A water heater is a device that is installed in almost every house or apartment. Thanks to him, you will be able to provide maximum comfort to your family and yourself. However, there are times when the water heater needs to be repaired, but the service department cannot be called. All work can be done by yourself.
The most common water heater failures
Regardless of the type of device, breakdowns in them can be the same:
- faulty heater;
- problems with thermostat operation;
- a large amount of scale on the inner walls of the tank (especially in storage devices);
- flow.
In principle, the minimum knowledge of the apparatus is enough to repair the water heater yourself.
How to get rid of scale inside the device?
Most often, the boiler stops working due to a thick layer of limescale on the walls and heating elements. Naturally, for the correct functioning of the unit, it must be removed. However, this must be done correctly so as not to damage the "insides" of the device.
Water heater repairin this case, it is carried out in the following sequence:
- De-energize the device.
- Disassemble the device: first remove the bottom cover. To do this, unscrew the water supply pipes, drain all the water from the tank (if a storage type device is installed). If you are repairing a gas water heater, then make sure that the supply of "blue fuel" is stopped (turn off the valve).
- Now unscrew the bolts that hold the heating element. Be careful not to strip the threads.
- Carefully inspect the heating element. If it is too heavily scaled up, then it may not be possible to clean it and will have to be replaced with a new one. Also pay attention to the magnesium anode. Most often, instead of the old element, a new one is installed without cleaning.
- Now you can start cleaning the tank itself. To do this, you can use modern chemical descalers. Basically they are effective. In certain cases, it is necessary to combine several cleaning methods. However, remember that aggressive substances or mechanical scrapers can damage the protective coating on the inside of the boiler, and the body will quickly rust.
- Now rinse the device, reassemble it in reverse order, dry well, connect all necessary tubes and hoses and check. If the heating element heats up, the water does not leak, and everything works well, then everything is done correctly. If it was not possible to remove the lime layer yourself, still contact an experienced craftsman.
Thermostat Troubleshooting Features
Regular inspection and repair of the water heater involves checking all the main components of the device. An important part of it is the thermostat. If it is not in working condition, then the water will not heat up.
So, first you need to remove the thermostat. You may have to disassemble the device to do this. Now check the resistance level of the workpiece with the instrument in the Max position. If the tester shows nothing, then the thermostat is faulty. In this case, the repair of the water heater involves simply replacing the part, since it is no longer possible to fix the breakdown in it.
If your control thermostat trips, you need to check its ability to resist in the Min position. In addition, try to heat the part with a lighter. If the thermal relay has worked and the circuit has opened, then the resistance arrow tends to infinity. If there is no response, simply replace the device.
Other Troubleshooting Features
Repairing an instantaneous water heater is not difficult. You just need to remove the cover and carefully examine its "insides". Most often, you can see a thick layer of scale on the heat exchanger. Dealing with this problem is easy enough. You need to remove the heat exchanger and treat it with special products that help dissolve limescale. The most difficult step in this process is the correct assembly of the device. Do it allinstructions, try to seal all connections.
What to do if the water heater leaks? In this case, water can ooze both from the body of the device and from the connections. If the second cause is easy enough to eliminate by tightening the nuts tightly with additional thread sealing, then the first problem is most often not repairable. In this case, you will simply have to throw away the device.
Sometimes you may notice that the machine is too noisy. This can happen if the device is not installed correctly. During installation of the device, try to observe the level and all the necessary nuances specified in the instructions.
Do-it-yourself water heater repair is quite simple. However, if you are not versed in technology, it is better to enlist the support of an experienced craftsman.
