Heating equipment that converts electrical energy into heat is produced today by different companies. But if you want to save on a purchase, then you can make such a device yourself. For housing outside the city, such a device is perfectly suited, in addition, its design will not differ in complexity.
Heater manufacturing
Homemade electric boilers include an iron pipe, coolant pipes, metal side plugs, connecting terminals, as well as gaskets made of paronite or rubber. If you have skills in working with the welding machine and the corresponding equipment, the design can be changed by welding metal circles instead of plugs.
Sometimes the water heater has a coolant outlet upward, in which case the pipe will replace the plugs. In the manufacture of the inner electrode must be isolated from the housing using fluoroplastic bushings. You can independently perform fiberglass plugs.
Homemade electric boilers are good in that the master will have room for modernization and improvement of the design using improvised materials. However, one should not get carried away and make an aggregate of different metals, because they can form a galvanic pair, in this case scale will grow on one electrode.
Assembly
Once you understand what materials to use to make the boiler, you can begin to prepare the parts. To do this, markup should be done by cutting off the pipes that will form the basis of the nozzles and body. In them, using an angle grinder, it is necessary to make a selection in the form of a sphere to fit to the cylindrical surface of the body. In the latter, you need to make holes in the places where the pipes are installed.
The thread can be cut with a tap or die for pipe thread. If you do not have such devices, we recommend that you turn to a turner. You can prepare a fluoroplastic sleeve, plugs and internal electrode from this specialist. Finished nozzles and terminals are welded to the body for connecting wires.
The electrode should be fixed in the plug, it should be installed in the electrode boiler. The plugs twist and tighten well. Homemade electric boilers at the last stage are usually painted with enamel. However, you must choose one that is resistant to temperatures up to 120 ° C.
The final stage
Home-made electric boilers after assembly should be checked for permeability of welds. The unit is filled with water, but this will not be enough, because the working pressure in the system sometimes reaches 2 bar, while the emergency pressure is 3 bar at all.
Seams are cleaned of toxins, and then covered with soapy foam. Then, overpressure should be created inside the housing using a compressor. If the case has poorly cooked seams, then bubbles will appear in these places. After completing the test, home-made electric boilers can be placed in the furnace and connected to the system.
Putting equipment into operation
Before starting the boiler, it is necessary to connect the power and ground wires, fill the system with water and configure the equipment. It needs to be brought to operating power by adjusting the composition of the coolant. For this, tap water is sometimes used, but it has some harmful inclusions that contribute to the formation of scale on the walls of the electrodes. As the most suitable option, the initial filling of the system with distilled water is used. If not, you can use water or rain.
Preparation of materials and devices for tuning
Home-made electric boilers for heating should be tuned, but a representative need to prepare materials and appliances. Among them:
- soda;
- container for stirring;
- ammeter;
- syringe;
- current clamps.
For the reason that the equipment described is manufactured independently, you can take into account the approximate power of 4 kW, while the current in the circuit will be 4000 W / 220 V = 18 A. An ammeter should be connected to the power wires, then the equipment is connected to the network to heat the coolant in system. In this case, a soda solution should be prepared in the container, using a ratio of 1 to 10.
This composition is recommended to be added to the system through an open expansion tank or other place using a syringe. As soon as the connection is made, the first indicators of the ammeter will be less than 18 A.
In small portions, it is necessary to start adding soda solution to the coolant. The system should be well warmed up. If you used distilled water, then this process will take quite a long time, so it is recommended to be patient.
As soon as the mark on the device is in the range from 16 to 17, the filling must be stopped, otherwise you can cause an excessively high concentration, which will cause boiling and release of steam. Ultimately, the plastic pipes will simply burst.
Preparation for the manufacture of an electric ion boiler
A home-made electric boiler for heating can be ionic, for it should be prepared not only the welding machine and electrodes, but also:
- iron tee;
- zero wire;
- grounding terminals;
- insulation for terminals;
- polyamide electrode insulation;
- coupling;
- steel pipe of appropriate sizes.
Assembly
For such a boiler, grounding is required, but the zero cable must be supplied to the outer pipe. It is important to remember that the phase must be applied to the electrodes. A pre-prepared pipe, the length of which is 25 cm, and the diameter is in the range from 8 to 10 cm, must be used first.
On the one hand, electrodes are located, on the other, a coupling is installed for connecting to the trunk. To install the electrodes, it is necessary to use a tee, which will ensure the input and output of the coolant. An insulator should be placed near the electrode, which will perform another function - to seal the boiler.
It is necessary to use heat-resistant plastic for the insulator. For the device, not only tightness is important, but also the possibility of a threaded connection of the tee and the electrode. A large bolt should be welded to the body, to which the zero cable and grounding terminals are fixed.
If you want to increase reliability, you can also fix the second bolt using the same technology as in the case of the first. As soon as the connection to the heating system using the coupling is made, it is necessary to hide the equipment with a decorative coating. It is used not only for aesthetics, but also to ensure safety, namely, to protect a person from electric shock. Do not neglect this stage, it is important to limit access to the generator.
Installation
When the do-it-yourself electric boiler is done with your own hands , you can begin installation work, for this you should install air vents, a fuse and a manometer. Shut-off valves must be mounted after the expansion tank. The boiler should be placed vertically, due to the features of its operation. Fasteners must be installed so that they are removed from each other.
Before installing the unit, the heating system must be flushed. For this, pure water is used, which is diluted with a special agent. During the operation of a contaminated coolant or with poor-quality flushing of the line, there is a possibility of a decrease in the performance of the ion boiler.
When a home-made electric boiler is installed at home, grounding can be done using a copper cable with a diameter of 4 mm or more. Its resistance should be 4 ohms or less. The cable should be connected to the zero terminal, which is located in the lower part of the device. It is important to choose radiators, given the size of the system. The most suitable option would be 1 kW of power per 8 liters of total volume. If this indicator is exceeded, a home-made electric boiler for heating the house will work longer than required. This will cause an increase in energy costs.
Conclusion
When equipping a heating system, it is recommended to choose bimetallic alloys or radiators made of aluminum. The use of other materials is unacceptable, since they have many impurities that can adversely affect the electrical conductivity of the working fluid. When installing an open system, the radiators used must have polymer spraying on the inner walls, which will exclude oxygen and prevent corrosion.
The closed system has no such drawbacks. A home-made electric boiler made from a pipe will not be able to work together with cast-iron radiators, because they have impurities that can reduce the performance of such equipment. Among other things, such devices have a large volume, which entails an increase in electricity consumption.