How to solder film underfloor heating. Fastening clamps, soldering contacts

An electric floor failure is most often caused by a break in the heating cable or damage as a result of finishing work.

How it is done from pipes was described earlier, in the same review the repair of a broken cable of electric underfloor heating will be considered.

Therefore, if the electric underfloor heating does not heat after turning on, then first of all you should check the performance of its heating elements.

Underfloor heating diagnostics - how to find a break

How to check if the electric floor heating cable is broken? For these purposes, you must use a multimeter. This is such a digital device that is very familiar to people associated with electrics.

During measurements, the resistance of the heating cable should not differ greatly from the passport values, as a rule, be more than 5%.

If it turned out, so that the resistance is much greater, because it is indicated in the passport, then there is nothing left but to find a break or damage to the electric underfloor heating.

It should be noted right away that this event is quite complicated, especially if ceramic tiles or other facing material have already been laid on the warm floor.

To find a break in a warm floor, the easiest way is to use a special device for this, exactly the same as for detecting hidden wiring in the walls.

As soon as the place where the electric underfloor heating is broken is found, you can start repair work. Before that, if necessary, you first need to perform or other finishing material, which is laid on top of the warm floors.

After the area in which the electric floor heating is broken is cleared of flooring and concrete mortar, it is possible to repair the broken cable of the electric floor heating.

For these purposes, it is necessary to have a copper sleeve for crimping and a heat shrink tube. After the break of the electric underfloor heating is connected by a copper sleeve for crimping, it must be protected with a heat shrink tube.

Then you can check the performance of the electric floor heating system and if everything is in order, then close up the recess in the floor with cement mortar, placing the facing material in its rightful place.

Often, the reasons for the inoperability of a warm electric floor are also a thermostat - a device that automatically maintains a given temperature for warm floors.

Here, most often, the main breakdowns are weak contacts of the terminal block located inside the thermostat. All you need to do is remove its front cover and tighten the screw connections with a curly screwdriver.

Video repair of electric floor heating

Tsugunov Anton Valerievich

Reading time: 5 minutes

One of the most economical and at the same time effective options for space heating in our time is a film underfloor heating. In conditions of constant rise in the cost of heat carriers, as well as electric energy, the use of heating elements with low power is a fully justified solution.

Benefits of underfloor heating

The main advantages of such a warm floor are:

Environmental Safety. Thermal radiation with a wavelength of 5-20 microns, which is emitted by the elements of such a floor, is absolutely harmless to people, animals and plants.
Reduced energy costs due to more efficient space heating and low power consumption.
How to lay? Mounting a film underfloor heating with your own hands is quite realistic, just follow our installation instructions. There is no need to involve specialists for this.
The use of infrared rays for heating the room does not lead to a decrease in air humidity, which has a positive effect on the health and well-being of people.
Due to the small thickness of the film, it can be mounted under the facing materials of walls and ceilings, which makes it possible to even more efficiently heat the premises.
Unlike other options, when laying a film coating, the film can be dismantled and re-laid, for example, when moving. Of course, its dismantling is possible only if floor coverings such as linoleum, laminate or carpet are used.
The heating film has a long service life - up to 30 years or more.

Design

To install a film underfloor heating, you must use the following elements:

The film, which consists of a polyester base. As a heating element, strips of carbon paste are used, interconnected by copper jumpers. Before starting work, make sure that the canvas can be cut to your size.

A temperature sensor is used to determine the temperature of the floor surface.

The operation of the entire heating system is controlled by a thermostat.

For connection of electric wires to heating elements of a heat-insulated floor its delivery set includes contact plugs.

Important! Do not connect with soldering tin! Manufacturers prohibit soldering any wire section to the tape floor structure. When soldering is carried out, excessive heating of the conductor rail occurs, which can break the contact in the heating system and lead to its failure. The manufacturer insists on using crimp connectors.

The electrical connections are insulated with bituminous insulators (see installation instructions).

The principle of operation of this design is extremely simple. When voltage is applied to the terminals of the thermal film, an electric current begins to flow through the carbon elements, which causes the appearance of infrared radiation. The scheme for connecting a film underfloor heating is also very simple: carbon film strips are laid on the base, connected with wires, and you can lay a fine floor covering. But more on that later.

Heating Film Specifications

The main technical characteristics of the film underfloor heating on the market include:

Power consumed per linear meter of film. Currently, for most of its models, this figure lies in the range of 45-67 watts.
Melting point (130 C). It should be noted that during operation the surface of the film is heated to a temperature not exceeding 55 C.
The percentage of infrared radiation in the total frequency spectrum must be at least 95%.
The length and width of one strip of thermal film (as a rule - 8 X 0.5 m).
The film thickness is 0.4 mm. This makes it possible to lay a warm floor under any floor covering - laminate, parquet, ceramic tiles, as well as linoleum or carpet. The main thing is to strictly follow the installation instructions and film underfloor heating will delight you with comfort and warmth for many years.

Mounting order

Do-it-yourself installation of a film underfloor heating is carried out in the following order:

Drawing up a plan for the placement of furniture and household appliances. This takes into account the area of \u200b\u200bthe room and the total power of the entire heating system.
Marking the area of \u200b\u200bthe room in which it is planned to install heating elements.
Laying a heat-insulating substrate that prevents heat from being used to heat interfloor ceilings or a concrete floor base. Foamed polypropylene is used as a substrate, one side of which is covered with a reflective material. The underlay should only be laid on a level, dry and clean subfloor surface.
In strict accordance with the previously drawn up plan, the installation of a warm film floor is carried out. Its strips are cut to the required size and stacked without overlaps; heat-resistant adhesive tape is used to fasten the strips together. Laying a warm floor closer than 10 cm to the walls is not allowed.

Installing a thermostat. The installation height of this device is determined for reasons of ease of use, as well as the overall design of the room. The wires connecting the thermostat to the heating elements, as well as to the electrical network of the apartment, are placed in pre-prepared strobes. The installed thermal sensor must be equipped with a corrugation without fail, and be able to be easily replaced if necessary. How to connect the controller to the network and where to connect the temperature sensor and cables from the warm floor is indicated in the installation instructions for the device.
Connecting the underfloor heating to electricity. For this, wires with a cross section of at least 1.5 mm 2 are used, which are clamped with pliers in the contact terminals. The warm floor is connected through the temperature sensor to the thermostat according to the diagram. The temperature sensor is installed between the heating film and the heat-insulating substrate near the location of the thermostat. All connecting wires are recessed into grooves cut in advance in the substrate.

Functionality check.
Laying a film layer of protective polyethylene over an infrared film.
You can install flooring.

Attention! Before laying a warm floor, you should carefully plan the decor of the room. Its laying on the areas that will be occupied by furniture will lead to overheating of the carbon elements and their failure.

Wiring diagram

It should be noted that the connection of all elements of the underfloor heating is carried out in parallel. This is extremely important to ensure the reliable operation of the heating system as a whole, since if one of its elements fails, the rest will continue to work.

Attention! You can cut the film only in specially designed places. On each roll, they are indicated by a dotted line. Otherwise, the integrity of the electrical circuit may be violated.

Laying foil under various types of flooring

Film underfloor heating for laminate should be laid on a perfectly flat surface according to the installation instructions. The maximum allowable floor level difference cannot exceed 1 mm per 2 linear meters.

Important! The film underfloor heating under linoleum or carpet is laid using a plywood or fiberboard substrate between the infrared film and the floor covering.

Underfloor heating made of polypropylene pipes is popular because of its many positive properties. For do-it-yourself underfloor heating, it is more efficient to use these particular elements. Steel pipes are a relic.

Advantages

If you make floor heating with PVC pipes, you can achieve many advantages. These include:

disadvantages

When using polypropylene pipes for underfloor heating, it is necessary to use elements with reinforced walls. The use of conventional materials will reduce the life of the system. Unreinforced walls cannot cope with the high load from the circulating coolant under pressure. Also, a certain effect is observed from the screed and other elements of the warm floor.

How to install polypropylene pipes

Another disadvantage of polypropylene is its instability to high temperatures. Therefore, it is forbidden to use it in rooms with a high fire hazard. The normal operating temperature of polypropylene is +75°C (pressure up to 7.5 atm.). It can be operated at +95°C, but in this case, the service life is significantly reduced. Therefore, when installing an underfloor heating system, care must be taken to ensure that the coolant reaches the optimum temperature.

Varieties of polypropylene pipelines

Polypropylene pipes are popular for underfloor heating, water supply systems and other engineering networks in the house. They can be single layer or multilayer. Each option has its own scope.

Polypropylene pipes for water supply and heating systems

Single layer

Main varieties:

RRN. Pipelines are made of homopolypropylene. Not used for underfloor heating, but widely used for water supply, ventilation systems;
RRV. Manufactured from polypropylene block copolymer. Differ in the high durability and firmness;
PPR. For production, a random copolymer polypropylene is used. Pipes made of this material are able to effectively distribute the produced load along their walls;
PPs. Pipes of this type are hardly flammable. They are able to work effectively at temperatures that do not exceed +95°C.

Multilayer

There are several types of multilayer pipes, which are reinforced with a reinforcing layer of the following materials:

aluminum. A thin reinforcing sheet is applied to the outer surface of the pipeline. When connecting several elements, the aluminum layer is cut off by 1 mm. There are also variations where reinforcement is carried out inside - between the walls. Polypropylene pipes with aluminum reinforcement are able to work effectively at a temperature of +95°C (for a short time at +110°C);
fiberglass. The reinforcing layer is placed between the polypropylene sheets. These pipelines are effective in underfloor heating;
composite. A mixture of aluminum and fiberglass fibers is placed between two layers of polypropylene.

Preparatory work for laying a warm water floor

It is impossible to make a warm floor using polypropylene pipes with your own hands if you do not properly prepare the base for their laying:

Calculation of the required pipeline length

Laying pipelines with your own hands in a screed should be reproduced according to a certain scheme. A warm floor made of polypropylene pipes can take the form:

To install a warm floor with your own hands, the step between the turns should be from 10 to 30 cm. In most cases, 30 cm is enough. In areas with significant heat loss, you can reduce the step to 15 cm. screed with a maximum length of 80 m (ideally up to 50 m).

To calculate the required number of pipelines, you can use graph paper. On it, a plan of the room is drawn on a scale, where a diagram of a warm floor is depicted. By measuring the length of the circuit, you can navigate the required number of pipes. It is also easy to find out if you use a regular thread. It is laid on the floor according to the scheme that is chosen for the device of a warm floor.

After all the manipulations, it is enough to measure the length of the thread, which will correspond to the footage of the pipelines. When using any option, you need to increase the required volume by 10%.

Pipe laying

For laying polypropylene pipes in a screed, it is recommended to use the "spiral" scheme. In this way, it is possible to ensure a more uniform heating of the surface and facilitate installation. The pipes will be laid with a large radius, which is not the case when using the "snake" scheme.

To fix the water circuit, a metal mesh is laid on the prepared base. It will also strengthen the screed layer, which will last a longer period. Pipes are attached to the grid using metal wire or plastic clamps.

The installation of these elements should be done every 0.8 m. The fasteners should not be overtightened so as not to cause deformation of the pipes. They can also be fixed directly to the thermal insulation using dowels.

Final stage

After installing the water circuit, you need to connect it to the collector group. One end is connected to the supply, the other to the return. After connecting to the collector, it is necessary to test the heating system. This can be done by running the coolant into the warm floor. The pressure of the system must be higher than the working one, but not more than 6 bar.

Every half an hour you need to raise its level to the previous level. Such actions are repeated three times, after which the floor heating is left alone for 24 hours. If during this time the pressure drops by no more than 2 bar, then the installation was successful. At the last stage, they move on to the screed. When it dries, you can start laying the flooring.

Video: Soldering polypropylene pipes

A professionally installed electric underfloor heating works flawlessly in almost 100% of cases. Most often, problems are observed in cases where the cable was laid on its own. To repair a warm electric floor with your own hands, you will need to find the place where the cable breaks and repair the damage.

How to find a broken cable underfloor heating

In order not to have to tear off the entire screed with the inevitable repetition of the process of pouring the floors, you must try to determine where the cable is broken. Finding a break is quite difficult and not always possible even for professional installation teams, but with some tips and tricks, you can increase the chances of success.

The search for a break is carried out as follows:

Ringing the cable at break using a tester helps to accurately determine the cause of the inoperability of the heating system. The exact location of mechanical damage is found using special tools.

In particular, the following equipment is used:

high voltage generator- the device determines the location of the cable break by creating an arc between the unprotected core or braid of the wire. In the place where the discharge occurs, the damage is located.
Audio detector - the principle of operation of the device is similar to a metal detector. When the instrument is placed over the rupture site, an appropriate sound is emitted.
Voltage Tester or Hidden Wire Detector. Cable integrity diagnostics are easiest to perform with this tool. The wiring detector not only shows the presence of a cable inside the tie, but also allows you to determine the location of the break with a high degree of probability.

Before proceeding with the repair of mechanical damage, you should make sure that the reason for the lack of heating is not a breakdown of the temperature sensor or controller. Therefore, the resistance of the cable to breakage is initially measured.

How to repair floor heating cable

The most difficult thing is to identify faults and the place of damage. Eliminating the cliff, although it requires certain skills, can be done independently. This will require:

Remove the floor covering at the site of damage. The most difficult thing is to dismantle the tile. In order not to damage nearby tiles, the following steps are performed. The seams are cleaned of grout. The tile is lifted with a spatula and slowly undermined. A wooden block should be laid at the stop so that the coating is not damaged with a spatula.
Break the tie. It takes patience to get the job done. The tie is removed carefully so as not to damage the cable in several more places. Emergency repair of a cable break in an electric underfloor heating begins only after a sufficient amount of wire is released to carry out the work.
Vein repair. Usually, in a company selling underfloor heating, they immediately offer a repair kit for restoration. The set includes sleeves and heat shrink sleeves. You can repair a break in the heating cable as follows. In the place of the break, the core is stripped and connected by means of a sleeve. Beforehand, a coupling is put on the wire for repairing the underfloor heating cable. The sleeve is crimped with special pliers. A repair sleeve is installed on the cable and heated with a building hair dryer. As the sleeve heats up, the sleeve shrinks in size and insulates the damaged area.
Health check. Immediately after repairing the damage in the heating cable, underfloor heating can function normally. Turns on. After 30-40 minutes, the wire gains the required temperature.
The screed is repaired, the tiles are laid in place.

It is not so difficult to repair the cable yourself. But to do the work yourself, you will need:

Device for detecting breaks in cable floors.
Repair kit.
Repair tool.

Equipment for the repair of electric underfloor heating

You can connect the gap in such a way that after the repair the floors will completely stop heating, or they will cause a short circuit and fire in the apartment. For this reason, the manufacturer strictly regulates which tools and materials for repairs must be used.

Repair Tool:

Standard electrical kit. Wire cutters, pliers, a tester - all this will be needed in the process of diagnostics and repair. To check for cable damage, you will need specialized equipment (flush wire tester, audio detector, etc.).
Press tongs - necessary for crimping the connecting sleeves. It will not be possible to clamp the sleeve with improvised means, so you will need to purchase or rent specialized pliers.
Building hair dryer. The heat-shrinkable sleeve shrinks when heated and isolates the gap. Some craftsmen use an open fire of a lighter or a match for this purpose, but in this case it is ineffective.
Perforator - needed to knock down the screed and release the wires. During operation, you will need a nozzle in the form of a spatula.

If at least one of the tips on how to replace damage to an electric underfloor heating seemed complicated or puzzling, it is better to seek help from specialists. When performing work, safety standards must be observed.

The cause of a malfunction of the underfloor heating may be a break in the heating cable, failure of the thermostat or temperature sensor. In all these cases, you can repair the system yourself, the main thing is to correctly determine the breakdown in the first place. Next, we will tell readers "" how to repair an electric underfloor heating with your own hands!

How to fix a damaged cable

If the electric underfloor heating does not turn on or does not heat up after turning on, the first step is to make sure that the heating cable is working. To do this, measure the resistance of the cable with a multimeter. Ideally, the value should not differ from the passport value by more than 5%. If you find a significant difference between the nominal and actual resistance, you need to move on to finding the location of the open circuit and further repairs. To do this, you can use special devices for. In the place where the electrical circuit breaks, the device will immediately react.

As soon as the exact location of the malfunction is found, it is necessary to proceed to the repair of the electric underfloor heating with your own hands. All that is needed is to remove the flooring at the site of the breakdown, carefully dismantle the section of the concrete screed (if any) and connect the problem area by crimping with a copper sleeve. After that, the cable junction is protected by a heat shrink tube and the system is tested for operability.

How to find an open circuit using a device

Heating cable repair

How to repair a thermostat

There may still be such a situation that the electric floor heating does not heat up to the required temperature (set on the regulator). One of the reasons for the breakdown is the weak contact of the wires in the terminal block of the thermostat. Check the screw connections and tighten them if necessary, as shown in the photo. Sometimes even poor contact of conductors can lead to such a simple type of repair of an electric underfloor heating that does not work.
In addition, check the temperature sensor itself to make sure that the temperature controller is malfunctioning by elimination. If all other elements of the circuit are working, just replace the thermostat with a new one, because. its cost is very small, and the hassle of repair can be quite a lot.

Video instructions for repairing a thermostat with your own hands

We immediately draw your attention to the fact that the temperature controller can work and turn off the system early if the temperature sensor is incorrectly installed. If the sensor is located close to the heating cable (or far from it), the temperature readings inside the screed will differ by 2-3 degrees, which will cause a false alarm!

How to check the temperature sensor

Checking the temperature sensor is also not difficult when repairing an electric floor heating. To do this, you again need to ring the device yourself with a multimeter to make sure that the passport and actual resistances match. If the temperature sensor breaks, it must be replaced with a new one. If you followed the recommendations on and placed the temperature sensor in the corrugation, it will not be difficult to get it out from under the screed. Otherwise, if the sensor gets stuck under the floor, it is better not to touch it, but to solve the problem in a simpler way - by installing an air temperature sensor. This device will give a signal to turn on / off the thermostat based on the temperature in the room, and not under the screed, as it was before.

You can also do without repairs by buying a thermostat with a timer that will turn on / off the system according to the setpoint. In addition, there are IR temperature sensors that analyze the heating of an electric floor heating by infrared radiation.

How to solve low voltage problem

If you notice that the electric underfloor heating does not heat well at low voltage or its surges, then you can get out of the situation by installing a stabilizer for your home network. This device will ensure the normal operation of the heating system, both at low and at high voltage.

That's all I wanted to tell you about how to repair an electric underfloor heating with your own hands. As you can see, all malfunctions are quite simple and special knowledge in electrics is not required to solve the problem. At the same time, if you are too lazy to repair the system yourself, the master will charge at least 5,000 rubles for this (the average cost of installing a coupling on a damaged section of a heating cable).

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