DIY repair of water heaters Termeks

In detail: do-it-yourself repair of Termex water heaters from a real master for the site my.housecope.com.

A household water heater is an almost irreplaceable thing in the house, and its failure deprives us of exactly half of the amenities. Inexpensive models of water heaters that are installed in apartments are prone to minor problems. Do you always need to call a master or take the unit to a service center, paying for simple work? We offer you a brief overview of the main malfunctions of Termeks water heaters, the repair of which will not be very difficult and will allow you to reasonably save money.

The principle of operation of the Termeks boiler

In the eyes of an inexperienced owner, the body of a water heater looks unapproachable, but in fact, most models are close to a kettle with their device. Its main components are a tubular electric heater and a thermostat placed in a tank. In addition to them, magnesium anodes are used in Termex boilers. It is their wear that most often causes serious damage to the water heater. How does this happen?

The heating element is a fechral wire placed in a copper tube with a dielectric filler. Tap water serves as an ideal medium for ion exchange between the copper sheath and other metal parts of the Termex tank. In fact, it gradually destroys metals with high electrical potential, be it steel, galvanized or stainless steel, aluminum. To reduce this effect, a magnesium rod, the most active ion donor, is placed on the opposite edge of the container. When the magnesium decays, the copper eats away at the tank walls, and you cannot repair it on your own.

Video (click to play).

There is enough scratch in Termex tanks with enamel coating for corrosion due to the small surface of the donor metal to come very quickly. To protect the enamel from damage associated with thermal expansion, a water shock absorber is required (a 100 liter 4-liter water heater is enough).

All Termeks water heaters are equipped with an emergency shutdown function. It works when the outlet or heating element is faulty. Some types of breakdowns may not give a signal for the emergency mechanism, and the process of destruction will be aggravated. If a water heater, after several years, suddenly began to heat the water weakly, to shock it is a sure sign that the device needs to be opened and the cause checked.

Repair of electric water heaters Termeks horizontal type is not particularly difficult. The work consists of the following stages:

1. Close the valve for supplying cold liquid to the boiler, unplug the device from the socket.

2. Drain the water from the tank using the hose attached to the drain connection. It is better to pour it down the toilet so as not to clog the drain of the bathroom or sink with accumulated scale.

3. Unscrew the hot water supply and open the check valve handle.

4. Having disconnected the hoses for supplying hot and cold liquid, you can remove the Termex water heater from the wall and conveniently place it upside down to make it easier to open the housing cover.

5. Unscrew a couple of self-tapping screws on the sides and the third, usually covered with a manufacturer's sticker. Remove the cover.

6. On the flange of the Termeks water heater there are heating elements, a thermostat and a magnesium anode. Visually assess their condition. Cracks, strong traces of corrosion and a thick crust of limescale are obvious problems.

7. To replace the heating element, you need to disconnect three wires: red, blue and yellow.

8. Very carefully remove the thermal protection sensors and the regulator. The capillary copper tube is very thin and cannot be repaired if damaged.

9.Choose the heating element exactly for your model of the Termex water heater and in specialized stores to avoid fakes. Pay attention to how many holes for the thermostat on the old heating element - one or two?

10. Install the new heating element on the gasket in the same way. To avoid mistakes and "extra nuts", take step-by-step photos even when disassembling the boiler.

Rust destroys the flange if the water heater is idle with water. Do not neglect the simple rule of care for the Termex boiler: disconnect from the network, drain the water dry.
After disassembling the boiler, assess the degree of rusting of the flange. It probably needs to be cleaned and used further. The nut of the magnesium anode can also corrode.
The tank overheating sensor (black) is connected to the housing with gray thermal grease. If it is dry and cracked, it must be replaced.

How to get rid of it? First of all, do not allow the boiler to operate on hard water, install a pre-filter. And yet, the repair of storage water heaters from the manufacturer Termeks usually begins precisely because of scale deposits that impede the flow of liquid. In no case should mechanical cleaning of the walls and nozzles be used. Any scratches you leave on the tank will corrode it. Use cleaning products.

To destroy the limestone on the surface of the heating element and the tank, solutions of organic acids (citric, acetic) or an industrial composition for cleaning washing machines are used. Acid is taken in a ratio of 3-10% to 100% water. The solution must be hot. The container is washed with it, and the heating element is immersed in a suitable tank.

In the future, in order to prevent the formation of scale, you can install a magnetic converter on the Termeks water heater. The cheapest method of struggle is to reduce the heating in the tank. Calcium and magnesium salts boil at + 80 ° C, which means that by setting the temperature on the thermostat to + 60-70 ° C, you will eliminate the conditions for the development of limescale.

According to reviews, repairing a Thermex boiler with your own hands is quite simple if you read the instructions in advance and have minimal locksmith skills.

There are cases when the repair and maintenance of water heaters should be carried out only by specialists in the service center.

Your Termex boiler is still under warranty. Do not remove the branded sticker, otherwise you may be denied free service.
An emergency shutdown has been triggered in the new apparatus. Small-capacity (5-20 liters) Thermex boilers are distinguished by such a defect. If this happens, do not set it to maximum power, but call the master.
Failure of settings in the thermostat unit. In the event of a sudden power outage, the electronics can reset the set program. A specialist must restart it.

Read also: DIY peugeot 206 repair

Water heaters with a volume of up to 150 liters of inexpensive domestic brands are in constant demand in city apartments and in suburban areas. The cost of repairing Termex Flat Plus IF 50V in service centers differs, but on average, it will cost 30% of the cost of the boiler with diagnostics and a call to the master. To prevent the water heater from becoming "golden", it is necessary to install it correctly and take measures against corrosion in advance.

It happens that an incorrect installation system dooms the Termex water heater to permanent breakdowns. Such implicit errors include the formation of a galvanic pair inside the boiler. Ions move not only under the influence of an electric field, but also along the flow of a liquid. This means that the contact of copper through water with any foreign metal leads to its decomposition. A magnesium electrode is required to neutralize the argesive effect of the heating element sheath. Do not allow copper and aluminum (or steel) to come into contact at the joints. If they are inevitably present in the system, then the copper element must be downstream.

All Termeks storage tanks are made of steel (galvanized or coated with enamel), and flow tanks are made of copper.Such tanks are not afraid of scale and do not need a magnesium anode, but they require careful installation. Aluminum radiators and fittings cannot be combined with a water heater. With proper operation, even an inexpensive boiler will serve for a long time and with high quality.

Boilers Termeks have long established themselves as reliable and unpretentious household appliances. But like any other technique, they are prone to malfunction. Some of the breakdowns can be eliminated with your own hands, and in case of other malfunctions, the repair of the Termeks water heater should be done by a master.Before disassembling the device, you need to have at least a little understanding of its design and principle of operation.

body material is sheet steel with anti-corrosion coating;

alloy steel, durable and resistant to corrosion, used for the manufacture of the inner tank;

the elements of the device (heating element, magnesium anode and thermostat) are installed on a metal flange;

magnesium anode is a rod covered with a covered magnesium alloy - this part protects the tank from corrosion;

a drain pipe through which hot water is discharged (the intake takes place at the top of the tank, where the water temperature is higher);

the space between the outer shell and the tank is filled with polyurethane foam for good thermal insulation - due to this, the liquid in the switched off unit retains the temperature for a long time (like in a thermos);

heating element is used to heat water;

when the water heats up to a certain temperature, the heating turns off thermostatlocated at the bottom of the apparatus, it also turns on heating when the liquid cools down;

a tube is installed at the bottom of the tank through which cold water flows.

The water heater is running by convection principle:

through the supply pipe, water enters the storage tank;

the thermostat turns on the heating element to heat the liquid to the temperature set on the thermostat;

due to the physical law of convection, warm water begins to rise;

in the upper part of the tank there is an entrance to the pipe for the intake of heated water, which is supplied to the consumer;

when the hot water is consumed and the temperature in the tank drops, the thermostat will turn on the heating again and the process will be repeated.

The design of the water heater is quite simple and there may be several causes of malfunctions. There are breakdowns in which it is possible to repair Termex water heaters with your own hands:

the device does not heat the liquid;

the unit heats the water slowly;

the boiler often turns off or does not turn on;

water flow from the tank.

When the liquid in the device does not heat up, then a possible cause may be a malfunction of the heating element. Signs of its failure, in addition to the lack of water heating, may be as follows: knocking out the automatics on the dashboard, permanently turning off the RCD (residual current device), receiving an electric shock through the water.The heating element can come out of the three if:

the unit was turned on without water and the overheating protection did not work;

The heating element was “overgrown” with a thick layer of scale and was out of order due to overheating;

there was a sharp jump in the voltage in the network;

the heater has expired.

To check the heating element for damage, you need use a tester (with a special measuring device). If the device, switched to resistance mode, shows infinity, it means that the heater coil has burned out. If zero is displayed on the device, a short circuit has occurred. In both cases, the heater must be replaced.Heater Replacement Procedure in a 50 liter Termex boiler is not difficult, but requires patience and attention.

Before draining water from a failed Termeks water heater, the unit should be de-energized. After that, release water from the container of the device, and unscrew all hoses or pipes from the nozzles.

Remove the device from the wall and turn it over.

Image - DIY repair of water heaters Termeks

Carefully, using a screwdriver, pry up the decorative plugs and remove them.

Video (click to play).

It should be noted that a screw is hidden under the sticker, often due to which craftsmen, when trying to disassemble the unit, break the cover.

In order not to confuse the location of all wires in the future during assembly, they must be marked with construction tape (by signing them), or photographed.

Now you need to unscrew the nuts holding the flange. In this model of the unit, there are 4 of them on each heating element.

Remove the retainer washer. If it is stuck, you can use a screwdriver.

Remove the heating element. It also often sticks to the body and requires a slight pry with a screwdriver to detach it.

The second flange contains more wires. They all need to be disconnected.

After disconnecting the wires, unscrew all nuts, remove the washer and remove the heater.

Now you need to completely unscrew the entire electrical part, which is held by 4 screws.

There is also a screw hidden under the board, which must be unscrewed.

After that, the decorative cover can be easily removed.

The method of replacing heaters in the 80 liter Termex boiler is not much different from the above.

This is a fairly common malfunction that appears during prolonged operation of the device without preventive cleaning. If, when the boiler is on, you hear noises coming from the tank, and the water heats up for a long time, this means that the heating elements are "overgrown" with scale. Its thick layer interferes with the full transfer of heat from the heater to the surrounding liquid. This can cause the cell to overheat and burn out. With such a problem, it will be easy to make repairs with your own hands.

How to disassemble a water heater to replace heating elements has been mentioned above. In a situation when the heating elements are in good order, but they have a large layer of scale, then it must be removed from the heaters. Mechanical cleaning (with a file, sharp objects and sandpaper) is not recommended due to possible damage to the heating element housing.

For safe descaling, you can use chemicals specially designed for this. You can buy them at a household chemicals store or service center.

For descaling, prepare a container, the depth of which will be slightly deeper than the heater itself, for example, a bucket.

It is necessary to dilute the descaler (which is acid) in a bucket, observing the percentage of concentration, which is indicated in the instructions. If the concentration is less, then the cleansing will be ineffective.
Dip the heating element in the acid solution and time it. Dissolution may take from several minutes to 2 or more hours. The cleaning time depends on the thickness of the formed layer and the properties of the solution.

It is important to follow the instructions for the descaler and not to overexpose the heaters in acid. After cleaning the heating elements, it is enough to rinse it with running water.

The reason that the Termeks water heater turns off without reaching the desired temperature, or does not turn on at all, may be faulty thermostat... It is checked with a resistance tester. If it is missing, the part should be replaced. To do this, just remove the bottom cover of the device, disconnect the wires and replace the thermostat.

If a leak is detected from the container, the problem is solved by replacing it. Here you should calculate how much it will cost you to replace or repair the tank, and what is the price of a new unit. It is recommended not to spend money on repairs, but to purchase a new boiler.

If you nevertheless decide on an independent repair of the Termeks boiler tank, then the following difficulties should be taken into account:

when dismantling the tank from the outer casing, you will certainly damage the shell;
if the device has a plastic reservoir, it cannot be restored.
if the material of the container is copper or stainless steel, then you can try to solder it, but it will be problematic to do it efficiently without a special tool at home.

Some models of water heaters have glass enamel coated containers. When you try to repair such a tank by brazing, you will inevitably damage this layer, after which it will be impossible to repair it.

In a situation where water seeps out from under the flange, the problem may lie in rubber gasketthat has worn out. To replace it, you need to de-energize the unit, drain the water, disassemble the device according to the above instructions and replace the gasket.

Some types of malfunctions of the Termex boiler can only be eliminated by a master, and it is highly discouraged to make repairs on your own in such cases. Problems that can only be solved by a specialist:

incorrect operation and emergency shutdowns of new equipment for which the warranty service has not expired;
the settings on the electronic thermostat are reset;
RCD often turns off the unit;
a tank leak, although the effectiveness of such a repair is questionable - it will be cheaper to purchase a new device.

But before calling the service, make sure that in the line through which cold water is supplied, there is a pressure... There are models of units that turn off the boiler in the absence of pressure in the supply line.

When the hot water supply cannot be called stable, many decide to acquire a domestic water heater, for example, the Thermex electric water heater. However, it can fail quite unexpectedly. This is especially true for inexpensive boiler models. Of course, you can immediately contact the master, or you can try to fix the breakdown yourself.

Thermex is an electric water heater that can easily provide the house with hot water in the summer or in the absence of a gas boiler. It should be clarified that Thermex water heaters are produced by the oldest concern in Russia, which first released its products back in 1995. Moreover, all products, including water heaters, fully comply with Russian and international standards.

Thermex boilers are used to heat water if the pressure of cold water in the water supply is not lower than 0.05 MPa and does not exceed 0.6 MPa. The volume of tanks is varied, but most often there are boilers with 50 and 80 liters. The case, depending on the model, can be steel or made of plastic. These materials help to extend the service life of the water heater. The space between the outer casing and the tank is filled with thermal insulation, which allows you to save heat for a long time.

A control panel is often located on the front side of the water heater. Less often it happens from the bottom, on the right side. In a tank of any capacity, the ten is capable of heating water to a temperature of 75 degrees.

The thermostat ensures that the water temperature is maintained within a certain range, which makes the boilers very convenient. In cases where the water temperature exceeds 95 degrees, it will be automatically disconnected from the network. The thermal switch is responsible for this.

Modern water heaters are equipped with various additional elements.

For example, some have a silver anode that decontaminates the water.

A safety valve protects the device from a sudden increase in pressure in the tank. This valve has an outlet pipe that must be connected to a sewer drain. This is necessary in order to drain water through it once a month, preventing clogging with lime deposits.