Looking For Water Heater Installation Services In Singapore?

After you have combed through the many types of water heaters in Singapore to choose the one that fits your needs and requirements, the next most important thing to consider is the installation process. You may have bought the best water heater in Singapore, but if you engage an incompetent and dangerous installer, your water heater might still land you in hot water, and not the kind you’ve been dreaming about when you were buying it.

So how do you instantly ensure your water heater installation was done correctly? Read on to find out what 4 important points on the checklist you need to verify to confirm that your water heater is installed correctly in Singapore. Also included some images of what may happen in installations that are completely wrong – we’ve seen heaters installed sideways!

4 Point Checklist For Water Heater Installations in Singapore

Getting a good installer

An incorrect installation may be dangerous or result in irregular water pressure or temperature. After receiving some images of heater installations from homeowners, we decided to put together a quick checklist of the important things you must look out for to ensure your water heaters are installed correctly.

1. Heater Mounting

The A. O. Smith (AOS) water heater is mounted on two brackets inserted into two drill points on the wall. The upper holes of the supporting rack of the heater are mounted on these brackets. The brackets may look small but they are designed to hold up to three times the weight of the water heater when completely filled with water.

Please ensure your heater tanks don’t look like they are free-falling off the wall like King Kong on the Empire State Building. This is a sure sign of an incorrect installation and even if you know nothing about heaters, the image above on the left should give you the creeps.

2. Water pipes

The most common choice of water pipes for residential installations are copper and stainless steel pipes. Both are equally durable. Some homeowners prefer stainless steel pipes to match their bathrooms; some prefer copper pipes as there are fewer kinks in the bends. Most people do not have a preference but if you do, the onus is on you, the homeowner, to let the installer know this before the installation.

PPR or Polypropylene Random pipes may be used but this is rare and usually used for commercial purposes. Do not ever use flexible hoses for the connection to your water heater as they are not strong enough and may burst in the long run.

3. Relief valve connection

Often overlooked is the relief valve connection. Like air conditioners, water heaters give out droplets of water while in operation. These droplets are released from a relief valve. A tube is connected to the relief valve and the droplets of water are drained off into a drainage point. The tube must be downward facing.

The rubber tube is often misplaced and not installed from the valve to the drainage point. Do ensure your installer does not dispose of it with the rest of the carton boxes and packaging!

4. Mini stopcock valve

This stopcock valve is installed at the water pipe connected to the inlet (blue side). The stopcock valve comes in useful if your heater is leaking or if you need to cut off the incoming water supply to the water heater for repairs.

More checklists for new homeowners

1. HDB BTO Singapore Defects Checking
2. Your Checklist and Guide to Moving House

Water Heater Installed Sideways

One of the ways to void your water heater warranty is to install it incorrectly. Today we are showing you one of the ways not to do it!

A. O. Smith water heaters come with bottom inlets, one of the most energy-efficient designs because it allows for the hottest water at the top of the tank to be drawn out reliably.

See: Why are side outlets less efficient?

Below are the front and side views of a cylindrical water heater tank that has been installed correctly. Cold water flows in from the inlet on the right. A heating element heats the water, and the hottest water rises to the top as it is less dense than cold water. Hot water is then drawn out from the outlet.

What happens when you fix your heater incorrectly?

When you fix your heater incorrectly, the outlets and inlets which are straight horizontal tubes get tilted at a 90-degree angle. Water is still drawn out from the outlet as usual but in this scenario, you won’t always get access to the hottest water at the top of the tank. Even if your entire tank is full of hot water, you will be utilizing perhaps only up to 50% of your tank!

An important note: wall brackets that come with an AOS heater are wall brackets and not ceiling brackets. Mounting a heater to the ceiling is a huge safety hazard as it will hinder the heater’s safety devices from functioning normally.

There is certainly more than one way to fix your heater incorrectly, but we received the most requests on this one. Coincidentally, this explanation also helps make clear the concept of how hot water is drawn out.

Have an installation question you’ve always wanted to ask? Write to us at sales@aosbath.com and we’ll be glad to help!

The side outlet is usually a bent tube screwed into the side of the tank. While twisting the outlet to fit and securing it tightly, it is hard to control the exact location of the tip of the outlet.

If the outlet tube’s highest point is not at the top of the tank in the 100% efficient position, users will not get the hottest water from the heater either.

Frequently Asked Questions About Water Heater Installation In Singapore