Many of us wondered about the use of instantaneous water heaters. When thinking about the buying process, they probably all had gas water heaters on a special account. These devices, unlike their electrical and storage analogues, are more convenient and economical to operate. By choosing a gas water heater for your home, you can significantly save money due to the difference in electricity tariffs and gas prices, as well as make your life more comfortable and use warm water when necessary. However, like any device, geysers have a habit of failing. And there’s no getting around it. In this article, we will try to describe the main breakdowns and figure out how to repair a gas column with our own hands.
About how gas columns are arranged and how they work
These devices resemble an unremarkable kitchen cabinet. A heat exchanger and two burners are mounted inside it (we will find out a little more about why there are two). A pair of pipelines is suitable for the body: one is gas and the other is water.
The work process begins after one of the hot water taps opens. The valve opens, supplying gas to the burner. Due to the combustion of the energy carrier, heat is generated, which is transferred through the coolant to water, which is sent to the crane used at that moment. All that remains from the combustion of energy is displayed on the street through a chimney.
Varieties of geysers
These devices are divided by type of ignition into:
- electronic;
- hand held;
- with piezo ignition.
Hand-held gas water heaters are the last century. To use them, it is necessary to supply gas to the column and use the matches to light the igniter. To enable the main burner to operate, an appropriate control signal must be supplied.
Now there are more practical gas water heaters that meet the requirements of modern people, accustomed to the fact that all the work for them is done by automation. Electronic ignition system works as follows. Again, it all starts with the opening of hot water. The system detects a drop in water pressure and sends a signal to the gas supply and the formation of a spark. After these actions, the fuse lights up, and then the process is the same as in manual burners. The main burner will enter the case, and the heated water will go to the turned on tap. The burners are also turned off in automatic mode - after the valve is closed and the pressure is restored.
Piezo ignition geysers use the so-called piezoelectric effect for operation, which can be judged by their name. When the device is turned on, a button is pressed that converts the mechanical action into an electrical discharge. The discharge will ignite the igniter, and then the second burner. After the hot water turns off, the main part goes out of work, but the ignitor burns on. Therefore, at subsequent starts of the hot tap everything will work in automatic mode.
Most common malfunctions
Like any other device, this unit requires periodic maintenance and compliance with certain rules. And then it will work for a long time, and the malfunctions of the gas water heater will not disturb you. Despite this, breakdowns are not excluded, for example, due to poor quality of water or energy. In such cases, knowledge of how to repair a gas column with your own hands will be very helpful. Consider which damage is the most frequent and how to deal with it.
Scale on a heat exchanger - what to do?
Not all residents of suburban homes and city apartments can boast the quality of tap water. If you compile a rating of “Faulty gas column”, then the first place in it will take the pollution of the heat exchanger with scale due to too hard water. Limescale forms when water is heated above eighty degrees. To combat this phenomenon, you can resort to prevention. For this, it is only necessary not to use very hot water. It's no secret that in order to wash, it will be enough to heat the water to 45 degrees. The same temperature is enough for washing dishes, and given the fact that modern washing products do their job in cold water, even less. In order to wash clothes, a temperature of about sixty degrees will be enough.
Contributes to the appearance of scale and the fact that for convenience, many do not turn off the fuse of the gas column. Because of this, the temperature in the heat exchanger can rise to values exceeding the scale formation threshold. Therefore, it is necessary to turn off the igniter if the heater is not needed at the moment, and turn it on when there is such a need. Also, experts do not advise to go into the automation settings in case of poor water pressure. To solve this problem, they recommend buying a booster pump.
In cases where preventive measures are no longer relevant, since a breakdown has occurred, in order to repair the Neva gas columns (or any foreign brands - it doesn’t matter), it is necessary to clean the heat exchanger. The first step is to make sure that it is a blockage. Symptoms are as follows: insufficient pressure of hot water, the unit turns off immediately after switching on or does not turn on at all.
In order to repair the Neva gas columns or foreign analogues, the following tools will be needed:
- set of wrenches;
- set of screwdrivers;
- hose;
- paranitic gaskets;
- special abrasive substance “Antinakipin”.
The column should be taken apart first. Then you should close the water supply to the device, open the nearest hot tap. Next, you need to remove the supply tube from the heat exchanger. It is necessary to drain the water from it, about a liter. Next, put the tube back on. With the help of a funnel, it is necessary to pour a cleaning solution into it, preferably slowly and accurately. “Anti-scale” must be left inside the heat exchanger for two hours. There is a small trick: to make the cleaning process faster, you need to heat the solution with a fuse.
After the lapse of time it is necessary to resume the water supply and check that it spills out of the hose. If traces of scale and other foreign matter are noticeable in the liquid, and after the pressure becomes better - everything went well, no - the action is worth repeating.
Flowing geyser radiator
It is worth noting that replacing a leaking heat exchanger with a working one is not the only option for fixing columns. If you take into account the fact that it will be very expensive to buy a new radiator (one third of the cost of the entire device), it will be very useful to know how to repair a gas column with your own hands in this case. The fix will be to solder the coil. Due to the fact that the solder melts at higher temperatures, compared with those that occur in the radiator, this repair option is quite reliable. Spare parts for geysers are very expensive, so repairs are a great alternative to replacing them.
Statistics show that cracks form mainly on the pipe located on the outside of the heat exchanger. Before starting soldering, it is necessary to free the heat exchanger from water. If this is not done, water, removing heat, will not allow the solder to seize well. In order to get rid of water, you must open the hot tap, then dismantle the fasteners for supplying cold water to the device. After these actions, the bulk of the water should drain. What remains can be purged with a compressor.
Now you can proceed directly to the soldering. With the help of sandpaper, it is necessary to treat the crack site, and then clean and degrease it. Tinning is carried out at a temperature of 180 degrees, a soldering iron is best used at least 100 watts. When soldering, it is recommended to use rosin, but if it is not available, you can replace it with ordinary aspirin tablets. The place of soldering should be covered with a uniform layer of solder. They recommend increasing this layer to two millimeters, and then this defect will never manifest itself. After that, you should inspect the entire radiator tube. In the presence of green inclusions, these places must also be soldered, since, most likely, they also formed due to cracks, only smaller ones. If this is not done, they will become larger over time, because of which they will again have to repair the gas column with their own hands.
In cases where cracks are located in inaccessible places, soldering will be impossible. Here, removal of the heat exchanger will be required, which will require a complete analysis of the gas column. This procedure is very dangerous, therefore the repair of the Junkers geyser from Bosch, as well as the domestic one, is best entrusted to specialists.
The gas column does not light
Most often, the cause of such a breakdown is the lack of draft in the ventilation. This is due to a foreign object entering the mine or clogging it with soot. To verify the absence of traction can be simple: if the flame of a lit match deviates to the side - there is traction, if the flame does not flutter - there is no traction.
There are other reasons why the gas column does not light. For example, if the elements of the apparatus responsible for the formation of a spark in automatic ignition systems are not charged, this can also lead to the installation inoperative.
Another reason for the failure of the column may be insufficient pressure in the water supply system. If the pressure of cold water has become worse, then, most likely, the malfunction lies in the water supply system. If the cold water pressure is good, and the hot one is barely flowing, then it may be necessary to repair the unit water unit (membrane repair or filter cleaning).
The filter is clogged due to a shutdown of the water supply. It must be removed and rinsed under water pressure. Removing the membrane is more difficult, but this will help the scheme of the gas column. If the surface of the membrane is deformed, it must be replaced. To do this, you can choose a silicone product that has a longer life. Stores selling parts for gas water heaters may offer such options.
There are situations when the unit goes out immediately after ignition. The reason for this is the poor-quality contact of the thermocouple and the valve. If the thermocouple is in good condition, the gas flow column is suitable for repair (cleaning contacts and the automation unit).
Characteristic claps during installation
They talk about the following things:
- No draft in the ventilation shaft.
- Bad battery.
- Clogged nozzle.
- Excessive gas supply.
The first thing to watch is the flame. It should burn steadily, the color should be blue. The yellow-red color, as well as a small flame indicate the need to clean the ignition nozzles .
Incorrect heating of water
The cause of this problem may be the wrong choice of installation power. To do this, when buying, you need to make sure that the gas column "Bosch" or another company has the necessary characteristics for your home. In addition, there may be a blockage in the apparatus. This is confirmed by the presence of soot and the uncharacteristic color of the flame. With insufficient heating, you can try to adjust the energy supply. This is done using a special crane.
There is an opposite situation - the water is too hot. Here the Bosch gas column does not require repair, since this is not considered a malfunction. This is because in summer the temperature of the water in the water supply system is warmer, and the pressure drops. Many geysers are not designed for this mode. Characteristics of geysers include optimal water pressure at which the unit is operating normally. The solution to this problem is as follows: it is necessary to reduce the energy supply.
Gasket replacement
It happens that a gas column forms a leak. Water pipes are connected in columns with nuts having gaskets. Over time, they all become not as elastic as a consequence - their ability to not pass water is lost, hence the flow. The flowing gas column, which began to flow, probably requires the replacement of this part. This will not take much time, but if the leak did not stop after the repair, you can try using another, additional gasket.
Caution - gas!
The most dangerous malfunction of geysers is a gas leak, while a characteristic smell is felt. If it occurs, you should not risk it and try to fix the device yourself. It is necessary to immediately shut off the gas, ventilate the room and call the gas service. By following these recommendations, you can not be afraid for the health and life of your and your loved ones.
So, we found out how these devices are arranged, examined their main malfunctions and how to eliminate them. These gas water heater repair instructions will help you find out the cause of the breakdown and fix it in the shortest possible time.