How to drain a horizontal boiler

Instructions for popular models

How to drain a Termex water heater

• Disconnect from the power supply;
• Wait until the water is cold or at least summer;
• Shut off the cold water;
• Open the hot one, wait for the rest of the water to drain out;
• Unscrew the fasteners on the valve;
• Connect the hose to the drain;
• Unscrew the fastening of the hot Tap, drain.

A video will visually show you how to drain the water heater Termex.

How to drain an Ariston water heater

• Unplug it;
• Let the water cool down;
• Shut off the cold water;
• We open the hot, reducing the pressure, and drain the rest;
• Open the water faucet, letting the air flow in;
• Turn the faucet;
• Insert the hose;
• Drain.

Watch our video on how to drain an Ariston water heater carefully, and then you won’t break the rules during the procedure.

How to drain an Electrolux water heater

• Disconnect the device from the power supply;
• Cool the water;
• Shutting off the water;
• Open the hot valve;
• Unscrew the handle on the valve;
• Connect the hose to the pipe to let the water out.

We recommend watching a video, how to drain the water from the water heater Electrolux.

Dehumidification procedure for the water heater

If you decide to empty the tank, you can do it only after the contents have cooled to room temperature. When the water pipe is closed and the hot water tap is opened, at most a liter or a half will flow out of the tank; the rest will stay inside. To understand why this happens, and to continue to properly drain the water you need to know how the electric water heater is designed:

• Heated water is drawn from the top of the tank through a special tube and flows into the bottom of the heater.
• The cold water inlet pipe is connected via a non-return poppet valve which prevents water from flowing back into the mains. It is also responsible for the drainage of excessive pressure that occurs during heating and expansion of the liquid.
• In a storage-type electric water heater, water from the tank is forced by the pressure of the main DHW pipe.
• If the cold water supply is shut off and the system stops working, the liquid won’t flow out of the tank itself. Only the water that was above the inlet tube will come out of the faucet.

There is no other way but to drain the water from the boiler through the cold pipe, as it is located at the bottom of the tank. The method of dewatering is determined by the strapping of the water heater.

Drain for standard, advanced and simplified connection types

With the standard version it is much easier to empty the boiler tank. But in the wiring diagram it is mandatory to have a drain valve, mounted on the tee after the non-return valve.

• Close the cold pipe with the valve, unplug the appliance from the socket, open the hot water faucet.
• Connect a hose of the required length to the drain faucet.
• Prepare a bucket or other large container.
• Drain the contents in portions through an open faucet.

No need to disconnect the pipes, just turn off the valve when the reservoir is full. No spray from the hose, because the amount of air flowing into the tank is limited by the mixer.

Improved version of the standard connection involves a more convenient procedure of draining, because the tee is mounted on both sides: at the inlet of cold and outlet of heated water. With this type of piping you must first shut off the valve at the inlet to the unit. Then put on the drain hose and open the combination faucet to depressurize the tank and drain the residue in the outlet pipe. The free end is directed into the sewer or a prepared container and open the stop valve for air flow on the tee of the “hot” pipe.

In the simplified connection variant it is necessary to stop the ingress of moisture into the electric heater. Then open the hot water valve to drain the residual quantity from the connection pipe. Then the check valve lever is moved to the open position and the remaining liquid is drained. This is quite a long process.

An electric heater with a capacity of 80-100 liters will empty in about two hours, and a 50-liter unit in an hour. To speed up the procedure, it is worth gently unscrewing the hot air pipe to the tank, which will push out the water.

Quick and complete emptying

If an emergency situation arises, there is a need to quickly drain the liquid. The procedure is as follows:

• Close the cold water valve located on the supply pipe. If there is no such regulator on the inlet to the tank, the shut-off is carried out on the riser.
• Open the tap at the boiling water outlet of the electric heater to equalize the pressure from inside and outside. Then close the valve again.
• Place a large pan or a basin under the boiler and unhook the hot water inlet hose.
• Unscrew the T-piece with the drain valve.

After this the liquid will drain away very quickly. It is necessary to ensure that the basin does not overflow, otherwise you can flood the neighbors. When changing the can, you must turn off the air supply to the heater tank. The process will be easier if the boiler is mounted over a sink, tub, toilet.

Before cleaning the inside of the tank or preserving the summerhouse heater for the winter, you must necessarily drain the remainder of the tank. First drain most of the liquid by any of the above methods. After that, you need to remove the water that is left on the bottom.

• Remove decorative panel from underneath of water heater, hold it, disconnect wires leading to light indicator.
• Disconnect the electric wires. In order not to confuse things when reassembling, it is better to make a photo of the water heater stuffing beforehand.
• Slowly unscrew the flange that supports the heating element. First loosen the nuts, and when the excess liquid drains out, unscrew the element completely.
• Remove the heating element and let the remaining water drain out.

HOW TO DRAIN YOUR HEATING SYSTEM. Pressurised. PLUMBING TIPS

Pull out the heating element carefully. If it is not in a case, it is sure to be covered with scale, which hinders the passage. If you pull it sharply, you can damage an important part. So slowly remove it by slowly rocking the element sideways.

Drain water from the electric heater

Since the boiler is a vessel that operates under pressure, it is not easy to drain it.

Even if you turn off the supply faucet and open the valve with hot water, you can drain only part of the liquid that is in the DHW pipe. Everything else will remain in the tank.

To extract the water from there we need to ensure the flow of air inside the tank. This is most often done through the hot water pipe.

In general, the drainage procedure is as follows:

• Disconnect the boiler from the network or unplug it from the electrical wires. This is an obligatory procedure, failure to comply with which can cause serious electric shock.
• Close the faucet that supplies cold water to the water heater.
• Open the valve with hot water, it is best to use the nearest faucet to the boiler, and bleed pressure from the device.
• Unscrew the fastener on the flag of the safety valve, which is mounted on the pipe that supplies cold water to the heater. For this it will be most convenient to use a small Phillips screwdriver.
• We put a deep container under the spout of the safety valve and raise the flag. This is necessary if the spout is not in the sewage pipe, which is usually done by experienced boiler installers.
• Drain the water, periodically raising and lowering the flag when changing the filled container. This is possible if the force of atmospheric pressure is sufficient to lift the water. If there is no air bubbling in the hot water pipe, indicating a normal process, carry out additional measures.
• We dismantle demount demountable connections like metal fittings, the American pipe or a flexible pipe. We choose the nearest to the water heater pipe with hot water, ideally dismantle the connection, located at the outlet of the device. If the connections are not demountable, put a piece of rubber hose on the spout of the nearest faucet to the water heater.
• Blow water from the DHW line into the water heater, blowing hard into the hose. You can try to use a compressor or pump, but very carefully. After which you can drain the water.

After the water stops flowing out of the tank, it is necessary to understand that there is still water in the tank.

This is due to the fact that the pipe with cold water is fixed at a certain height, which determines the amount of not drained liquid.

It is important to understand that when changing the heating element or during the preservation of the device the water must not be left in it. You can drain it completely only by unscrewing the heating element in order to drain the residual liquid through the installation opening.

Unscrewing the heating element is carried out very carefully, so as not to damage the gaskets.

Specialists focus on two important points. Before draining the water, always de-energize the appliance.

Do not forget that the heater. an electrical device, and any manipulation with it requires the exact observance of safety rules.

Otherwise you can not avoid electric shock. Another nuance: the water in the tank must be cooled. Otherwise the risk of getting burned is too high.

Screw the pipes

If installing your boiler engaged amateurs, they probably did not put a safety valve or a tee Therefore, to drain the water from it will have to arm with a wrench. What you need to do:

• Shut off the cold water in the apartment;
• Prepare a container of sufficient volume to drain the water;
• Slowly unscrew the faucet or hose through which the hot water comes out of the boiler;
• Remember. How many turns did you have to turn the faucet to unscrew it.

After you have drained the water from the boiler, you need to install the hose or faucet in place. To do this, wrap fum tape around the threads against the direction of the. Make two or three revolutions. Then screw it into the water heater the same number of turns it took to unscrew it.

For more information on how to drain the water from the boiler through the water supply hole see the video at the end of the article.

How to drain a water heater (boiler): the fastest way to properly drain an electric storage water heater

In case of breakage of the boiler water is also drained, but often this is done by the repair specialists.

Draining the water from the boiler is necessary in several situations:

If your device is in the cottage or country house and for the winter the temperature in the room drops below 5 degrees, the liquid must be drained, so that during the winter it will not rupture the tank under the influence of low temperature.

If the temperature does not drop below this point, it does not need to be drained. An empty tank has a very short service life, it quickly succumbs to corrosion.

Because of the poor quality of water supplied in systems of apartment buildings, scaling is formed on the heating, and not only, parts. In this case, once every few years to drain the water from the boiler to clean all elements of the heater.

And even if this fact does not convince you, the boiler still needs to be cleaned for the reason that during constant use in it, dirt and microbes are accumulated (most dangerous bacteria such as legionella, it leads to lung diseases).

Some manufacturers in the instructions of the device advise to drain a small amount of water once a month, so that your tank has worked as long as possible and better quality.

How to drain a storage water heater: 3 simple ways

When using a storage water heater, the owner can not do without a complete drainage of the water from the tank. At the cottage will have to do it at the end of the season to prevent the liquid from freezing in the winter. In the apartment drain water from the storage tank is done less often. once in 1-3 years, when you need to clean the device from the scale. The entire process will take no more than one hour of time. A person facing the problem for the first time should know how to properly drain the water heater so as not to damage the device.

How to drain the water heater and whether it is necessary to do it?

Most often the tank of the boiler is hung on the wall or installed on supports. Connect two pipes or two flexible hoses to the bottom of the water heater. cold and hot. Cold water flows into the heater via the cold water inlet pipe (hose). Through the hot hose. hot water comes out.

Hot water comes out while filling the tank with new cold water at the same time. When the cold water is disconnected (in case of an accident on the water main or repair of the riser in the entrance), cold water does not flow into the tank. Therefore, hot water cannot escape from the boiler even when the faucet is open. Now, based on the described features of the water heater, we will tell you how to properly drain the water from the boiler.

To do this, open the cold opening (cold water outlet) and at the same time allow air to enter the tank through the hot water outlet. How to do this. depends on the design of the boiler and how it is connected (here read how to install the boiler). We will consider several ways of realization.

Drain the water using the safety valve

Proper installation of the water heater requires a safety valve. It is installed at the tank inlet (on the cold pipe or hose) and is intended for emergency drainage of water from the boiler. This emergency release occurs spontaneously, if for some reason, the pressure inside the tank exceeds the set safe values.

The emergency valve has a spout to connect the drain pipe and a screw (this has the shape of a knob that is used to open and close the valve). Why the valve must be opened? To check its performance. This is done at intervals of once a month. Open the valve knob and watch whether the water flows from the spout. If it leaks. the valve is in operation. If it does not leak. the valve is clogged and the safety function does not work. Clean or replace it.

Now the main thing. how to drain the water from the boiler using the valve? This is the easiest way to release water from the heater tank. Simply open the valve of the emergency device. If the valve is defective, water will flow from the spout (or the hose connected to the spout).

The water flow rate through the safety valve is slow. This means that the 80 l tank will take about 2 hours to empty. If the valve is clogged, the water will flow at an even slower rate. In this case, the time to empty the tank can take 3 or 4 hours. To quickly empty the tank, you must use the method described below.

Video on draining water with an emergency valve

You can visually see how to drain the water in the video below.

For those who are not professionals: if the water from the spout of the valve does not flow, it means that the device is defective (often clogged), and you can not drain the water in this way.

Drain the tank through the cold water hole

This method is more complicated and requires a willingness to take an adjustable wrench to unscrew some of the nuts in the boiler connection system. How to drain the water from the boiler in this case?

• Before you begin, block the inlet of the cold and hot water in the house or apartment and disconnect the boiler from the mains. If you are a layman in the field of this activity, you must follow this rule without fail.
• Check if the hot faucet is closed. If it is open, then after unscrewing all the nuts the water from the water heater will start to flow heavily. And we need to control the process and not flood the room with several buckets of water.
• Put a bucket, a basin or another container under the boiler to collect water.
• Unscrew the nut, which connects the safety (emergency, drain, check valve) with a metal pipe or a flexible coupling hose (flexible hoses are used when connecting plastic water supply).
• Disconnect the hose or pipe from the safety device.
• Unscrew the nut that connects the safety (dumping) valve to the pipe heating tank. Also use an adjustable wrench for this.
• Remove the dump valve (you can assess its condition, the presence of clogs, if necessary. rinse with water). If the faucet with hot water is closed (we checked before we started the work), the water from the tank will not flow at all or it will come out in small portions. For water to start flowing out more, it is necessary for air to enter the tank. How to do it?
• Open the hot water faucet. At the same time through a hot tube inside the sealed tank of the heater air will begin to flow. The water from the cold spigot will flow more.
• If it is necessary to adjust the flow of flowing water, use the hot tap. To reduce the flow. turn off the hot faucet.
• If the water heater connection system has a tap at the water heater outlet (on the hot pipe), you can regulate water flow with this tap instead of the regular hot tap.

The described method allows you to drain the water from the tank in a few minutes (3 to 5 minutes).

Video on draining water with a cold water hole

To make it clearer what and how to do, watch the attached video. This way you can do the necessary work faster.

If there are problems with your pipes, reread our article on how to solder plastic pipes.

Unscrew the incoming and outgoing hoses

To drain the water from the water heater very quickly, you can use this method. But this method of draining the water from the boiler is the most uncontrolled. You can only use this if the water heater is installed directly above the bathtub. Regulate the flow of water during the drain, stopping it or loosening it if necessary.

To drain, twist the cold hose from the inlet hose and safety valve, then remove the hose from the hot spigot. Water from the tank rushes down through both holes and empties the tank in a couple of minutes.

Any of the above methods do not release the water from the boiler completely. In order to completely drain every last drop, you must disassemble the storage tank.

Does the water heater need to be drained

It depends on the conditions of its operation, design and frequency of use of the boiler. When it becomes mandatory to drain the water?

• If the water heater is located in a vacation home or other intermittent residence. With the onset of frost, the water inside can turn to ice and “tear” the sealed storage tank;
• The water drain comes in handy when there is a breakdown on the water mains and there is no water in the apartment. The accumulation tank can provide 80-100 liters of water. It can be used to wash hands, vegetables or flush the toilet.

Whether or not it is necessary to drain the water from the water heater during departure? A heated water heater that is installed in a heated room does not need to be drained when the owners are away. However, we must take into account the peculiarities of the design of your heating device:

• if the tank is made of stainless steel, it is not afraid of corrosion in the water. But it will corrode faster in humid air;
• It is better to drain the water for copper heaters. Copper is more destructive in hard water than in humid air. And the service life of heaters is always less than the storage tank (they have to be replaced more often);
• if the water in the heater is supplied from a centralized water supply system, it contains disinfectants (chlorine). They limit the growth of any bacteria and the appearance of unpleasant stale odor;
• if the water in the tank comes from a well, it does not contain chlorine. Therefore, it can have stagnation with the formation of a putrid unpleasant odor. Drainage of such water prevents its stagnation and decay.

To get rid of the smell of stale water, you should flush the boiler (turn on the faucet and long drain water from the tank until all the stale liquid comes out). Then fill the heater and turn on the maximum heat (90-95?C). This “boiling” can be done several times if necessary.

If you choose to drain the water, empty it only after the hot water has completely cooled to room temperature. The rest of the manipulation is already familiar based on the article.

NEVER BUY A WATER HEATER WITHOUT WATCHING THIS VIDEO

How to drain a water heater?

In homeowners who do not live in the cold season, engineering work should be done annually to prepare the water heating systems for the winter period. In this case, it is useful to know some of the features of technology and use of devices for water heating, so that during the drainage of the liquid does not arise difficulties.

• Enameled tank (sometimes there is also stainless steel);
• internal tubes;
• THEN with a thermostat;
• automatic air vent.

Usually the tanks inside such a device are designed for a particular pressure. Approximately 7 to 10 bar. It turns out that the device of the boiler is a certain vessel, which works under pressure. And since there is still liquid there, you can’t drain it just by opening a valve. Because without air flow from the vessel will leak only part of the liquid. The water that is near the hot water supply pipe will go away.

How to properly drain the water from the boiler completely? Can only be done by introducing air into the system. This procedure is performed through the hot water supply. Let’s break it down step by step:

• We need to shut off the cold water valve to the boiler.
• Open the hot water faucet (in the bathroom, for example) and gradually release the pressure.
• Take a small Phillips screwdriver and twist the flag that is attached to the cold water safety valve. The valve itself is supplying liquid to the device.
• Having twisted, it is necessary to raise the flag and at the same time to prepare a container into which the liquid will be drained. Place a container under the safety valve. Sometimes a professional installation already implies a pipe under the spout. It has to be tied to the drain.
• At best atmospheric pressure should be enough to let the liquid move by air suction through the hot water pipe. Visually it can be heard by the movement of bubbles inside the hot water faucet. Here the system is already prepared, and whether to drain gradually, changing the container under the boiler (you can open and lock the safety flag). But often the atmospheric pressure is a drag.
• We have to do disassembly. Need to treat the nearest connection from the hot water to the boiler. It is good if the disassembled connection will not come out of the device.
• There are models that can’t be disassembled. In this case we are looking for a rubber hose of a suitable diameter. Put it on the faucet that is closest to the water heater. Continue blowing into the hose so that the remaining water pours into the boiler. Sometimes a pump or compressor is used, but this is more complicated.

Judging by the work cycle, it is better to put a water heater with easy disconnect connections in advance. This is very handy at dachas, where below the season you have to drain into the water. Resourceful users put in advance a tee for draining water.

Another tip! The heater has a tube with cold water, it is not at the very bottom. Therefore, when draining may leave some of the liquid. It is better to know about it, leaving the device in unheated room in winter time.