It is possible to undertake the installation of a heating boiler in a private house only if there is good theoretical training, practical skills in handling tools and equipment. Even if a decision is made to turn to the services of specialists, knowledge of the issue will help to choose the right devices and the optimal place for their placement, to monitor the activities of hired workers. A competently executed installation of a boiler at home is the basis for the reliability and ease of use of an autonomous heating system.
Types of heating boilers
The choice of a heating device is determined by the range of fuel, its availability and cost. The installation of heating boilers should be planned with the expectation that fuel for it is easy to buy, convenient and safe to store. In this case, you should purchase expensive, high-quality and economical equipment. The larger the initial investment, the faster they will pay off.
Based on these criteria, a decision should be made in favor of products of the following types:
- Gas. Today these are the most popular devices that are installed in private houses and city apartments. Due to the presence of its own deposits and a developed network of transportation of natural fuel, it has an affordable cost and is supplied to almost all regions of the country. A wide range of products is on sale, the boiler can be installed both in a separate boiler room and in a residential area, provided that the product is equipped with a closed combustion chamber. The installation of a gas boiler makes sense only in those buildings where the central highway passes.
- Solid fuel. Products work on coal, wood and briquettes. They are divided into standard furnaces with an open hearth and equipped with a long burning system with an automatic fuel supply system. Versatile designs are designed for the processing of municipal solid waste, plastics and automotive rubber. The plus of such stoves is in their independence from external energy sources, the minus is the need to constantly add fuel to maintain combustion.
- Electrical. Such boilers are compact and lightweight, since they do not have a combustion chamber. In the presence of a backup energy source, the products can be called relatively autonomous. The installation of an electric boiler does not require approval from the management companies. The design is absolutely safe in all respects, including the absence of harmful emissions into the atmosphere. The software allows you to set the time for turning on and off the device, heating and cooling radiators. Installation of electric boilers is not difficult, it can be done by hand. The only disadvantage of the equipment is the high cost of energy.
- Liquid fuel. The units convert diesel fuel, fuel oil, and all types of waste oils into heat. Since these fuels are available almost everywhere and all the time, supply problems are rare. The boilers are distinguished by good performance and heat dissipation. The disadvantages are the high cost of fuel, difficulties in its storage and high toxicity of combustion products. In addition, stoves need regular shutdown and cleaning of soot.
Each type of heating boiler has its own advantages and disadvantages.When choosing a product, one should carefully evaluate their advantages and foresee possible difficulties in the installation of a heating boiler and its operation.
Types of heater construction
Modern water heaters are produced in various designs, due to their size, power and location.
There are these types of heating boilers:
- Wall mounted. The products are lightweight and compact, which makes it possible to hang them on the wall. This category includes gas and electrical devices, the bodies of which do not heat up during operation. The advantage of this design is that it is not difficult for her to find a place even in tight spaces, such as a kitchen, a bathroom and a small basement. Dirt does not accumulate under the appliances, the room is easy to clean. In addition, there is no risk of flooding the device in case of breakthroughs of water mains or flooding of underground structures with groundwater. The wall-mounted boiler may only be mounted on a wall made of durable and reliable material.
- Outdoor. This category includes stoves of heavy weight, size, operating on all types of fuel. If floor standing boilers with a heating body are being installed, then a protective screen is installed. A solid foundation is installed in a wooden house to prevent changes in the position of the device in space. If a decision is made to install a stove with an open combustion chamber, then the room must be equipped with an efficient chimney and forced ventilation.
Priority should be given not to aesthetics and convenience, but to safety and practicality. Before you carry out the installation of home heating boilers with your own hands, you need to objectively assess your capabilities and the consequences of mistakes.
Steps for installing and starting up boilers
Boiler installation is a procedure that consists of several successive stages. Each of them needs to be given due attention, since the final result directly depends on the quality of each phase of the process.
Arrangement of an autonomous heating system should be carried out in the following order:
- Study the task. You need to start by determining the required heater power. The coefficient is taken as a basis for 10 m² of the total area of the building. It is 0.9 for the southern regions, 1.2 for the middle zone, 1.5 for the moderate and 2 for the northern. To this value is added 20% to increase the power to the maximum in extreme frost.
- Design. For stoves powered by electricity, solid and liquid fuels, household propane cylinders, the project can be done independently. For a gas boiler from central supply, the project is done in strict accordance with SNiP 31-02-2001 and SNiP 42-01-2002. The paper displays a stove, chimney, piping, radiators, bypass, ventilation system, electrical and gas distribution. The prepared documentation must be checked and approved by the gas management company. Work can be started only after obtaining permission and approved technical conditions.
- Equipment selection. It is necessary to decide on the type of boiler, a set of protective and control options. The more powerful and complex the device is, the more expensive, reliable and economical it is. When choosing a double-circuit boiler with an internal centrifugal pump, the problems with hot water for domestic needs and the circulation of the coolant through the system will be solved. For more correct operation of heating, you will need a heat accumulator and a membrane expansion tank.
- Installation. Arrangement of autonomous heating is carried out in accordance with technical conditions or an independently drawn up plan. First, the boiler, end devices and consumers are installed, then they are connected with pipes.The next step is to install the chimney and ventilation. In the last turn, electricity and gas are supplied, if it is planned to connect the house to common utilities.
- Launch. Hydrodynamic tests of the assembled structure are carried out before the trial run. The purpose of this procedure is to identify defects in the circuit and devices. The system is sealed, after which it is filled with a hot coolant at a pressure 2 times higher than the nominal one. When there are no leaks, the boiler starts up in operating mode.
If the boiler room is connected to the central main, the devices are sealed, and the owner is given an act of commissioning the boiler. You should be prepared for the fact that controllers will visit the house on a monthly basis in order to check compliance with the rules for the use of equipment, its examination and adjustment. In cases with electric, solid fuel and liquid fuel stoves, there will be no such inconveniences, but control, preventive and repair measures will have to be carried out independently.
Basic work and rules for installing boilers in a private house
If the power of the device exceeds 30 kW, it must be installed in a separate room. There is no such limitation for a small suspension device. The basement can only be used if there is no unauthorized access.
Regardless of the place where the stove is installed, the entrance door to the room should not be narrower than 0.8 m and the distance to the heater should be more than 1 m. Before installation, the base for the boiler must be leveled and strengthened. This will help to minimize vibration, maintain the integrity of the screw connections and extend the life of the structure.
Since there is always a risk of current breakdown to the case, it is necessary to make grounding and use sockets with three terminals to connect devices. If the body of the device heats up, then the objects around it are finished with non-combustible materials. It can be tiles, metal, ceramic paint or facade plaster. Sheet metal or asbestos-cement slab is laid on the wooden floor.
The chimney is laid depending on the place where the boiler is installed. The design can be external or internal. In the first case, the integrity of the floors is preserved, but the thrust decreases. In the second option, there are no problems with traction, but labor-intensive work is required to bring the pipe to the roof and insulate the holes. In order to save manpower and resources, it is not allowed to combine the chimney and ventilation into a common channel. This is fraught with the ingress of combustion products into living quarters. When laying the chimney, you should not make turns at an angle of 90 degrees, as this will negatively affect the efficiency of flue gas removal. It is not allowed to create more than 3 turns along the entire length of the pipe.
The minimum height of the chimney above the level of a flat roof or the ridge of a gable roof should be 50 cm. The cut of the chimney is closed with a grating and a cap to protect it from debris, precipitation, small birds and animals entering the channel.
It is imperative to install supply and exhaust ventilation. The air intake should be at the bottom of the wall, as far as possible from the oven. A fan is installed to ensure smoke extraction during the period of no draft.
