DIY boiler connection and installation

Many owners use an electric boiler to heat water in their apartment or private house, which is more economical and more convenient. Quite often, the question arises, is it possible to connect an electric heater to the plumbing system with your own hands. In practice, this is quite realistic, however, for the correct execution of such work, it is necessary to know the boiler installation diagram, installation features and some important rules for the successful and safe functioning of the entire system. The article will present practical instructions on how to install an electric boiler for heating water with your own hands.

Where to start?

Before proceeding with the installation of the boiler, you should decide on the necessary bench tool. To install a water heater you will need

Essential Tools and Supplies

tape measure, curly (cross-shaped) screwdriver, adjustable wrench, pliers, marker, mounting level and drill / perforator. Consumables will require tees, shut-off valves, tow or FUM tape, sealing grease, rubber gaskets, a check valve, and also an anchor for mounting the unit on the wall

The next step is to determine the overall dimensions of the required water heater and find a place for its future installation. Models are available in vertical or horizontal design, can have an oval or circular cross section in diameter. Here you should proceed from the installation site, which must meet the following requirements:

• Give the owner an opportunity serve the boiler during the entire period of its operation.
• Ensure reliable fastening of the water heater, which directly depends on the strength of the wall.
• Have in close proximity a socket for connecting a household appliance

The electrical wiring must withstand the load from the operation of the device, and it is also necessary to have grounding, which is one of the main requirements for the safe operation of the boiler

As for the dimensions of the product, they directly depend on the capacity of the water heater. To choose the suitable option, proceed from the following formula: for 1 person - 30 liters., For 2 people - 50 liters., For 3 people and more - 80-100 liters. The installation location is chosen so as not to interfere with the passage and ensure the safety of the owners.

How to safely hang a boiler on a wall

Having decided on the place, you should carefully approach the mounting of the unit on the wall. The standard installation system provides for anchoring when two holes for plastic dowels are drilled into the wall, with a diameter of at least 10 mm and a length of at least 120 mm (entry depth into the wall). Metal anchors are screwed into them, onto which the boiler is suspended through special promotions in the metal strip of the boiler.

Water heater mounting system

When planning drilling sites, use a tape measure and level so that the fasteners are made in a single plane. This will allow you to hang the water heater evenly and without distortions, which is important.

Usually the distance between the anchors is 20 cm

The mounting height of the boiler is usually selected from the convenience of its future maintenance, as well as the overall dimensions of the device itself. It is important to remember that the boiler should be hung only on a solid wall of brick, concrete or wood (in a wooden house). To drill holes in a concrete wall, use an impact drill or hammer drill. Drills in this case should have a winning tip.

How to safely install a boiler on a drywall

If the owners plan to hang an electric boiler in a room with drywall walls, then the place of its future installation should be taken care of in advance. In this place, you should perform a mortgage fastening in the form of one or more wooden bars that are attached to a supporting concrete or brick wall.

In the aluminum profile for mounting drywall holes are made

The option of using multiple boards

Lumber is attached to the surface of the wall at those points that will not coincide with the location of the mounting rails on the plank of the heater body.

It is somewhat more difficult to perform mortgages when the owners did not think about the possibility of a future installation of a water heater when decorating the room with drywall. In this case, chemical anchors are used, which are a special thick composition, which, after drying, acquires high strength. After drilling deep holes, a solution is injected into it with the aid of a mounting gun, into which a metal stud with a sleeve of the appropriate length is gently twisted. After a day, a boiler can be hung on such a mount.

Screwing a metal stud with a mesh sleeve

Such work requires extreme accuracy and accurate calculation, since the solution must completely fill the hole, which will provide good strength and the ability to withstand the large weight of the water tank.

Mounting on a wooden wall

If a wooden wall is a supporting wall and is a cylindrical or profiled beam with a section of 150 mm or more, then a boiler can be freely mounted on it using special dowels. To hang the water heater, a hole is drilled under the dowel, at least 100-120 mm long, and anchor bolts are also used here.

Usually, the need to mount a boiler on a wooden wall arises in the cottages, which are often built on a frame-shield type. Often, lining is used as the interior decoration of a bathroom in a wooden house. It is important to remember that when installing the water heater, the fasteners are made on the load-bearing wall, which allows you to safely withstand a weight of 80 kg or more.

An example of installing a boiler in the country

How to connect the boiler to the water supply?

By hanging the boiler on the wall, you can proceed to the next stage of work - connecting the water heater to the water supply system, which can be central or private (via an automatic pump). You can find several ways to connect a water heater, but we will consider the most correct one, which will allow you to freely drain if necessary. This may be necessary when servicing the unit (descaling, replacing the heater, repair of the thermostat, and so on).

Two ball valves: inlet and outlet

It is important to know that the liquid enters the boiler under pressure, therefore, hot water will come out of it only if it enters the inside of the cold. But to drain water from the heater for maintenance, you need to run inward air. To this end, when connecting the unit to the system, two shut-off valves are necessarily provided, the best of which are ball valves. They are connected to the boiler pipes through tees.

At the entrance to the water heater, a safety check valve is necessarily installed, the main task of which is to reduce the pressure in the system when it is excess by dumping liquid through a drainage hole.

Pressure relief valve

On boilers of the Ariston brand and some others, such a valve is included, which is very convenient, since it makes it possible to immediately connect it to the pipe. In other cases, the valve will need to be purchased separately. A thin silicone or rubber tube is usually connected to the valve opening, which is discharged into the sewer system.

On all models of electric water heaters, the cold water inlet pipe is marked in blue, which avoids connecting errors

Flexible rubber hoses in a metal braid, polypropylene or metal-plastic pipes, which depends on the desire of the owner himself, can be the leading elements to the nozzles. The first option is convenient in terms of installation, but with regard to reliability, it is best to give preference to connecting directly to PVC pipes. The fact is that rubber hoses have a relatively short service life, which increases the risk of water leakage.

Threaded connection

In all models of Ariston brand water heaters, the nozzles (inlet, outlet) have a cross section of 15 mm (1/2 in) with an external thread, which should be borne in mind when acquiring additional plumbing elements (valves). When installing threaded connections, you can use a traditional linen tow, which is used in combination with sealing grease. However, this work requires work experience, so many beginners prefer to use the FUM tape.

It is important to remember that FUM sealing tape is always wound around the external thread clockwise, with at least 10-12 turns being made here. After that, you can sprinkle the nut and gently twist it with a wrench. You should know that when using FUM tape, the nut must not be loosened, otherwise everything will have to be repacked again.

When connecting valves with a rubber hose in a metal braid, a rubber gasket is used, therefore, it is no longer necessary to pack threaded connections here.

Flexible hoses are more convenient to mount

But if the connection is made to metal-plastic or polypropylene pipes, then you will need to use the FUM tape or linen tow. All connections are tightened with a wrench.

If the water pressure in a private house or apartment is weak, then before entering the boiler, it is advisable to install a pressure increase pump, which will allow water to be forced into the boiler for heating.

Connection diagram for indirect heating boiler with recirculation

Indirect heating boiler makes it possible to obtain hot water by heating through a coil or heat exchanger in which the coolant circulates. Typically, such a hot water production system is used in cases where the owners have a gas or solid fuel boiler installed. The indirect boiler can be connected according to one of the following schemes:

Using a three-way valve

Such a system is best installed with a significant consumption of hot water for household and hygiene needs. Two circuits are created here, one of which is intended for heating the room (main), and the second for heating water to the boiler.

Three-way valve system installation diagram

Thus, the water heater has only 4 nozzles: two at the inlet and two at the outlet. The three-way valve is mounted on the hot water line that goes from the boiler to the heating system, which allows you to use a coolant to heat the water in the boiler. The convenience of the system is that when the water temperature inside the water heater drops to a threshold value, the temperature sensor transmits a signal to the three-way valve, which automatically switches to the mode of supplying hot water to the unit.

With two circulation pumps

With this connection method, instead of a three-way valve, 2 recirculation pumps are used, each of which is used for its own circuit.The pumps are controlled by the indirect temperature boiler temperature sensor. In order to prevent the flow of coolant from mixing, a check valve is installed.

Connection diagram via circulation pumps

Using the hydraulic arrow

In a complex heating system, when the heat carrier is used by the owners not only in heating radiators, but also in water floor heating systems, a hydraulic arrow is used when connecting an indirect heating boiler. This is a special device, which is a compensation chamber, in which the pressure difference is compensated and its equalization occurs. However, given the complexity of installing such a system, an experienced master is invited to install it.

Wiring requirements when connecting an electric boiler

When connecting a water heater, electrical safety rules must not be neglected. Given the high power of the heating elements used for heating water, the wires of an apartment or a private house must withstand the corresponding current load. Here are some helpful tips:

• The socket must have a degree of protection of at least IP 44
• The machine and RCD must be made in a moisture-proof housing (if they are installed indoors)
• As cables it is better to use VVGNG or NYM

The cross-section of the wires in the cable should be at least 0.75 mm, which will allow you to freely withstand a load of 2.5-3 kW.

Electric heater connection diagram

The socket must be grounded, which is an important requirement of the manufacturer and will avoid electric shock when punching the case. In apartments of a new type there is no problem with this, since they all have the appropriate technical equipment. In apartments of the old building ("Khrushchev", "Stalin", "Brezhnevka"), it is imperative to install an RCD or a difavtomat, combining the functions of an RCD and a conventional cut-off machine. This will avoid current leakage, as well as give a timely signal about a malfunction of the electric boiler.

Do not connect additional powerful appliances (washing machine, hair dryer) to the outlet through which the water heater is powered, in order to avoid the risk of overload.

Convenient location of the outlet for connection

In practice, when mounting a boiler, some owners neglect the ground loop. You do not need to do this, since any, even the highest quality device cannot have 100% protection against breakdowns and failures, so safety should always be in the first place. Conventional storage water heaters for domestic use are connected to an AC 220 V.

To an ordinary owner who knows how to hold a metalwork tool in his hands and possesses the initial electrical safety skills, establish DIY boiler not be difficult.

Proper boiler connection

The main thing is to take into account the above tips, and also not to ignore the recommendations of the manufacturer. In order for the installation to be carried out efficiently, only certified components should be purchased, and this applies to shut-off valves, tees, flexible hoses, pipes and all other plumbing equipment.