How can I repair the boiler myself?

Causes of failure

The main cause of boiler failure is poor water quality. Because of this, a scum forms on the surface of the heating element, the internal walls of the tank are corroded, which subsequently entails more serious consequences and expensive repairs in the service center. In addition, the water heater may stop working due to improper connection to the mains and hot / cold water circuits.

Regarding the latter, when connecting the boiler, it is necessary to install a safety valve between the branch pipe leaving the tank and the cold water pipe, which will protect the tank from a rupture during a water hammer. Also, you should perform the connection according to the instructions and, equally importantly, not to mix up anything that is connected. Sometimes there are situations that if the installation is incorrect, the water heater does not gain water. You should not panic in this case. It is better to once again look at how to properly connect the equipment to the pipes and, most likely, you will understand why you do not get water.

In order to understand how to repair a storage water heater under different conditions, then we will separately consider ways to repair all possible breakages by our own hands.

Removing the scum

If the boiler does not heat the water to the desired temperature, but still rustles when turned on, it means that a scum has formed on the TEN, which you need to clean yourself. It is not difficult to do this, it is only necessary to disconnect the equipment from the network, drain the water from the tank and disassemble the housing to remove the heating element. With the plug disconnected from the socket, you will not have any difficulties, but draining the water can make repairs a little more difficult. Immediately recommend that you watch the video lesson, which shows a simple method for solving this difficulty:

After you empty the tank, you will need to dismantle the boiler yourself. To do this, carefully disconnect all the fastons connected to the thermostat and unscrew the bolts, which are, as a rule, 6 pieces.

During the extraction of the heater, a little more water will pour out, which remains in the tank. The heating element itself should be immediately cleaned while it is wet and the scale deposits do not solidify. For cleaning, we recommend using special tools that can be sprayed onto the heater. After a while, deposits without effort are scraped off with a wooden spatula or even with a blunt knife. Also for repair it is possible to boil TEN in a bucket with the addition of a special acid in water, which will effectively solve the problem. In order to get rid of the scum, we recommend using fine-grained sandpaper( "skin") to clean the tubes to metallic color.

Simultaneously with the repair of the boiler, which long or weakly heats the water, it is recommended to replace the magnesium anode, which protects the tank from corrosion. To do this, remove the worn out rod and get the exact same one to make a replacement yourself!

After this, it is necessary to assemble the boiler in reverse order and check if it has been possible to repair the weak heating of the water. Do not forget that the first thing you need to fill the tank completely with water, after which you already connect the plug to the mains and start.

We draw your attention to the fact that there is a situation when the boiler does not heat water, because the heater is broken. In this case, the independent repair is that it needs to be called with a multimeter, by setting the resistance measurement mode. About this, we just tell you below!

Testing the circuit with the tester

If the light on the boiler is on and the water does not heat up, it is likely that the heater we mentioned above does not work. Check it at home is simple enough, you need to install the test leads on the TEN contacts and see the resistance on the scoreboard. The operating resistance of the heater can vary between 0.4 and 0.7, as shown in the photo below. If you see "1" on the scoreboard, then a break occurred and you need to replace the part with a new one, becauseit is almost impossible to repair it.

By the way, if the boiler beats current or when it is turned on, the RCD is turned off by itself, then the cause of the failure, again, is in the heater, from which the leakage occurs. You can check the malfunction by connecting one probe to the TEN contact, and the other to the tube itself. You will see on the display "1", the part is serviceable and there is no need for repair, minus value or too big - replacement is required.

Another reason why the boiler does not heat the water or, on the contrary, heats up strongly, is the failure of the thermostat. You can check it in two ways - by a tester or a cigarette lighter. With the tester, everything is clear, you need to act on a similar technique, but as for the lighters, everything is more interesting here. First, remove the thermostat and press the button on it( it is shown in the photo below).After this, the copper contact of the thermostat must be heated. If after some time the button returns to its original position( it will be knocked out), the thermostat is working. If the thermostat does not work, repair the boiler, which does not turn off or does not turn on, can be replaced by a new one. I would also like to note that there is no need to drain water to replace the thermostat on a water heater. It is enough just to disconnect the equipment from the network and disconnect all the wires lead.

Also sometimes there is a breakdown - the display of the water heater does not show the temperature or the display does not work at all. In this case, check all the circuit elements and if the break is not found, the control unit is likely to have broken down. You can not repair the electronics yourself if you do not have the experience and knowledge, so you have to take an electric water heater for repairs to a service center.

We get rid of leaks

If you notice that water is dripping from the boiler, it is not always possible to repair it yourself. Well, if the cause of leakage is the wear of the seal on the flange. In this case, the gasket should be replaced with the same size, which will allow repairing the breakdown. Much worse things are, if the water heater leaks due to the wear of the tank itself. Some advise to glue or solder holes, but, as practice shows, after a short period of time you still have to say goodbye to the boiler, tk.such methods of leak repair are extremely durable.

That's all I wanted to tell you about repairing the boiler with your own hands. We hope that now you know what to do if the electric water heater is leaking, it does not warm the water well or does not work at all. These devices do not have many problems and you can get rid of them by timely servicing the system. At least once a year, do a check of the check valve and cleaning the heating element.so that faults will bypass you!

It will be interesting to read:

• How to use the multimeter
• The best manufacturers of water heaters
• Why in the bathroom it beats the current