Recommendation points
A flow-through gas water heater, like any gas equipment, needs periodic preventive maintenance, which should preferably be carried out at least once a year. In this work, the process of prevention is described step by step using the example of a water-heating flow-through gas household VPG-18 apparatus.
It should be noted that the article is offered for informational purposes only, since gas hazardous work is the lot of specialized organizations that have the necessary permits. However, it is necessary to control the quality of work performed by such organizations, because your life and the life of your family may depend on it..
It is necessary to carry out preventive maintenance of the equipment at least once a year, in the case of a long downtime of the column, inspection and diagnostics are required without fail. And these are not unnecessary precautions. Indeed, sometimes even a small web woven in the chimney is enough to disrupt the draft. This, in turn, causes an incorrect combustion mode, the release of soot and complete clogging of the equipment flue ducts. As a result, the combustion products do not go into the chimney, but into the room, poisoning the residents. The task of prevention is to notice and eliminate the malfunction in time.
Preparation for work
To perform preventive cleaning, we need the following tool:
- Phillips screwdriver;
- flat-head screwdriver;
- open-end wrench 8 mm;
- brush with long bristles;
- metal brush;
- rags;
- vacuum cleaner with attachments.
Work order
We turn off the gas supply valve to the column. We unscrew the screw that secures the handle of the blocking gas valve with a Phillips screwdriver. Remove the handle by pulling it towards you.
Using a flat screwdriver, unscrew the two screws securing the case.
Pulling the lower part of the case towards you, we disengage it in the two lower grooves.
Holding the case with two hands, move it upward, removing the case from the two upper mounts.
Unscrew the four screws securing the front cover of the combustion chamber with a flat screwdriver. If necessary, hold the nuts with an 8 wrench.
Remove the cover.
We unscrew the two screws securing the upper cover of the cavity in which the combustion products are removed, and remove it.
We inspect the burner for debris.
We cover the burner with a rag over the entire area so that during the cleaning of the remaining units it does not clog.
We start cleaning from the very top of the column, moving sequentially down to the burner. We clean the smoke outlet with a brush or rag.
We brush the reflector.
We clean the parts of the case from the cobwebs with a brush.
We clean the fins of the heat exchanger with a brush. We do it with pressure. First the top of the heat exchanger, then the bottom. After cleaning, the gaps between its ribs should be easily visible.
Tip: If you cannot clean the fins of the heat exchanger with a brush, you can do it using a hacksaw blade. This is more time consuming, since it is necessary to manually pass each cavity sequentially, but effectively.
Remove the rags from the burner and use a metal brush to clean its holes.
We clean the burner with a vacuum cleaner.
We clean with a brush all the remaining parts of the column, including the lower part of the burner, through which the air necessary for proper gas combustion is supplied.
We brush the upper cover of the cavity in which the combustion products are evacuated, and install it in place, fixing it with two screws.
We disassemble the front cover of the combustion chamber, which consists of two parts. To do this, unscrew the two screws with a flat screwdriver, holding the nuts with an 8 wrench.
We clean the inner and outer surfaces of the cover with a brush. Reassemble in reverse order and put in place.
We clean the body with a brush.
We assemble the body by hanging it with fasteners on the two upper grooves.
It is more convenient to remove the automation button during the installation of the case, since it is not fixed in it. We install it at the final stage of the assembly. To do this, we deflect the lower part of the case towards ourselves and start the button, placing it in the hole.
We combine the fasteners with the two lower grooves of the case.
We fasten the two screws that secure the case. We put on the handle of the blocking gas valve, fix it with a screw. We open the gas supply to the column. We make a trial run.
The result of the work done
We did not find excessive clogging when cleaning the column. Timely preventive maintenance is a guarantee that the column will not have to be repaired. It is imperative that it is also necessary to inspect the chimney of the column, because if it malfunctions, there is little sense in cleaning.
Can you please provide some tips or guidelines on how to conduct annual gas water heater prevention? Specifically, what are the essential steps or tasks that should be included in this preventive maintenance routine?