Electric Water Heater Installation

You are tired, back home from work. It has been a long day. All you want is a nice, rejuvenating hot bath. You turn the heater on and 'oh gosh', the water heater has broken down. Such a mood spoiler this water heater is, you say. You think of getting it fixed by hiring a professional. But then, you change your mind and decide to do it yourself the next day. Doing it on your own will also save you the considerable cost of installation. Here we go then!

Instructions for Installing an Electric Water Heater

We always start off with the materials required. These are -

1. Cinder blocks
2. Copper tubing
3. Pipe cutters
4. Steel wool pad
5. Solder
6. Copper tubing
7. Adapter fittings and unions
8. Teflon tape
9. Flux
10. Ball valve
11. Hammer
12. Screwdriver
13. Wrench
14. Conduit
15. Conduit connector
16. Wire nuts

If possible get someone to help you with the installation, that will prove to be quite useful!

Fix 1
Creating a support for the heater so that there is no flooding and giving it a proper drain access is important. Get the water heater on the cinder blocks, slide it on those blocks. Let the hot water heater be supported well.

Fix 2
The copper tubing now comes in the picture. The copper tubing will need to be cut in the requisite length for facilitating the cold water supply. Taking the steel wool pad, clean an end and then apply flux to female adapter fitting and the pipe.

Fix 3
The next thing to be done is that the fitting should slide onto the copper tubing's end. Follow that up by soldering female adapter fitting with the copper tubing and the male end of a pipe union to the other end.

Fix 4
After you have fixed the female adapter with the copper tubing and male end of the pipe's union or joint, here is what you need to do. Around the threads of the nipple of the pipe on top of the water heater, wrap Teflon tape. Tighten using a wrench pipe once you add the copper tubing.

Fix 5
Now you have the solder and the union. Fix a small piece of piping to them. A ball valve needs to be installed after that. Get rid of the temperature and pressure relief valve. Add apply tape threads and install the ball valve.

Fix 6
The opening has to point in the direction of the floor. Once this is done, work on the relief valve. Solder a portion of its length in a way that it remains around 4 inches above the ground.

Fix 7
The next thing in line is to get rid of the cover plate you will find on the top of the electric water heater. There will be another plate on the cover plate - the knock out plate. Using a hammer and screwdriver get the threaded end of the conduit connector in the hole of the knockout plate. Finally, secure the nuts connecting the two.

Fix 8
The last thing in electric water heater installation, and the most important perhaps, is the electrical connection, rather the electrical water heater wiring. For that you will have to feed and connect electrical wires through the conduit piece, then through the connector and then into the tank. The conduit and the connector have to be attached now and follow that up by attaching ground wire to the ground screw. Connect wires of matching colors - for instance white with white and similarly the black with the help of wire nuts.

That's it! Congratulations, you have successfully installed the water heater! All you got to do now is to turn the power on and the water supply to the heater. If you have got a new water heater, you will definitely get a manual or an electric water heater installation guide which will help you out if there is any problem. I sign off here! All the best!