Instantaneous water heater electrical grounding. Self-grounding of the water heater. Stages of work

As you know, everyone household appliance increased electrical power requires grounding. This usually happens by connecting a special pin to the socket and plug. But if it is a water heater, then it may well have a special terminal. How to make grounding for a water heater with your own hands in an apartment and in the country will be discussed in this article.

How to ground a water heater in an apartment?

And if you connect the water heater to metal or metal-plastic pipes, then it will accumulate wandering currents, coupled with charges. This process can cause premature wall corrosion. heating device and taking it out of working condition.

The grounding of the water heater in the apartment is as follows:

  • Examine the body of the water heater - almost every such device powered by electricity has a kit for connecting the grounding system. It includes not only a fork, but a nut and stud with washers.
  • Check electrical network leading from switchboard located on the floor to ensure that all metal parts are connected to the grounding system.
  • Install a socket with a grounding element at a distance of at least 50 cm from the future location of the water heater. In this case, keep in mind that it must be at least 80 cm above the floor level.
  • Route a three-core cable from the distribution board to the outlet. The conductors in the wire can be copper, the recommended cross-section is 1.5 mm. If possible, do a hidden cable laying, after having pierced the floor and / or walls. However, it is perfectly acceptable to stretch it by enclosing it in a special plastic groove.
  • After the cable has been routed, split the wires at both ends in order to connect them to the terminals of the distributor and the socket.
  • Now you can begin the process of plugging in the socket. Cable conductors vary in color, so be careful.
  • De-energize the apartment and connect the wires to the outlet, observing the color.
  • Connect the conductors to the distribution board. Use the special bolt when attaching the ground wire.
  • After all the wires are fixed, turn on the distribution automation and check the outlet with an indicator for the presence of voltage in it.
  • If the water heater has a separate grounding system, then connect the wire directly to the special clamp on its body.

What is a water heater for in the country?

A water heater in the country can have many meanings: with its help, you can not only take a shower, but also wash dishes, do laundry, and do cleaning. However, for whatever purpose you need hot water, today its uninterrupted availability in country house- is no longer a luxury, but a completely ordinary convenience.

Electric water heaters are the most optimal devices for providing summer cottages or country house hot water: there is electricity in every cottage village, this is a blessing of civilization, you do not need to procure for future use, such as firewood or buy cylinders (gas), and with the help of electricity the water heats up quickly enough. In addition, the heating process does not require additional human control.

Electric water heaters are:

  • accumulative (water is accumulated in a separate tank and heated there. One of these is Baxi electric water heaters);
  • flowing (water accumulates and heats up inside the tank with the help of a heating element. The more the water pressure, the cooler it will become);
  • bulk (water is poured into the bank manually, unlike the first two types, after which you will have to wait for a while until it heats up to the required temperature).

The latter type of water heater has already become quite rare in stores in recent times, but still, many still continue to use them, since few have centralized water supply in villages and villages.

To choose the right one electric water heater for a summer residence or a country house, you should take into account exactly how it will be used most of all, how many people will use it and at what time of the year, as well as how much you are willing to spend on it.

Its location, future dimensions, volume, connection method, power and many other characteristics will depend on all this. Clage water heaters are the most compact, they are designed for a small family and have small dimensions. Of the larger ones, it is worth noting StiebelEltron and Superlux.

How to ground a water heater in a summer cottage in an open space?

In order to ground a water heater in the country, it will take much less effort and time than if you were doing this in an ordinary city apartment. First of all, of course, you will need to install it according to the instructions, choose a place, a solid surface, fasteners and a method of fastening. The most reliable places for installing a water heater are panel or brick load-bearing walls.

After the water heater is installed, you can start the grounding process. If the water heater is planned to be installed outdoors, provide a canopy over it so that the device is not exposed to external influences. weather conditions(direct rays of the sun, rain, hail). For correct grounding water heater standing on summer cottage, proceed in the following order:

  • Dig an isosceles triangle about 0.5 m deep at least 5 meters from the house and not too far from the switchboard.
  • Dig in the electrodes into each corner of the triangle. Their average length is, as a rule, about 2 m. Steel profiles, corners, rods, pipes and other similar metal objects can be used as grounding elements. The diameter of the rods must be at least 1.5 cm, but if they are corners or pipes, the wall thickness must be at least 0.4 cm.
  • After the electrodes are installed, connect them together along the trench metal profile with a thickness of 0.4 cm. Apply welding in places. From the same profile, make a conductor that will lead from the ground to the distribution board.
  • Attach the conductor to the backboard to the strip. Use bolts for this attachment. The conductor should be made of copper, aluminum or steel wire. Its thickness should vary according to the conductive characteristics of each type of metal. At the entrance to the shield there is a special bus made of copper or steel. It can be located both inside the distributor and outside it.

  • When you have finished all installation, carefully cover the laid ground with solid soil. If it is soft enough, use coarse stones or crushed stone.
  • After filling, measure the resistance of the entire circuit. If the value is no more than 4 ohms, you did everything right.

After laying the ground loop, pour water into the water heater and check its functionality. Do not forget that in no case can the device be started without liquid - you can ruin the heating element.

  • so that the earthing switches are not subject to corrosion and rust, use a profile with electroplated, as well as having a sufficiently large section;
  • in no case install a ground loop at the places where the pipeline is laid (gas, heat, water - it does not matter);
  • place the electrodes lower than the ground usually freezes in this area. In this case, the length of the electrodes may well reach 3 meters;
  • the longer the electrodes, the greater the distance between them should be;
  • according to standards, fastening between the profile and the electrodes is allowed only by welding;
  • the grounding place must be out of reach of children and pets.

Grounding an instantaneous water heater, either a storage or bulk water heater, is a fairly easy process. The most important thing is to know the basic principles of grounding and strictly follow them. In the event that the grounding is carried out according to all the rules and using materials suitable for this purpose, then you will not have to worry about its functionality and reliability for a very, very long time.

Perhaps everyone has heard about the need to install residual current devices in places of increased risk of electric shock. However, many electricians, among whom there are often professionals, are somehow convinced that in a two-wire network, it is impossible, which leads either to an expensive modernization of the electrical network in the room, or to the abandonment of the RCD altogether.

However, such a prejudice is wrong in its very essence, because there are only two contact connectors on the RCD, and there is simply nowhere to fix the ground wire! And the principle of operation of such devices does not require a connection to ground at all.

This is confirmed not only by this article, but also by many cases when an RCD connected to a three-wire network in which there is grounding is quite good and has been functioning for a long time, even in spite of damage to the ground (for example, a break in the ground wire) continues to perform its protective functions.

Is it possible to connect an RCD without grounding

As we have already figured out, it makes sense to install an RCD even with a conventional two-wire connection scheme, where only phase and zero are present. And, for greater clarity and better understanding of the need for installation additional protection, let's define how an RCD works, and then - imagine a typical everyday situation.

In fact, the RCD can be considered a kind of "calculator". Connection diagram for RCD without grounding very simple - the phase and neutral wires pass through the device, the load on which is carefully monitored and compared.

In the event of damage to the wiring or consumer, the so-called leakage current appears in the electrical network - the same current that flows through the damaged insulation. The magnitude of this current is usually extremely small - tens and hundreds of milliamperes - but sufficient to cause serious harm to human health.

So, the residual current device compares the current passed through the phase and neutral wires, and, if these values ​​deviate, it opens the contacts, thereby interrupting the supply of electricity to the damaged section of the network. From theory, let's move on to a completely understandable everyday situation.

For example, you have a washing machine in your bathroom at home. The wiring is two-wire phase and zero, there is no grounding. The RCD has not yet been installed. Now imagine that the insulation and the phase wire are damaged in the machine, it begins to touch the metal body of the machine, i.e. the metal body of the machine is energized.

Now you go to the machine and touch its body. At this moment, you become a conductor and electricity... Electric current will flow through you until you release the metal body. In the meantime, you are cracked and pounded from the flowing current and the hope for protection that will disconnect the damaged area is not present. Hope is only here for own strength will (or you will lose consciousness and fall).

If there was RCD installed then when touching a metal case, which was energized, the RCD would instantly feel a leakage of current and work, disconnecting the damaged area.

Why? Because at the first signs of a "skew" of the current on the phase and neutral wire, the automation would have worked and the machine would simply remain de-energized! And the person would hardly have time to feel a slight tickling in the body and would be more puzzled by the sonorous click of the relay from the hallway than by the unusual sensations.

Moreover, this time is so short that a person practically does not feel an electric current. On the Internet there is a video on testing an RCD, and so there a person specifically takes on bare wire which is connected to the residual current device, the person touched the wire - the RCD instantly triggered (he did not even feel any discomfort).

How to connect an RCD without grounding

I hope the very principle of operation of the RCD is clear and I convinced you that RCD must be installed, regardless of whether you have grounding in the house or not. In addition, if you have a two-wire power system, then all the more you need to install a residual current device. Do not listen to advice that it will not work in such a network or will constantly work.

With the question of whether the RCD works without grounding, I hope they figured it out. Now before producing RCD connection without grounding I would like to remind you of one important point.

A feature of residual current devices is the lack of overload protection. Therefore, they must be combined with conventional "machines". In this case, the connection diagram may be different.

There are basically two options. You can put one common RCD for the whole house, thereby securing even bedside lamps. But only devices that can pass 40-60A through themselves are much more expensive than their less powerful counterparts, and even if the relay is triggered, it will be difficult to find out the reason - you will have to check every electrical appliance.

In addition, a power outage in the entire house immediately causes a lot of inconvenience - unsaved documents in the computer, the air conditioner is frozen, the hot water tank is disconnected, or washing machine- you can list for a long time!

If you decide to install one RCD for the entire group of consumers, then the RCD connection diagram without grounding will look like this:

The second option is to install a separate, less powerful RCD on each of the "dangerous" lines: bathroom, basement, garage, kitchen. In this case, more free space will be required in the dashboard, and the price of three or four devices will be even higher than one, but powerful - however, the reliability of the entire power system increases, and the search for the cause of the shutdown will be reduced only to inspecting one or two sockets.

Experienced electricians advise to approach the same judiciously selection of RCD power- it should be slightly higher than the machine that will be paired with it.

The reason is simple - a circuit breaker with overload protection does not work immediately (from several seconds to tens of minutes), and an excess of the rated current passing through the RCD may cause it to break.

Connecting an RCD in a two-wire network

I'll tell you a little why I decided to write about such a topic as connecting ouzo in a two-wire network. I didn’t choose this topic by chance, since I also raised this issue.

Until recently, I lived in an apartment where the wiring was three-wire (new building) i.e. phase, zero and ground were present. And recently he moved to another apartment in which the wiring is two-wire, and there is no trace of any zero protective conductor PE.

Having settled down a little, I decided to look into the dashboard, which is located on staircase there was no protection in the form of an RCD or difavtomat in my direction, there were only a 40 A packet switch, a counter and two new machines of 16 A.

Why did I start a topic about connection of an RCD in a two-wire network I'll tell you in more detail now.

I was embarrassed by the fact that a boiler (water heater) was installed in the bathroom, which was powered by one of the 16-amp automatic machine (2 kW boiler).

Moreover, this water heater was installed, extremely inaccurately: it was powered by a separately thrown cable, this cable passed openly in the bathroom, without any protection in the form of a corrugation or a box.

And when you take a shower (as it was said in the movie "Moscow Does Not Believe in Tears" - sorry for such intimate details ..) this cable, together with the boiler, is covered with moisture (condensation). My wife, of course, was not embarrassed by this fact, since she does not understand these issues, but it worried me very much. That is why I decided to install an RCD in a two-wire network.

So, there were two automatic machines in the dashboard, one fully powered the entire apartment (lighting and sockets), the second supplied only the boiler. After a little reflection, I decided to install its own residual current device on each line separately: a separate RCD for the sockets and a separate RCD not a water heater. Although of course it is a little expensive, safety comes first.

Moreover, I would like to split the network, i.e. connect all the sockets in the apartment and separate lighting to a separate machine. But for lighting it was necessary to pull a separate cable from the dashboard into the apartment.

The maximum to be able to do this is to stretch a separate cable from the dashboard into the apartment to the first switchbox and connect the lighting only in the hallway, in other rooms it is not possible to connect the lighting from this cable, since in the apartment all the wiring is walled up in the walls. Therefore, lighting and sockets remained on the same machine.

To connect the residual current device, I chose the IEK brand of the VD1-63 series with a rated current of 16 A and a differential current of 30 mA.

I already wrote in the article about errors when connecting an RCD that it is impossible to combine zeros after an RCD. In the dashboard, the connection is made in such a way that the phase goes through the machine, and zero is taken from the dashboard body. To connect an RCD disconnect the power cable from circuit breaker(phase) and from the metal part of the shield (zero).

Having installed the RCD in the dashboard, we proceed to the connection. We immediately connect the phase and zero of the supply cable to the output terminals of the device (to the apartment to one RCD, to the boiler to the second).

To the input of the "phase terminal" of the residual current device, we start the phase from the output terminal of the circuit breaker, to the input of the "zero terminal" we take zero from the common zero bus (shield body). Thus, neutral wires that left the RCD and go to the apartment are no longer combined with the zeros of other RCDs or a common zero bus (there is no connection with the dashboard case).

The connection is made, you can check the residual current device itself, how it behaves in operation, whether there will be false positives if the connection is incorrect. To do this, you need to turn on the machine in front of the residual current device and, of course, the device itself, then create a load (plug in any device). If no disconnection occurs, all connections can be considered correct.

Also, do not forget that after connecting a difavtomat or an RCD, it is imperative to check them for leaks. How to check the RCD for operation in this case? Of course, using the TEST button.

To do this, when the device is turned on, press the button, if it turns off immediately when the button is pressed, then it is working properly. Like this on personal example I have connected the RCD without grounding.

In order to ground the boiler as best as possible in a private house, you need to make a high-quality ground loop and connect it correctly.

This will require following tools and materials:

  • Metal corner or profile with a side width of 5 cm. It will take about 18 meters for the electrodes and their connection.
  • Metallic wire or strip, at least 3 mm wide to connect grounding to the shield.
  • Electric welding, which will weld the structure of the circuit.
  • Grinder for cutting corners and wires. A hammer drill for drilling a hole in the house for introducing grounding.
  • A sledgehammer with which the profile will be driven into the ground.
  • Three-core cable for conducting electricity in the house from the panel to the outlet.
  • Modern socket with earthing terminal... Automatic machine corresponding to power storage water heater.
  • Screwdriver, probe, knife.


First of all, you need to choose a place for the future placement of the contour. It should be no further than five meters from the dashboard. The main thing is that people and pets do not go from above, since in the event of a breakdown, electricity will go into the ground around. If at this time someone passes there, he will be electrocuted. You can do it yourself on top of this place decorative decoration from stones or specially enclose it with a fence.

Contour collection

We cut the corner into six strips of three meters each. We cut off one side of three of them at an acute angle with a grinder, in the future it will be much easier to hammer them into the ground. We dig a ditch in the ground triangular, with a side length of a little more than three meters and a depth of 30-50 cm. In the corners of the resulting triangle with the tips down, we set the profile and using a sledgehammer we hammer them almost to the entire length, leaving 10 centimeters on top.

We weld the hammered corners together with the three remaining ones. In fact, the outline is ready at this point. In shape, it resembles a chair with three legs buried in the ground, as in the photo. Now you need to connect to the shield.

We make a ditch with our own hands from the nearest corner of the contour to the place in the house where the shield is located. We drill into the basement of the house through hole... The wire is welded with one side to the corner of the contour and is led into the house through the hole made in the basement through the ditch.

This cannot be done with a wire, as it will rot over time.


To the end of the wire, which is in the house, a screw is welded with the head down. After that, we bury the contour and wire. It is good if you set it in soft earth or clay, they conduct electricity well due to their high salt content. If the circuit is installed in sand, the installation site must be watered with brine.

Connection in the house

A bare piece of wire is wound onto a screw welded to the wire and secured with a nut. And already he is taken out to the dashboard. A separate machine is installed in the dashboard and a three-core wire is drawn to the outlet.

The characteristics of the machine and the cross-section of the cable are selected according to the power of the boiler. If the device has a power of 2-3.5 kW, an automatic machine for 10 amperes and a copper cable with a cross section of 2 mm are suitable, for a storage water heater power from 3.5 to 4.5 kW - an automatic machine of 16 amperes and a cable with a cross section of 2.5 mm, higher - 25 amperes, cross section 3 mm and above.

It is important to correctly connect the wires of the cable so that you and a professional electrician can correctly understand the location of the phase, zero and ground by color. Ground is connected to a yellow, green or green-yellow wire. Zero is connected to the blue wire, and the phase to the third. It is usually white, brown, or black. It is important to buy a socket with a grounding terminal.


Next, a wire is drawn in a box or a ditch in the wall, a socket is installed. It should be located at a distance of 50 cm from the body of the water heater and 80 cm from the floor. It is forbidden to install sockets over bathrooms and showers.

Safety engineering

Everything electrical work should be carried out with the current off. In any case, test it with a probe before touching any wire. It is forbidden to connect ground to any pipes.

If the house is not grounded and the boiler is not connected to it, there are two potential dangers:

  1. Any electrical breakdowns will go to the water, and shock the one who uses it. This endangers you and your loved ones.
  2. Stray currents will gradually destroy the boiler body, lead to rusting of it metal elements.

If you did everything correctly, grounding should protect you from electric shocks and premature boiler failure. Just in case, you can call specialists who, using special devices, will check the resistance of your circuit.

For your attention a video about grounding in a private house:

25-05-2008, 03:39

We have a Khrushchev, where there is no grounding in the wiring. Is it possible to install a water heater in such conditions?
On the Termex website, we read that it seems that it is forbidden to connect without grounding ... is that so? nothing shines for us now?
... The flow-through did not work because of the low voltage on the apartment, now there is no grounding .... :(
How did you get out in situations like this? hot water och.hottsa! : 091:

25-05-2008, 18:50

nobody connected chtoli water heaters in Khrushchevs and ships ???: 010: :(

25-05-2008, 19:19

I have Ariston in the old fund for 8 years already
no "land" by definition
t-t-t, no incident
changed under warranty (tank dripped), so for this special attention nobody paid and changed without problems :)

25-05-2008, 19:33

I have it connected without jamming, my parents too
nothing so far everything TTT is ok

25-05-2008, 21:08

25-05-2008, 21:12

I have an RCD and a storage heater :)

25-05-2008, 21:33

Grounding is "invented" in order not to get a discharge of current ...... You can put it without it ...... You live, or not live ..... Or you can connect it to the pipe, then it will either kill you or neighbor, it's up to you ..........

Volodya Volodya

25-05-2008, 21:36

There is a desire to commit suicide, then it is possible without grounding. You can look at the connection here http://www.thermex.ru/prod_how2.php3?title=how to connect %20water heater atelier, and it is also advised to install an RCD. A lot about hot water and connection on the forum: http://forum.ixbt.com/topic.cgi?id=47:3666-24
and here http://www.ivd.ru/document.xgi?id=6045&gid=393&hid=138&oid=138. You can, however, turn it off when you wash, but if you forget? What if a teenage child forgets?

26-05-2008, 10:12

There is a desire to commit suicide, then it is possible without grounding.
no, such a desire, it seems, was not recorded by family members ... thank God .. :)

I have an RCD and a storage heater :)

Grounding is "invented" in order not to get a discharge of current ...... You can put it without it ...... You live, or not live ..... Or you can connect it to the pipe, then it will either kill you or neighbor, it's up to you ..........

26-05-2008, 10:17


26-05-2008, 10:31

Can. You just need to call a competent specialist.
RCD - Protective Disconnect Device, disconnects when the current is not where it should begin to "flow". Saves life.

As I understand it, you can just do it with an RCD.

Pronya Pavlova

26-05-2008, 11:26

I am, of course, conscious from the point of view of safety, but ... in ships and Khrushchevs there is no grounding by definition - so what? there no one has washers and water heaters? don't tell my slippers

Pronya Pavlova

26-05-2008, 11:28

I am extremely far from electricity and physics. therefore, the questions, apparently, will be stupid .... why this grounding was not foreseen then by these .. hmm .. builders? .. and how should I be now? the lack of grounding can somehow be corrected? Or are we now left only to live and be afraid ??: 001:

Because when they built Khrushchevs and ships, they did not even dream of washing machines (which are now), dishwashers and boilers ...

26-05-2008, 11:33

no, such a desire, it seems, was not recorded by family members ... thank God .. :)
thanks for a bunch of links, I'll try to master them.: 010:

What is an RCD? some kind of thing that can be put in groundless places?

I am extremely far from electricity and physics. therefore, the questions, apparently, will be stupid .... why this grounding was not foreseen then by these .. hmm .. builders? .. and how should I be now? the lack of grounding can somehow be corrected? Or are we now left only to live and be afraid ??: 001:
I need an electrician. Everything should be done by specialists, IMHO. There is no "ground" in the apartment - there is in the dashboard on the staircase, there is no dashboard on the stairs - in the basement or on the first floor. Defeat el. electric shock in the bathroom ... Claims to make a "successful" washed will no longer be able to ...

26-05-2008, 12:07

At Termeks on Blagodatnaya, the store is called "turnkey", consult there. They work on weekends. Indifference in this matter is not permissible. You don't get the laundry out of washing machine wet, standing with bare feet in the bathroom under the tap? (Rhetorical question :))) Otherwise, options would also be possible ...
T-T-T. God save all the niggas in the world!

26-05-2008, 12:31

26-05-2008, 12:35

I can give the phone number of the master for connecting thermeks and other plumbing. The master is experienced in years already. Takes money in moderation.
And me, please ...: 091:

26-05-2008, 12:42

As I understand it, you can just do it with an RCD.

I was thinking hard, it turns out that the washing machine and the dishwasher (and the refrigerator ??: 009 :) also need to be connected through the RCD? and this contraption is connected at once to the whole apartment? Or do you need to connect your own RCD to each device ?? : 009:
help to put things in order in my head!: 091:

A so-called fire-fighting RCD is installed on the entire apartment - it cuts off all power supply in the event of a current leak and a possible fire, it does not save a person from electric shock, since the nominal value is 300 mA (a current of no more than 30 mA is considered safe).
Further - all potentially dangerous consumers (especially those in which "wet" processes occur) water heaters, washing machines, dishwashers, sockets in the bathroom, etc. - on their own lines they are connected through an RCD with a nominal value of not more than 30 mA.
Why everyone? So that when a malfunction occurs, it is the culprit who turns off, and not all the consumers in a crowd, then you will not finish the reason.
The refrigerator does not belong to particularly dangerous electrical consumers.

Example: a common horse episode about killing a person in a filled bathroom by throwing a working hair dryer into it - it does not work if a working RCD is correctly installed on the outlet line in the bathroom :))

26-05-2008, 22:35

A so-called fire-prevention RCD is installed on the entire apartment - it cuts off all power supply in the event of a current leak and a possible fire, it does not save a person from electric shock

How does this not save?: 001: but what saves?: 009:

Many thanks to everyone who responded!: Flower: although the answer to my question - what will replace grounding for us - did not work out ... or did I just not understand it? ..: 009:

Tagiyev, thank you very much for the master,: flower: but we have nothing to connect yet - once. The husband will do a great job on his own - two. He spent all my electricity from scratch around the apartment, and today he assembled the dashboard and connected the meter. An electrician with a license came, checked everything, was surprised at the correctness and sold the certificate of completion for 500 re .. :) We just don't understand a little what to do with grounding, but otherwise we are in complete order! : 008:

27-05-2008, 09:15

how does it not save?: 001: but what saves?: 009:

Saves an RCD with a nominal value of no more than 30 mA: ded :))
In the Sarom fund, the so-called "ground" - the PE conductor, is usually pulled into the apartment from the building of the floor board, this is provided that the floor boards are connected in the riser by metal connection, and the house still has some kind of grounding.

Electric water heaters are quite powerful household appliances that are installed in apartments and private houses. To avoid electric shock, which is deadly if the wiring is damaged, the water heater must be grounded.

Why do you need to do grounding

The water heater is constantly in contact with water, and water, unless it is distilled, conducts electricity perfectly. Loss of electrical insulation could result in a person taking a bath or washing dishes, electric shock. The consequences of a blow can be not only painful, but even fatal. Electric shock happens to strike nervous system, and the person loses memory, work skills, learning ability.

If a breakdown occurs on the case, then anyone who touches the water heater without rubber gloves, electric shock.

The second reason why it is necessary to do grounding in an apartment is associated with stray currents. Stray currents arise in the metal parts of the water heater. If not drained away, they will corrode and degrade metal elements. Moreover, they are felt by a person. Many people are familiar with the feeling of a slight tingling sensation from exposure to a weak current.

In a private house or country house, grounding can save an electric water heater from being struck by lightning during a thunderstorm. It will take the blow by conducting a current into the ground, and your boiler will remain unharmed.

Grounding the water heater is a safety issue

Grounding principles

The easiest way to ground a water heater in an apartment is to connect its body with a wire to metal part in contact with the ground. This can be a riser of a water supply system, a heating system, or an armature of a part of a structure.

Since many people today are setting plastic pipes, it is necessary to check if there are such inserts on the riser. To do this, go through the apartments, ask the neighbors above and below. The presence of large areas of plastic will nullify the grounding.

Modern electrical devices have grounding contacts on the body. Look around your home appliance and find them. In addition to grounding the case, you need to take care of the presence of a special socket with three leads.

  • Install a socket with a grounding wire. It should be located 80 cm or more from the floor and 50 cm or less from where the heater is installed.
  • If the house is still using the old two-wire wiring, it must be replaced with a three-wire one with copper wires... The cable is laid from the shield on the site to the outlet. The shield must be grounded.
  • You can lay the cable in plastic box or to grind down the walls, which is much harder, but more reliable.
  • After that, the apartment is de-energized and the cable is connected to the outlet. Pay attention to the color of the veins. Wire colors will help you connect phase and earth correctly.
  • Then connect the cable to the shield. When connecting to earth, use the earth screw.

Sometimes, if there is no grounding in the house, people use the boiler only when it is off. First, they heat the water, and then turn off the appliance and wash. But remembering this all the time is rather tedious, and besides, someone can always forget about precautions. It is better to lay a grounding cable after all.


Grounding reduces the risk of electric shock

Grounding in a private house

We have just figured out how to ground a water heater in an apartment. Now let's deal with the private house. Here, the grounding will need to be built with your own hands.

Near the house, at a distance of more than 1.2 m from the blind area, a piece of land is selected on which 3 iron pins about 1.5-2 m long and at least 15 mm in diameter will be installed. They will act as electrodes.

Instead of pins, you can take corners or pipes with a thickness of 4 mm or more. People and animals should not walk in the chosen place.

Then spend land works digging trenches in the form of a triangle, in the corners of which there will be electrodes. Another trench will run from one corner to the house. Each side of the triangle must be more than 3 meters.

Bolts M10 or M8 are welded to one side of each electrode. With the other side, they are driven into the ground so that they look out 5 cm.

Then, a hole is drilled in the wall of the house at a distance of about 2 m from the shield and not too close to the floor (5–10 cm from it). Screw down steel wire with a diameter of 6 mm to the terminal on the body of the water heater and lay the wire along the wall, leading it through the hole and then along the trench to the welded bolt.

A washer is thrown onto the bolt, a coil of wire is wound, put on another washer and tightened tightly. The wire is pulled along the contour through the other two pins and looped back. Instead of a wire, you can use a profile by welding it to the electrodes. After laying and filling the trenches, check the resistance of the loop. It should be less than 4 ohms.

Video about connecting a boiler with your own hands

Do not neglect small things like grounding. Only at first glance it seems that this is not such a significant issue, but one day it can save your health or even your life. This is a really decent price to pay for the little hassle while connecting.