U.S. patent application number 13/355551 was filed with the patent office on 2012-07-19 for potable water heater.
This patent application is currently assigned to INTERNATIONAL THERMAL INVESTMENTS LTD.. Invention is credited to EDGAR C. ROBINSON.
Application Number | 20120180736 13/355551 |
Document ID | / |
Family ID | 35374262 |
Filed Date | 2012-07-19 |
United States Patent
Application |
20120180736 |
Kind Code |
A1 |
ROBINSON; EDGAR C. |
July 19, 2012 |
POTABLE WATER HEATER
Abstract
A water heater for heating potable water used in a boat or
vehicle has operating components which are easily accessible from
one end of the heater. The heater further includes a water level
sensor to indicate water quantity and a coolant stack which
terminates in an exhaust stack which can have either of two
configurations for installation flexibility.
Inventors: |
ROBINSON; EDGAR C.;
(Vancouver, CA) |
Assignee: |
INTERNATIONAL THERMAL INVESTMENTS
LTD.
Richmond
CA
|
Family ID: |
35374262 |
Appl. No.: |
13/355551 |
Filed: |
January 22, 2012 |
Related U.S. Patent Documents
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Application
Number |
Filing Date |
Patent Number |
|
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10848780 |
May 18, 2004 |
8118239 |
|
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13355551 |
|
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Current U.S.
Class: |
122/14.21 ;
122/18.3 |
Current CPC
Class: |
B60H 1/00364 20130101;
F24D 3/08 20130101; F24H 1/287 20130101 |
Class at
Publication: |
122/14.21 ;
122/18.3 |
International
Class: |
F24H 9/20 20060101
F24H009/20; F24H 1/24 20060101 F24H001/24 |
Claims
1. A hot water heating system with a burner and operating
components associated with said burner, said burner and said
operating components being located within a housing, said operating
components being located at and accessible form one end of said
heating system upon removal of a portion of said housing.
2. A hot water heating system as in claim 1 wherein said operating
components include a burner assembly, a compressor, a combustion
fan and a fuel pump.
3. A hot water heating system as in claim 2 and further comprising
a hot water outlet and a cold water inlet located at said one end
of said heating system.
4. A hot water heating system as in claim 3 which utilises a
coolant and further comprising a coolant level sensor which
produces a signal when said coolant within said heater is beneath a
predetermined level, said signal being operable to terminate
operation of said burner.
5. A hot water heating system as in claim 4 wherein coolant
replaces said water, said heater circulating said heated coolant
through a boat, vehicle or other living area, said heater
comprising a coolant stack carrying gases from a burner, said
coolant stack being located within a coolant jacket and said
coolant stack terminating in an exhaust stack releasing said hot
gases to the atmosphere, said coolant stack being in a
configuration that allows said exhaust stack to exit said water
heater at least two exhaust stack exit locations.
6. A coolant level sensor in a heated coolant and diesel powered
heater, said coolant level sensor producing a signal when said
coolant within said heater is beneath a predetermined level, said
signal being operable to terminate operation of said heater.
7. A coolant level sensor as in claim 6 wherein said coolant is
water.
8. Coolant heater for heating coolant and circulating said heated
coolant through a boat, vehicle or other living area, said coolant
heater comprising a coolant stack carrying gases from a burner,
said coolant stack being located within a coolant jacket and said
coolant stack terminating in an exhaust stack releasing said hot
gases to the atmosphere, said coolant stack being in a
configuration that allows said exhaust stack to exit said water
heater at at least two exhaust stack exit locations.
Description
CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
[0001] This application is a division of application Ser. No.
10/848,780, filed May 18, 2004, currently pending, and entitled
IMPROVED POTABLE WATER HEATER.
INTRODUCTION
[0002] This invention relates to a improved hot water heater and,
more particularly, to an improved hot water heater for marine or
vehicle use and which utilises diesel fuel for heating potable
water and which heater utilises the exhaust of the burner to
improve the efficiency of the heating process.
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
[0003] Hot water heaters for heating potable water for use in
cooking, showers, baths and the like, and which potable water
heaters are used in recreational vehicles, boats, motor homes and
other vehicles are, of course, well known. The fuel typically used
in such heaters is electric power or propane. The disadvantages in
using propane are well known since propane is maintained in its
liquid state by a pressurized storage vessel. In a boat, the gas,
being heavier than air, will accumulate in the lower portions of
the boat in the event there is a leak. The fuel is volatile and if
it is ignited, an explosion may occur. More mundane considerations
include the fact that propane fuel is not readily available.
Statutes and local regulations may require that such fuels be
stored under stringent conditions and commercial outlets are
therefore not always at hand.
[0004] Yet a further consideration is the efficiency of the potable
water heater itself. In a boat or vehicle, the space available for
a water heater is at a premium. It is desirable to have the water
heater take up a relatively small volume.
SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION
[0005] According to one aspect of the invention, there is provided
a hot water heating system with a burner and operating components
associated with said burner, said burner and said operating
components being located within a housing, said operating
components being located at and accessible form one end of said
heating system upon removal of a portion of said housing.
[0006] According to a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a coolant level sensor in a heated coolant and diesel
powered heater, said coolant level sensor producing a signal when
said coolant within said heater is beneath a predetermined level,
said signal being operable to terminate operation of said
heater.
[0007] According to yet a further aspect of the invention, there is
provided a coolant heater for heating coolant and circulating said
heated coolant through a boat, vehicle or other living area, said
coolant heater comprising a coolant stack carrying gases from a
burner, said coolant stack being located within a coolant jacket
and said coolant stack terminating in an exhaust stack releasing
said hot gases to the atmosphere, said coolant stack being in a
configuration that allows said exhaust stack to exit said water
heater at least two exhaust stack exit locations.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE SEVERAL VIEWS OF THE DRAWINGS
[0008] Specific embodiments of the invention will now be described,
by way of example only, with the use of drawings in which:
[0009] FIGS. 1A and 1B are diagrammatic side and end views,
respectively, of a potable water heater according to the
invention;
[0010] FIG. 2 is a schematic of the circuit used with the water
level sensor according to a further aspect of the invention;
[0011] FIG. 3 is an isometric and partial cutaway view of one end
of the heater according to the invention particularly illustrating
the accessibility of the various components for serving and the
water inlet and outlets;
[0012] FIG. 4 is a diagrammatic schematic of a zone heater which
zone heater is used in operable association with the heater
according to the invention; and
[0013] FIGS. 5A and 5B are diagrammatic end and side cutaway views
of a further embodiment of the invention in which a heater
according to the invention may be used in two different
applications.
DESCRIPTION OF SPECIFIC EMBODIMENT
[0014] Referring now to the drawings, the potable water heating
system is generally illustrated at 100 in FIG. 1A. The exhaust is
created by a centrally located burner 101 which is conveniently
diesel fuel powered and which burner 101 utilises pressurized air
for the nozzle 102 where the diesel fuel and the air combine to
provide the combustion flame 122. The burner 101 is conveniently a
burner utilised in a HURRICANE (Trademark) heating system
manufactured by International Thermal Research Ltd. of Richmond,
British Columbia, Canada.
[0015] The heating system 100 includes an exhaust jacket 103
surrounding the burner 101 which exhaust jacket 103 conveys hot
exhaust to an exhaust manifold 104 and thence to a stack 110 which
releases the hot gases to the atmosphere, the direction of flow of
the hot exhaust being illustrated by the arrows.
[0016] A potable water jacket 110 surrounds the burner 101 and
carries potable water. Cold potable water enters the water jacket
110 at cold water inlet 112 (FIG. 1B) and, after being heated by
the hot gases in the exhaust jacket 103, the now heated potable
water leaves at water outlet 113.
[0017] An electrical or resistance element 114 is inserted into the
water jacket 110 from the end as illustrated in FIG. 1B. The
electrical element 114 is a resistance type 120 volt heater and is
electrically powered to assist in maintaining the temperature of
the potable water when the burner 101 is not operating such as when
the vehicle or boat has an independent source of power
available.
[0018] The heating system 100 is pressurized; that is, the heating
system 100 is a closed system. As such, there are forces acting on
the end portions 120, 121 of the water jacket 110. The end portions
120, 121 are each generally convex on the outside surface and
concave on the inside surfaces 126, 127 which inside surfaces 126,
127 are exposed to the potable water under pressure in the water
jacket 110.
[0019] A water level sensor generally illustrated at 130 (FIG. 1B)
is inserted into the potable water heater 100. Water level sensor
130 is used to sense the presence of water within the heater 100.
In the event the sensor 130 does not sense water within the heater
100, a signal 131 is sent to a control board (not illustrated)
which signal results in heater shutdown with the control board
terminating operation of the burner 101.
[0020] Referring now to FIG. 3, one end of the heater 100 is
illustrated. It will be appreciated that the heater 100 is
conveniently installed in a recreational vehicle (not shown) from
the end; that is, it is mounted endwise and, if servicing is
required, it is conveniently done by opening access to one end of
the heater 100 only so that the heater 100 need not be removed in
its entirety for servicing. To that end, a single removable and
peripheral wrap around panel member partially shown at 140 which
covers the two sides and the top of the heater 100 is conveniently
attached with removable attachments 141 (one of which is shown)
such as screws, bolts and the like on opposite sides of the heater
100. A further and front panel member 142 is conveniently attached
to the front of the heater 100 and is similarly easily removed by
removing its attachment screws (not shown). When the end panel 142
and/or the side panel 140 are removed, the operating components of
the heater 100 are readily visible and manually accessible from the
end of the heater 100 and servicing is possible without the removal
of the heater 100 from the recreational vehicle or boat. The burner
assembly 143, the compressor 144, the aquastats 150 mounted in the
water jacket and at the end of the combustion chamber, the
combustion fan 151, and the fuel pump 152 are all readily
accessible to a user of the heater 100 and may be removed and
serviced from the end of the heater 100 without removal of the
heater 100 from the vehicle in which it is installed. In addition,
the cold water inlet 153 and the hot water outlet 154 are similarly
conveniently located at the end of the heater 100 with a mixing
valve 160 also conveniently located at the end of the heater 100
for access.
Operation
[0021] In operation, ignition of the fuel and air will take place
as is usual, such as with the use of an ignition electrode (not
shown) and a combustion flame 122 will appear in the burner tube
101 from the combustion of the pressurized air and fuel combined in
the nozzle 102 (FIG. 1A). Hot gases will subsequently emanate from
the combustion flame 122 and leave the end of the burner tube 101
as is shown by the arrows, the hot gases traveling first into the
exhaust jacket 103 to a first stack 124 which transfers the exhaust
gases to a second passageway 104 located within the water jacket
110 of the burner 100. The exhaust will exit the second passageway
104 through outside stack 110 and subsequently is released to the
atmosphere.
[0022] Thus, it will be seen that the heat from the exhaust gases
are used to heat the exhaust manifold 104 which manifold is in
contact with the potable water within the heater 100. Additional
heat is therefore provided to the potable water through the exhaust
manifold 104 which, because of its location within the potable
water jacket 110, will enhance the heating of the potable water
prior to the exhaust gases being released to the atmosphere and
improve the efficiency of the burner. A further advantage is that
the stack temperature will be reduce because heat in the exhaust
gases will be transferred to the potable water before the exhaust
gases reach stack 100.
[0023] Because the water is under pressure within the water jacket
110, the force of the water will act against the end portions 120,
121 of the water heater 100. This force may be intermittent with
the result that cyclical stress arises. It has been found that
having the end portions 120, 121 assume a convex outside
configuration and a concave inside configuration will reduce the
amplitude of the cyclic stress on heater 100. The forces acting on
the end portions, therefore, are better absorbed by the housing of
the heater 100.
[0024] Access to the operating components associated with the
combustion in heater 100 is conveniently provided by the removable
side and end panels 140, 142 respectively (FIG. 3). The user or
operator may unscrew the attachment screws 141 and remove the side
and top panel 140 and likewise remove the end panel 142. The burner
assembly 143 may then be removed for servicing. If the other
operating components need servicing or replacement such as the
compressor 144, the combustion fan 151, the fuel pump 152 or the
aquastats 150, their location on one end of the heater 100
conveniently provides access without removal of the heater 100 from
the vehicle and without the necessity of removing panels other than
those located at one end of the heater 100. Similarly, the mixing
valve 160 may easily be adjusted for raising or lowering the
temperature of the hot water exiting the water heater 100 from hot
water outlet 154.
[0025] A further embodiment of the invention is illustrated in FIG.
4 from which a zone heater generally illustrated at 161 is operably
connected to the potable water heater 100. Zone heater 161
conveniently includes a fan 162 which blows air over a radiator
within the zone heater 161. A glycol mixture circulates through the
zone heater 161 and a heat exchanger 163 by the use of a pump 164
which is operably connected to an aquastat 170 which measures the
temperature of the circulating glycol mixture. An expansion tank
170 is conveniently provided in the circuit of the zone heater
162.
[0026] A second pump 172 and an associated aquastat 173 are
provided to pump the potable water heated within the potable water
heater 100 through the heat exchanger 163 thereby to exchange heat
with the glycol mixture circulating through the zone heater 161.
The pumps 164, 171 are initiated by a thermostat located in the
zone serviced by the zone heater 161.
[0027] Reference is now made to FIGS. 5A and 5B which illustrate an
improved efficiency heater similar to the potable water heater 100
of FIGS. 1A and 1B. In this embodiment, however, a coolant other
than potable water may be used with the same efficiencies, such a
coolant being, for example, glycol. A further aspect of the FIG. 5
embodiment lies in a configuration which may be adapted for heater
use in two(2) installations. The first installation, as shown in
FIG. 5B, incorporates a final exhaust stack 180 which extends
downwardly within the heater 181 and exits the heater 181 from the
bottom. This exhaust configuration may conveniently be used for
recreational vehicles and other vehicles where the exhaust is
routed along the bottom of the vehicle. A second final exhaust
configuration is shown in broken lines at 182. A hole is cut in the
top of coolant stack 183 and the final exit or exhaust stack 182 is
connected and exits the top of the coolant heater 181. Electric
elements 190, 191 are conveniently provided to heat the coolant
when electric power is available. Cold coolant enters the coolant
heater at 192 and may conveniently exit the heater 181 at 193
although ingress and egress of the coolant may be similar to that
in the FIG. 1 embodiment. Other operating configurations
particularly described in association with the FIG. 1 embodiment
may likewise be useful in the FIG. 5 embodiment.
[0028] Many modifications will readily occur to those skilled in
the art to which the invention relates. For example, although the
exhaust stack is shown to be in a rectangular configuration as
viewed in FIG. 2, the shape could of course change as design
circumstances change and while the exhaust stack is shown as
traveling down only one side of the water jacket 110, the hot
exhaust could also travel within the water jacket 110 in several
other configurations on various sides of the burner tube 101 and on
each side of the burner tube 101 if desired. And while only one
pass of the hot exhaust through the water jacket 114 is described
and illustrated, more than one pass for the hot exhaust is readily
contemplated.
[0029] It is further contemplated that the potable water heater
according to the invention may conveniently be used in a living
environment other than in marine or vehicle use. Such a heater
requires initial power to initiate the combustion flame but,
following that ignition, the heater could operate on minimal power
or the energy generated by the heater could be used to produce the
necessary power for continued operation.
[0030] Many further embodiments will readily occur to those skilled
in the art to which the invention relates and the particular
embodiments described are given by way of example only and are not
intended as limiting the scope of the invention as defined in
accordance with the accompanying claims.
* * * * *