How to connect a water heater to the water supply in the apartment?

It is difficult to imagine modern housing without hot water. However, not all private houses and new buildings are connected to a centralized hot water supply network. For this reason, the desire of many people to equip autonomous hot water supply by installing a boiler is quite understandable. Installing an electric boiler yourself, unlike a gas boiler, is not difficult at all. How to connect a water heater to the water supply in the apartment, we will analyze in this article.

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Types of water heaters

All electric water heaters are divided into 2 groups:

• Cumulative.
• Flowing.

Flowing

Instantaneous water heater passes water through the heating element in a continuous stream, increasing its temperature. The storage boiler heats the water previously collected in the tank.

Cumulative:

• A tank of 10-15 liters is enough for a small country house without a bath and shower, washing machine and dishwasher.
• In a house or apartment with a shower, a boiler with a tank volume of up to 50 liters is desirable, and for housing with a bathroom - from 80 to 100 liters.

In addition, the installation location is important. To do this, you need to know the dimensions of the device, decide on the design and be aware of all the nuances of the connection.

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Mounting Features

Here are the conditions required for a quality connection of the water heater to the water supply:

• It is necessary to mount the boiler in such a way as to have access for equipment maintenance.
• The boiler can be mounted to a load-bearing wall or partition, which can withstand double the weight load.

Important! If, for example, the boiler has a tank of 50 liters, then the minimum load that the wall can withstand is 100 kg.

• Wiring must withstand full load. If the wiring is old, it is advisable to lay a separate powerful cable to the boiler with a grounding wire. It is necessary that the electrical circuit for installing a water heater in the apartment be agreed with a specialist, unless, of course, you are a “pro."
• Make sure that the water pipes are in good condition. If in doubt, it is better to replace them in advance with metal-plastic ones.

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Materials and Tools

Before connecting a water heater in a private house, purchase the following tools and supplies:

• Hammer drill (10 mm drill).
• A grinder or special scissors for pipes made of metal plastic.
• Wrenches: adjustable (or gas), wrench (24x27, 19x22).
• Pliers.
• Nippers.
• Screwdriver set: flat and Phillips.
• Mounted oiled tow or FUM tape.
• Shut-off valves - 3 pcs.
• ½ inch tees.
• Metal-plastic pipe.
• Reinforced flexible hoses.

To lay a new powerful cable with old wiring you will need:

• Power socket or circuit breaker.
• Corrugated hose.
• The cable is three-core.

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How to connect a boiler in a private house to the water supply?

So, the whole arsenal of working tools and supplies has been acquired. In order to independently mount the water heater, no special permits are needed. The procedure for connecting the boiler to the water supply is a simple matter:

• You need to connect after the water meter. For example, in the place where the valve is installed on the toilet drain tank.
• Before embedding a tee for connecting a water heater, you must first completely shut off the water supply.
• To create a dhw line, after the valve, mount a half-inch fitting (as an option - ¾ inch).

Important! Practice shows that it is better not to save on fittings and to purchase fittings of good quality. A cheap fitting is unlikely to last more than 3 years.

• A check valve must be mounted on the inlet fitting, it is supplied in one set together with the boiler.
• After the fittings are installed, you can hang the boiler on the wall and connect the pipes for cold and hot water supply.

Important! Nuts should not be tightened too much, it is better to tighten them when testing the system. At the inlet and outlet of the boiler, it is advisable to use reliable ball valves.

After connecting the device to the mains, you can start testing the device:

• Fill the tank with water from the cold water system.
• Open the tap on the hot water line to let air out of the tank.
• Open the hot water tap in the bathroom or kitchen.
• After the tank is full, water will flow from the mixer. Now you can close the taps.

It remains to wait a few hours to test the device for leaks. If drops of water appear at the joints, tighten the nuts on the fittings slightly.

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Stock footage

As you can see, connecting a boiler with your own hands is quite simple. The main thing is to observe safety measures and do everything carefully in order to avoid unpleasant surprises during operation.