It is a known fact that the quality of water in domestic water supply systems leaves much to be desired. Therefore electric Appliances, in contact with hard water, suffers from the deposition of magnesium, calcium and lime salts. This problem is common to all water heaters. How to descale heating element?
Scale is a lime-salt deposit on the heating element and the inner walls of the boiler tank. It is formed during long-term, intensive use of the device.
The hard limestone layer has low thermal conductivity. For this reason, energy consumption and water heating time increase.
The efficiency of the water heater decreases. Due to constant overheating, it fails.
By properly cleaning the boiler heating element, you can significantly extend its service life.
The water heater needs to be cleaned after 1-2 years from the date of operation, for preventive purposes.
If the water heats up slowly, electricity consumption increases, the boiler is noisy, then the obvious reason for everything is limescale.
Over time, the plaque transforms into a thick crust on the element, which stops heat transfer. The protective relay is activated and the boiler is turned off.
How to clean a water heater with your own hands, without resorting to the services of repair shops? This is possible using mechanical and chemical methods. They are suitable for most models of various brands - Ariston, Termex, Titan and others.
Mechanical method
The solution to the problem (how to clean a boiler mechanically) conventionally consists of the following steps:
- disconnecting the device from voltage;
- removing water from the tank. Close the general water supply valve and the valve supplying water to the tank. Place a hose on the drain fitting and drain the water into the sink or toilet.
- Cleaning the heating element. After removing the water, remove the tank pan by unscrewing the fastening screws. Remove the control board, freeing the wires. We remove the heating element from the tank. Depending on the water heater model, the sequence of actions is adjusted. It is better to take step-by-step photographs of disassembly so that you can later assemble the device in the correct order.
We carry out mechanical cleaning of the heating element immediately, while the lime crust is wet, using a metal brush, knife, or wooden spatula. We perform final cleaning with emery cloth. It must be remembered that the degree of heat transfer depends on the quality of cleaning of the heating element. - Cleaning the internal walls of the boiler. To clean the boiler from scale from the inside, you just need to carefully wipe the walls with a damp cloth. It is unacceptable to use abrasive products to avoid damaging the internal enamel coating. In general, this point is controversial. Professionals say that the lime-salt layer on the walls of the tank protects the metal from corrosion, serving as additional thermal insulation for the hot water in the tank.
- Assembly and connection. Reassemble the device in reverse order. All electrical wiring must be dry. You definitely need to check the tank for leaks - partially fill it with water and watch it for a day. If leaks are not detected, you can fill the water heater completely with water and connect it to the network.
Chemical method
How to clean a water heater heating element chemically?
The modern domestic chemical industry produces a lot of special cleaners for removing scale and lime deposits.
A variety of express descaling cleaners are often used. for electric kettles. In any enamel container, prepare a solution, according to the instructions, in an amount sufficient to immerse the heating element. It is cleansed within the time specified in the instructions on the packaging of the product.
Just recently went on sale effective drug“Melon ZhS17” for removing old lime deposits, harmless to rubber parts of equipment. Contains a corrosion inhibitor.
Solutions are used from improvised means acetic acid in proportion: 1 glass of essence per bucket of water, citric acid - 2 packets per 2 liters of water.
The heating element is immersed in the cleaning solution for a day. To enhance the effect and reduce the chemical reaction time, it is good to heat the solution over a fire for 30-40 minutes.
When using chemicals, avoid contact with rubber seals. This can lead to loss of elasticity and leaks.
You also need to strictly follow the instructions in the instructions for the drug - do not exceed its concentration.
Monitoring the surface condition of the heating element will show when it can be removed from the solution. Before installation, rinse the element with water and then wipe dry.
If the unit is correctly connected to the water supply network, there is a cleaning option without disassembling or removing the device. The selected chemical solution is poured into the tank, one-third filled with water, through a hose attached to the drain fitting. The hose is raised above the tank level and fixed for several hours. Then the solution is drained and the tank is thoroughly washed with water.
How to descale a water heater at home is not a particularly difficult problem. If this process is carried out in a timely manner, it will require a minimum of time and labor costs.
Knowing how to clean a water heater heating element yourself, without resorting to the services of service centers, you will get real savings of your time and money.
We welcome all owners of home water heaters. You are very glad that your water heater works for a long time and properly, but do not forget to care for and clean it. The manufacturers themselves also write about this in the instructions for use of the water heater. If you begin to notice that the water heater does not heat the water well, when heating it makes extraneous noise and the RCD (residual current device) trips. Then you should pay attention to the fact that you need to inspect your boiler and remove scale on the heating element (tubular electric heater) and sediment at the bottom of the tank. The question arises of how to clean the heating element of a water heater with your own hands without resorting to the services of a specialist, we will try to talk about this in our article and training video lesson.
Tubular electric heater (TEH) is an electric heating device in the form of a metal tube filled with a heat-conducting electrical insulator. A conductive thread (usually nichrome or fechrome) of a certain resistance passes precisely through the center of the insulator to transfer the required specific power to the surface of the heating element.
How to clean a water heater heating element from scale
If you begin to notice that your water heater has begun to heat water poorly, and the amount of electricity consumed has increased, then you have problems with your boiler. If you are too lazy to do cleaning and repairs and put everything off until later, then you may end up with more serious problems, including financial costs. But all this can be avoided if your boiler is under warranty, you just need to call the service department. The technician will inspect the boiler on site and give his verdict, possibly cleaning or repairing it.
For reference: The scale formed on the heating element is a heat insulator. The longer you go without cleaning your water heater, the more it becomes covered in it. Large layers of lime on the heating element do not make it possible to heat water to the required temperature, since its thermal conductivity is very low. If the scale layer is 3 mm, then heat transfer is lost by 15%. Draw your conclusions, gentlemen, your heating element in the water heater heats itself, and in the future it will fail and will have to be replaced.
And if the warranty period has expired, it may still be worth setting aside one day for the water heater and working on it. Perhaps the problem is that you have scale on the heating element and it needs to be cleaned. You can learn how to do this correctly in the video tutorial below.
We disassemble the water heater
For example, let’s take a water heater with a volume of 100 liters. Initially, turn off the electrical power to the water heater from the 220 volt network. Disconnect the cord plug from the outlet. Unscrew the two screws that hold the decorative cover of the water heater. Underneath is everything we need later.
As you understand, under the decorative cover there is the thermostat itself and the heating element. But first we need to disconnect the power cable and contacts from the signal lamp. After we have disconnected the signal lamp stamps, unscrew the screws holding the power cable wires.
At this stage, you should remember which cable is screwed where. If your memory is not very good or you think that you will forget where to connect the wires later. It might be worth taking a photo this part cable connections.
For information, it is worth remembering that the brown wire was connected to the phase, and the blue wire to zero. The yellow-green wire is connected as grounding to the body of the water heater. There is also information on the thermostat itself in the form of zero and line icons.
After you have carefully disconnected the wires and remembered which wire goes where, we proceed to removing the thermostat. But we will need to turn off the water supply. We close two taps at the inlet and outlet of the barrel. Don’t forget to place a container below to collect water from the tank. Even if you drain all the water through the tap, you still have water left in the tank.
Removing the thermostat from the water heater
Carefully remove the thermostat from the electric heater housing. Let's slowly begin to unscrew the heating element itself counterclockwise, using a gas wrench. As the lock nut of the heating element is loosened, water will flow out. Do not rush to immediately pull out the heating element, allow the water and scale to come out.
When all the water has disappeared, you can slowly and smoothly pull out the heating element itself. At the same time, you should avoid sudden movements so as not to break it. There may be a lot of scale on it, and therefore it is worth freeing it with smooth movements to the left and right.
While we are cleaning the heating element, we will remove any remaining scale from the water heater tank. To do this, we need to briefly open the supply tap cold water into the tank. The scale at the bottom of the tank will be washed away and come out. Due to large quantities scale, the electric heater itself may fail.
Now you need to prepare a container where the heating element itself will be cleaned. For these purposes, we need a regular plastic one and a half liter bottle. Using a knife, cut off the neck of the bottle, this is necessary so that you can insert the heating element.
Using a knife, remove large pieces of scale from the heating element. When performing this operation, be very careful and attentive, and most importantly do not damage the metal. You should only remove scale that is ready to peel off on its own.
Prepare a cleaning solution using 1 or 2 sachets of citric acid. Pour the powder and add warm water into a bottle. We release the heating element into the warm lemon solution and begin to shake it. To descale the heating element, it must stand in such water for one day, and if you want to speed up the process, you can periodically refresh the solution and shake it. Under the influence of citric acid, the scale softens and begins to settle to the bottom. A day later, where there was scale, shiny copper flaunts.
Assembling the water heater
When the heating element is cleaned, you can begin to assemble the water heater. Carefully insert the heating element into the tank and tighten the locknut by hand, and then tighten it using a gas wrench. We insert the thermostat into place and slowly open the water inlet and outlet valves of the water heater. Fill with water and check the tank for leaks. In order for air to escape from the tank when filling the tank with water, we will need to open the hot water tap to the mixers.
If there is no water leakage, connect the power cable to the thermostat. We connect the wires the same way they were originally connected. We install the contacts of the signal lamp and screw the decorative cover into place. We plug the cable into the socket and wait for the water to heat up.
Here is a simple procedure for cleaning a water heater heating element. If during the cleaning process your heating element is damaged or it becomes unusable, then it should be replaced with a new one.
To perform such work, you can learn this on our website, but to become a qualified specialist you will need a diploma in the specialty of a mechanic. You can go to study at specialized educational establishments, or you can already start working. Nowadays, without education it is very difficult to find a good job.
If you use a boiler for a very long time, but do not pay attention to proper care of it, then sooner or later scale will form on the inside of the product. It settles on the internal walls and heating elements, being the main factor causing boiler failure.
Before you start cleaning a water heating unit of any brand - Atlantic, Oasis or another - you should analyze the operation of the product, listen to the noise and check the quality of water heating.
The main “bells” signaling that it’s time to clean the product are the following factors:
- the water takes a very long time to heat up;
- its temperature changed - it became too hot, or vice versa;
- the amount of electricity consumed by the boiler has increased, and the meter began to rewind kilowatts many times faster after the device was started;
- overheating of the storage tank;
- in case of frequent switching on and off of the device;
- if you hear hissing from the boiler while heating the water.
Before cleaning the device, you need to drain all the water from it. Exactly this important rule, which must be carried out without question before the start of repair and cleaning work.
If the boiler is located above a bathtub or sink, then this position of the device greatly facilitates draining the water. You don’t have to select a suitable container or install it. And there will be much less splashing. However, not all devices make it easy to drain water, even under the above conditions.
If the heating element is screwed into the tank, then draining will be easy. But there are some models in which, before getting to the stage of draining the liquid, you will have to unscrew several nuts.
If the boiler is installed and connected correctly immediately after purchase, there should be no problems. We need to act in a certain way.
- Disconnect the power supply from the device and turn off the main water supply valve. Do the same with the tap located next to the water heater.
- Turn on the hot water at a nearby faucet and wait until it drains completely.
- Place a hose on the drain fitting and direct it into the sewer hole to drain the water.
If there are no drains or taps, water is released through a safety valve. But this is a very long process. Therefore, you should first wait until the liquid cools completely.
The absence of a fitting is due to the need to drain by dismantling the hot pipe and completely disconnecting it from the water heater. After unscrewing the safety valve, air will enter the boiler, pushing out the water.
This method will solve the problem of quickly draining water from the device.
How to descale a boiler?
Scale is the biggest problem facing water heaters. Its removal must be timely. But how to clean a boiler at home? Similar work involves caring for heating elements (cleaning them) and water tanks (tanks).
1. Clean the heating element, which we previously removed from the device. Let's act in the following way.
- We remove large pieces of scale using a kitchen knife, protect the surface by erasing residual small inclusions with sandpaper.
- If it was not possible to clean the heating element mechanically, you can soak it in water with lemon powder dissolved there. The container can be a plastic bottle with a pre-cut neck.
- After complete cleaning, rinse the heating element with running water.
2. Clean the tank. Before you start working on removing scale from inside the tank, you need to inspect it. If the scale has not strongly attacked the inner surface of the tank, then regular washing with water will do. Using a sponge, many contaminants are removed - mucus, upper soft layers of scale. Everything is washed off from the shower head.
If the tank is too dirty, you will have to seek the help of professional or folk remedies. As improvised methods, you can use acetic acid at the rate of 1 packet of product per liter of water. Fill the tank with the prepared solution and leave until the morning. Drain the liquid and rinse the tank thoroughly with water.
The inside of the tank is covered with enamel. It is susceptible to chemical components. Therefore, avoid abrasive substances and hard brushes.
Before you begin assembling the device, inspect the rubber seal. Its integrity must not be compromised. That is, there cannot be scratches, breaks, gouges, or plaque on it.
You need to reassemble in the reverse order from how you disassembled the device. It is better to coat all rubber parts with sealant, this will protect the device from leaking.
After installing the heating element, return the boiler to its original place. Open the hot water drain tap and turn on the cold water. When the boiler is full, check its seal.
The next step is to install the thermostat and connect the wires. A photograph taken earlier will help you. The procedure will be similar if you need to clean an indirect heating boiler.
How to clean an Ariston boiler?
The boiler of this model is cleaned in a few steps.
- We completely de-energize the device - remove the plug from the socket or turn off the automatic fuse.
- We interrupt the water supply by shutting off and drain all the liquid in the device.
- After the water has completely drained, turn on the tap, while simultaneously opening the cold drain valve, which must first be put on the hose fitting.
- We lower the hose into an empty bucket and open the hot drain valve.
- We wait for the drain to finish, then remove the leads and leads (hot and cold) so that the fittings become free.
- We lower the boiler to the floor, upside down.
- We remove the fixing bolts holding the cover, thereby freeing access to the holes of the heating element.
- The assembled wire diagram must be photographed so that later during assembly there will be no questions regarding their connection. We remove the wires from the device along with the thermostat.
- Remove the heating element by pulling it out of the housing.
- Fill a basin or bucket with water with dissolved descaling agents and lower the heating element into it. Before immersing in water, all thick layers of scale must be removed from the Ten.
- Fill the tank with hot water with the addition of vinegar or citric acid.
- Leave for several hours (ideally 8).
- We drain all the liquid from the tank and return all the elements to their place.
An alternative to traditional lemon juice and vinegar can be an industrial solution, which is applied to the walls of the tank and left for a while to soften the scale.
If you do everything correctly, it will not be difficult to clean the boiler at home. To avoid damaging the device, pay attention to expert advice.
- Take pictures of the contacts, then you won’t have to waste time and rack your brains over their correct connection.
- If you have completely disassembled the boiler, take the time to inspect all the parts; perhaps some of them require replacement.
- When washing with an industrial cleaning agent, read the instructions on the bottle before starting work.
- If the heating element is very dirty, it will have to be changed.
- Frequent breakdowns of water heaters will be prevented.
- Before connecting the device to the network, always check the water level in the storage tank; it must be full.
- Observe the operation of the device for a while after cleaning. If a water leak occurs, it will have to be fixed immediately.
How to choose the right boiler?
You should choose a boiler based on indicators such as:
- type of device;
- tank capacity (in liters);
- heating element type;
- product power;
- the material from which the body is made;
- how much does the unit cost?
If you buy a water heater for the kitchen and only plan to use it to wash dishes, then a volume of 10-15 liters will be enough for you. But you won’t be able to take a bath or shower with such a device. A large family will be able to carry out all water procedures by purchasing a boiler with a volume of 50-80 liters.
Equally important should be paid to how much the manufacturer asks for his product. However, the fact remains: the price does not always justify the quality. Therefore, before purchasing, it would be a good idea to “browse” through various forums, where people who have bought this or that model of water heater talk about its positive or negative aspects.
Thus, cleaning a water heater at home is not a complicated procedure. Another thing is that it must be timely. Then the device will not only work smoothly, but will also last for a long time.
In order to avoid premature failure of parts and the storage water heater tank, it should be periodically cleaned. If the water in the house is not too hard, then this operation should be performed annually. You shouldn’t delay this so as not to run into various troubles in the form of breakdowns. How to drain the water and clean the boiler from scale at home will be described in this material.
How to drain water from a boiler
It is very convenient when the water heater is installed above the bathtub or in another place where you can freely place a large container under it. Then you can not waste time on this procedure, but drain the water immediately before cleaning the boiler, while removing the heating element. But it is worth warning that the device of some models storage units may make it difficult for you to have such a bowel movement.
Advice. It is convenient to drain the water while removing the heating element in those water heaters where it is screwed directly into the tank. In other models, you have to unscrew several nuts holding the flange with the heating element, then it is better to empty the container in advance.
If the boiler is connected to the water supply correctly, as shown in the diagram, then there will be no problems with emptying for subsequent cleaning. The algorithm is like this:
- disconnect the device from the electrical network and close the general water supply tap;
- turn off the cold water tap near the heater, and open the hot water valve on the nearest mixer and wait until it drains;
- attach a tube directed to the sewer to the drain fitting, open the tap and drain the water.
When there are no taps or drain pipes, you can try to empty the tank through the safety valve. But in this case, cleaning the water heater will take a whole day. So it’s better to wait until the water in it cools down, and then act according to the algorithm outlined.
But since there is no fitting, you need to disconnect the hot water pipe from the boiler and place a bucket. To allow water to flow, carefully unscrew the safety valve. As soon as air begins to flow into the container, water will flow out of the nozzle. The valve can be removed completely and the intensity of the jet can be adjusted by plugging the “cold” pipe with your finger.
This way you will empty the tank relatively quickly. During reassembly, do not forget to assemble the circuit properly so as not to waste time next time.
In principle, the entire boiler cleaning procedure is considered simple, and therefore can be done with your own hands without difficulty. But first, the device must be disassembled and the heating element removed, for which it is necessary to remove the decorative cover covering its mount and contacts from the bottom. It is usually secured with screws, and in some models of water heaters they are covered with a plastic panel. The latter is held on by plastic clips; to remove it, you just need to pry it off with a flat screwdriver.
When the screws are unscrewed and the cover is removed, the fasteners and contacts will be revealed. In order not to remember the connection diagram, the easiest way is to photograph it from several angles. Then the wires are disconnected and access to the thermostat is opened. Often you can simply pull it out of the heating element body; in other models you have to remove them together. After unscrewing the fastening nuts or the tubular heater itself, carefully remove it from the tank.
Advice. It is necessary to remove the heating element from the boiler very carefully, since the accumulated scale in the water heater often does not allow this to be done easily. In devices that have not been cleaned for a long time, you even have to pick out the dirt during the process, otherwise the element will not be pulled out.
It should be noted that the bulk of the scale is concentrated near the heating element, and there is little of it in the tank itself. The easiest way is to place a bucket underneath, briefly open the cold water tap and thus wash off any remaining dirt from the boiler. If there is severe contamination, when the walls of the tank are covered with plaque, then you must try to remove the scale manually. At the same time, it is unacceptable to use abrasive means to remove it from the enamel surface. When this does not help, there is nowhere to go - you will have to dismantle the water heater and clean it with various chemicals, which will be discussed below.
Advice. Take this opportunity to examine the condition of the magnesium anode and replace it if necessary.
We carefully remove a thick layer of scale from the surface of the heating element mechanically, for example, with a knife. Then cut off the neck plastic bottle and fill it with a warm solution of citric acid (proportion – 2 bags per 2 liters of water).
We immerse the element in a bottle with a solution and leave it for a day, after this time the heating element will be as good as new. After this, all that remains is to assemble the boiler with your own hands, fill it with water and continue to operate quietly.
Descaling agents for water heaters
Sometimes cleaning water heaters for various reasons requires a lot of labor, as is the case with indirect heating boilers. It is not so easy to remove the copper heat exchanger from it. And with conventional large-capacity heaters you won’t have any worries. In such situations, you can clean it without disassembling or removing the device using chemicals to remove plaque and dirt.
A few words about how to dissolve scale inside the boiler. We have already mentioned citric acid, only in this case it is necessary to increase the concentration of the solution. In addition, there is a large selection of industrial chemicals available for sale for these purposes. There is no point in listing its types, but how to use the product is indicated in the instructions on the package. Much more important question- how to fill it inside the tank? 
It turns out to be very simple. True, the boiler must be connected to the water supply correctly, according to the diagram. Then, through the hot water tap, the container is emptied by a third, and then a hose is connected to the drain fitting and the chemical solution is poured into the tank through it. Only the end of the hose with the watering can should be raised above the water heater. The process is described in more detail in the video:
Cleaning a boiler with a dry heating element
At its core, the procedure for cleaning a water heater equipped with a so-called dry heating element is no different from the usual one. If you decide to disassemble the device for this purpose, then the ceramic element should not be scrubbed mechanically; it must be handled with care. It is better to simply immerse it in a concentrated solution of citric or acetic acid and wait until the scale dissolves. Again, industrial chemicals from the store will do.
Chemical cleaning of a boiler with a dry heating element without disassembly is carried out in the same way as with a conventional heater. The main thing is that before using the detergent, carefully study the instructions on the packaging and follow them strictly.
Conclusion
As you can see, cleaning a water heater at home is not difficult. But you will make your life much easier if you carry out this operation in a timely manner, then it will take a minimum of effort and time. The correct connection of the device, which ensures quick emptying or filling of the chemical, also plays a big role in this matter.
One of the most important “enemies” of electric storage water heaters or other devices for heating water, is the scale that forms on their heating elements (heating elements) and the inner surface of the tank.
It is the formation of this hard calcareous layer on the heating element, due to its low thermal conductivity, that increases consumption electrical energy and, accordingly, the time to heat the water.
It is worth noting that a 3 mm deposit of scale on the heating element leads to losses of 5 to 10% of heat. In general, the coefficient useful action water heater is reduced by almost a quarter. In addition, due to the appearance of such a “warm blanket” on the heating element, it quickly overheats and, over time, becomes completely unusable.
Therefore, to extend the life of the heating element and save money on heating water, you should regularly clean the surface of the heating element from scale. Here, there is deliberately no mention of cleaning the walls of the tank from lime deposits.
The fact is that in some cases, limescale on the walls of the tank plays a positive role rather than a negative one:
Firstly, it protects the inner surface of the tank from an aggressive aquatic environment and, as a result, the destructive effects of corrosion. And, secondly, it serves as an additional layer protecting the water heater from heat loss. There are two ways to clean the surface of the heating element from scale:
First way– mechanical. It must be carried out immediately as soon as you remove the heating element from the inside of the water heating tank, before it dries out. Agree, it’s much easier to clean off wet limescale than when it’s already petrified. To do this, you will need a suitable tool, for example, a knife, a wooden spatula or a metal brush, in short, anything that will be convenient for you to clean off the plaque layer by layer.
At the end of the process, for final polishing of the heating element, you can use emery cloth on a cloth base. Remember that the cleaner the heating element, the less heat loss there will be and, accordingly, greater savings of time and money.
Second way– chemical. The current domestic chemical industry produces a huge number of different products that help get rid of scale from kitchen kettles. A storage water heater is the same as a kettle, only very large, so feel free to use these products according to the instructions on the packaging.
To do this, you will need an enamel bucket or any suitable container with a depth greater than the length of the heating element. If you don’t feel like going to the store, you can remember school lessons chemistry and use any suitable acid to remove scale. At home, we usually store vinegar.
Add a glass of essence to a bucket of water and immerse the heating element in it. To increase cleaning efficiency, the bucket can be placed on fire. In any case, in a warm solution chemical reactions proceed faster.
Some extreme sports enthusiasts clean scale with Coca-Cola or Sprite. They say that Sprite is most effective against scale. In any case, it should be remembered that it is undesirable for chemicals to come into contact with the rubber seals, as this can lead to a loss of elasticity and contribute to the appearance of leaks.
We hope that these, in general, simple tips will help you effectively and correctly carry out preventive cleaning of water heating elements of any appliances you use in your home.