If you installed an electric water heater (boiler) at home, then, of course, you know that you will have to systematically drain the water from it. This can be caused by several reasons: your prolonged absence from home, the onset of cold weather, the need to get rid of sediment or scale, replacing the anode or ongoing repair. Although it also happens that in connection with any repair work, Vodokanal may periodically turn off the water supply. And as a result, you have about 100 liters of water in your apartment, and it is not possible to get to life-giving moisture. Why is this happening and how to drain the water from the water heater? The boiler device is such that the outlet of hot water is often located almost near the lid, and the flow of hot water occurs exclusively under cold water pressure .
To get unhindered access to water under the ceiling, it is necessary to provide for the possibility of draining water through an optionally installed faucet. A good option is to equip the outlet in front of the check valve, and connect it with a tee to the outlet of hot water. In this case, even when the water supply is turned off, you can temporarily open an additional faucet, and the water will by gravity enter the outlet of hot water. Now you can use this water for household needs, for example, for washing dishes. Agree, it’s much more convenient than using a bucket when turning off the water. However, you need to be extremely careful and not to accidentally turn on the boiler with drained water. It is necessary to make it a rule, before turning on the electric water heater, it is necessary to check the presence of water in the system.
This option is far from the only one. In principle, in order to drain water from a water heater at any time, you can generally reinstall the check valve and, without screwing it into the water heater inlet, install it immediately after the water meter. In this case, if the water suddenly shuts off, the check valve will not allow the water to leave, and it will by gravity enter the system.
However, plumbers do not approve of such a connection at all. Since the non-return valve is located far away, additional heat loss may occur during heating in the water system, and when the heater overheats, the “cold” circuit may overheat, which is very undesirable.
Of course, in order to better imagine how to drain the water from the water heater, it is advisable to first study the general principles of its construction. Typically, a boiler is an enameled tank (or a stainless steel tank), into which two tubes cut into, an automatic air vent, as well as a heater with a temperature regulator. The tank itself is wrapped with insulation and inserted into an external tin case. On some models there is a built-in thermometer and an indicator of the operation of the heater.
If you simply open the faucet and turn off the power to the boiler, the water from it will not completely drain. Only the part that is located in the boiler above the hot water supply (DHW) is draining, therefore, in order to completely drain the water, it is necessary to make sure that the air enters the tank. So how to drain the water from the boiler?
1. It is necessary to completely shut off the cold water supply.
2. Next, open the faucet closest to the water heater and relieve pressure from it.
3. Using a Phillips screwdriver, unscrew the flag holder located on the safety valve and, before draining the water from the heater, raise the flag by placing a container to collect water under the valve drain.
4. In the event that the pressure in the system is sufficient to raise water, then simply drain the water.
If for some reason you have to drain the water quite often, then the best option would be to install tees with taps at the inlet and outlet of the water heater. Knowing how to drain water from a water heater, you can safely leave home for a long time and not be afraid of unplanned outages.