How to Install a Boiling Water Tap

Hot water taps are incredibly beneficial if you want boiling water on tap – who doesn’t want to instantly half the amount of time it takes to make a cup of tea?

Instant hot water taps for kitchens are a great addition to any home; especially if you and your family love multiple brews a day or you’re in the market for an appliance to purify your water.

If you’re pretty handy with DIY tasks, fitting a boiling water tap will come relatively easy. But first, we’re going to take a look at some commonly asked questions surrounding this excellent kitchen appliance.

Are Boiling Taps Dangerous?

In essence, you may think a boiling water tap is dangerous. But, it’s only as dangerous, if not less dangerous as a kettle. Kettles hold boiling water which is then picked up and tilted to an angle. The genius of a boiling tap is that your mug or pan can be held or can sit directly underneath and you simply need to switch the tap on. No handling of water is needed for a boiling tap.

Boiling water taps have a lower pressure to ordinary taps. This reduced pressure prevents the boiling water from splashing or spitting at you when you’re making a brew or filling up a pan.

Another concern that you may have is regarding small children. A lot of hot water taps have a safety lock installed within them. This prevents curious little hands from being able to use it.

Are Boiling Water Taps Economical?

Hot water taps are energy-efficient when compared to using a kettle. Most people will pour more water into the kettle than is needed. This results in a kettle using more energy to heat all of the water. As you’ve boiled more water than needed, the leftover water will usually get poured down the sink or reheated again.

For more information on the energy-efficiency of boiling taps, please take a look at our article on The Benefits of Boiling Taps.

How Do Instant Boiling Taps Work?

Boiling water taps are essentially a heavily insulated tank of water that is connected to a tap that sits on your kitchen counter. The water is brought to boiling point within the tank and held there for a continuous supply of hot water. The tank for a boiling tap roughly has 25 cups per hour of hot water.

How to Fit a Boiling Water Tap

While it’s easy to hire a professional to fit your hot water tap, it’s also very costly. You’re much more likely to see a better return from your energy bills if you’ve reduced your upfront costs.

Fitting a boiling water tap does sound like a big job, but as long as you understand which pipes are which, and you follow the instruction manual that can with your hot water tap properly, you won’t encounter any problems.

Tools:

  • Drill
  • Drill-bit
  • Bucket
  • Spanner

Installation of a boiling water tap

  1. Turn off your water supply and run the hot and cold taps in your home to drain the pipes of water. It’s important to keep the taps open throughout this process.
  2. Remove everything from under the sink to give you enough room to install the hot water tap.
  3. Place a bucket under your old tap and remove the old kitchen mixer tap. The bucket is there to collect any bits of water that may still be left in your system.
  4. Position your new tap in the desired place on your sink. Ensure that the tap is in reaching distance to the hot and cold water feeds, and is near a safe plug socket.
  5. Follow the manufacturer’s instructions that came with your hot tap. Usually, you’ll start by drilling a hole in your sink, again the dimensions of this hole will differ from tap to tap, so refer to the manufacturer’s instructions for the size.
  6. Use the fixings that came with the hot water tap to install the water heater under your sink. Ensure that it’s at a secured level.
  7. You’ll now need to feed the pipework from the tap to the heating unit. The pipework and the installation for it will be in the manufacturer’s instructions.
  8. Before you plug in your hot water tank, switch your water supply back on and allow the water to flow from your taps.
  9. To fill your hot water tap, turn the handle into the on position and hold for about 90 seconds. When the water boiler tank is full, water should begin to flow from your hot water tap.
  10. Switch off the tap and check for any leaks from your water tap boiler.
  11. If your boiler is watertight, you can plug the boiler into the power socket and switch it on.
  12. Read the manufacturer’s instructions for information on how to use your hot water tap.

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