How To Quickly And Easily Drain Water From A Storage Water Heater

2023 Author: Philip Bishop | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-08-25 07:54

• Drain or not drain? That is the question!..
• When you can't do without a drain
• How does it work in general?
• General device
• Storage capacity
• Pipe, pipe, pipe all around …
• Where without convenience …
• It's time to drain the water
• General procedure
• And if it doesn't gurgle?..
• It's good when everything is according to the rules!
• Visual video on draining water from a storage boiler

Modern water heaters are household electrical appliances capable of providing hot water around the clock, without the need for any special care. Drainage of water from popular boilers "Ariston" or "Termeks" is not the most complicated procedure in technical terms, but requires some knowledge about the principles and features of the operation of electric "titans". And the first of these features - water drainage, under normal operating conditions of the heater and its proper operation, is not required at all …

Drain or not drain? That is the question!.

However, in some situations, it is impossible to do without draining the water from the storage tank of the water heater - and this must be done without damaging the device and flooding the room accompanying incorrect actions. At the same time, one should also distinguish when a drain is really needed, and when it is better not to touch the heater.

For example, the popular recommendation to empty the container during a relatively long break in the operation of the boiler is simply wicked: an empty heater tank, made of metal, kills corrosion much faster than a full one! To reduce the rate of oxidation processes occurring in the tank, an anti-corrosion magnesium electrode is installed in some models of water heaters - but it also works only if there is liquid around it.

If there is a concern that after a long break in the operation of the boiler, the water in it will deteriorate, becoming musty - do not drain the water from the storage tank! It is much better to open the taps before turning on and drive out the water, thereby forcibly "rinsing" the container.

It is not superfluous to carry out a similar procedure every few months and during normal operation of the heater. For high-quality washing, it is quite enough to pass 2-3 volumes of it through the container to be cleaned.

When you can't do without a drain

The real need to drain water from Ariston and Thermex water heaters arises in the following cases:

• in the event of a breakdown of the device, which led to the need for its complete disassembly;
• when repairing a water supply system, which includes a boiler:
• during routine maintenance work requiring disassembly of the heater - cleaning the container and heating element from scale;
• when certain impurities get into the water used, which greatly reduce its quality;
• when the temperature in a room with a water heater drops below 5 degrees Celsius.

It should be borne in mind that you MUST NOT drain the liquid from "titanium" which is under warranty service on your own! This operation is equated by both manufacturers and sellers with self-repair and the warranty automatically "flies" …

How does it work in general?

To properly drain water from a heating device, you need to know the principle of its operation and the internal structure - at least in the most general terms.

General device

The traditional design of an electric boiler is not complicated, but at the same time it is very reliable in operation. In fact, it is a large thermos with built-in heating of the contents: a storage tank for storing water, inside which a heating element is installed. The constructive device is common for all models of storage water heaters "Termeks" and "Ariston", and differs only in the form and material of manufacture of individual elements, the presence of certain components and parts that improve and facilitate the operation of the device, and the degree of "cleverness" of the control units.

Storage capacity

All manufacturers make storage tanks from anti-corrosion materials, but the quality of this material can vary greatly. The best is considered to be stabilized steel, covered with a layer of glass porcelain - scale practically does not "stick" to such a surface, water pollution by wall particles does not occur. The cheapest material is galvanized steel; it serves for a long time, but it is highly susceptible to scale formation and adds metal to the composition of the heated water.

Pipe, pipe, pipe all around …

For replenishment of cold and hot water intake, two tubes are vertically installed in the tank - the cut of the first is at the bottom, and the cut of the second is at the top. In the "cold" pipe, a splitter is usually provided to ensure uniform distribution of water throughout the tank; cold water entering through this tube displaces the already heated liquid upwards and it enters the DHW system through the “hot” pipe. The mixing of liquids inside the tank does not occur.

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Where without convenience …

In order to automate the operation of the water heater and facilitate its operation, a thermostat is also installed inside the tank, which makes it possible to regulate the temperature of water heating and avoid boiling, and a magnesium anode to reduce the level of electrochemical corrosion in the storage tank. The heating element (TEN), also located inside the tank, is a spiral placed in a copper casing made of wire with high resistivity (usually nichrome).

An obligatory structural element of any heater is a safety valve installed on the "cold" pipe. Its purpose is to relieve excess pressure in the mains, equalize the pressures of heated and make-up water in the mains and prevent an arbitrary drain of liquid from the tank when the "supply" is turned off.

It's time to drain the water

Electric boilers Ariston and Thermex are pressure vessels and devices, and, like all such devices, have a sealed design. That is why it will not work to empty it completely, simply by turning on the analysis of heated water - only the liquid will merge above the cut of the “hot” intake tube and directly from it …

General procedure

To completely drain the water from the storage tank of the water heater, it is necessary to provide air access inside it, and the easiest way to do this is through the hot water pipe. The basic procedure is as follows:

• the boiler is ALWAYS disconnected from the mains;
• the valve for making up the heater with cold water is closed;
• to dump the excess pressure in the tank, the hot water tap is opened;
• the screw that secures the safety valve flag between titanium and the water supply line is unscrewed;
• if the discharge of the liquid flowing from the safety valve into the sewer is not provided, an empty bucket or a similar container is placed under it;
• raising and lowering the flag of the valve as the bucket fills, we drain the water from the heater.

Draining water from the storage tank through the safety valve is accompanied by a characteristic bubbling of air bubbles in the boiler. Its absence means that the force of atmospheric pressure is not enough to raise water in the emptied container.

And if it doesn't gurgle?.

In this case, the procedure has to be expanded:

• the connection of the DHW output of the heater with the system is disassembled. If it is not separable, the connection closest to the "hot" outlet of the boiler is disconnected; in extreme cases, a small piece of a rubber hose of a suitable diameter is put on the bend of the hot water tap closest to the water heater;
• it is necessary to blow strongly into the hose - this will allow forcibly displacing the liquid from the hot water line into the tank of the water heater; a compressor or hand pump can be used - but with precautions.

After all the procedures carried out, the water from the boiler will be drained. But - not completely … below the edge of the cold water supply pipe, the liquid in the container will still remain. Its volume will depend on the installation height of this tube and can reach several liters.

The final drainage of water "dry" can be done only through the mounting holes for fixing the heating element, and it is most often required when replacing a faulty heating element. The second situation when it is necessary to completely empty the storage tank is the preservation of the water heater.

From the technical side, dismantling the heating element is a simple operation and does not require special qualifications of the performer. It is only necessary to be careful to avoid damaging the gaskets between the heating element and the tank wall.

It's good when everything is according to the rules

The described technology of draining water from a water heater implies that the connection of the device to utilities was done according to all the rules - and this, alas, does not always happen. The most frequent deviations from the rules are the absence of a shut-off valve that blocks the cold water supply to the boiler, the absence of a flag on some models of the safety valve, the inability to access the threaded connections of the inlet and outlet pipes …

Such violations are not critical and do not have a special effect on the performance of the boiler as a whole - but they make it very difficult to drain the water from it. The process can be noticeably facilitated only if it is necessary to foresee its need already at the stage of wiring the cold-hot water supply system and put a special tap to supply air to the storage tank of the boiler.

Visual video on draining water from a storage boiler

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