on the water heater with a flexible hose.

5. Connect to the mains

First of all, make sure that the power allocated to the apartment is sufficient for the operation of the selected water heater. It should be enough with a margin, otherwise the machines will turn off when the water is heated.

Pressure flow pipes are usually not connected to the outlet, but directly to the electrical panel

Due to the high power, the pressure flow pipes are usually connected not to the outlet, but directly to the electrical panel through the difavtomat corresponding to the current rating. In this case, a three-core cable with a cross section of 4 or 6 mm² is used.

6. Do a test run

Close the tap on the hot water riser and open the shut-off valves on the water heater. Turn on hot water at the nearest mixer and wait a few seconds until it flows in a steady stream without jerking.

Apply power to the water heater circuit breaker and activate heating. Open hot water and make sure everything works.