Rheem Manufacturing Company

David M Hanning

Gordon W Stretch

Timothy E Powell

The storage tank portion of a water heater has an outwardly projecting threaded pipe coupling fitting and is disposed within a jacket structure that forms an enclosed insulation space around the storage tank, the outer end of the pipe coupling fitting being spaced inwardly apart from a pipe connection opening in the jacket structure. A generally tubular foam stop member having a convexly curved side portion is positioned within the insulation space before the space is filled by an injection process with a liquid foam insulation material. The foam stop member receives the pipe coupling, is axially pressed between the storage tank and the jacket structure, and forms a seal around the pipe coupling fitting and around the jacket structure pipe connection opening. During injection of the liquid foam insulation material into the enclosed insulation space, the foam stop member serves as a relatively small barrier that essentially precludes the liquid foam from escaping outwardly through the jacket structure pipe connection opening or entering the pipe coupling.

Water heater foam stop apparatus

Water heater foam stop apparatus and associated methods

An inlet water turbulator body is coaxially secured within the lower end of an inlet water supply dip tube vertically disposed with the storage tank portion of a water heater. A spaced plurality of vertically spiraling passages extend through the turbulator body and are operative, in response to discharge of hot water from the storage tank through its outlet fitting, to receive pressurized inlet water within the dip tube and discharge the received water from a the lower end of the turbulator body in a water discharge pattern that impinges upon the lower tank end wall with substantial vertically directed and horizontally swirling force components to thereby facilitate the dislodgement of sediment from the lower tank end wall.

Inlet water turbulator for a water heater

Method of insulating a water heater and preventing flash using a foam

The external jacket structure of an electric water heater defines with the water storage tank portion thereof a hollow insulation space that horizontally circumscribes and extends across the top end of the tank. A fiberglass foam stop block member is pressed between the tank and jacket and has a cutout area through which an immersion heating element end connector is exposed to a first jacket sidewall opening normally covered by a removable access panel. A control panel mounted externally on the jacket above the first jacket sidewall opening has a bottom interior portion that downwardly overlaps a top portion of the cutout area and communicates therewith through a second jacket opening. An electrical control component disposed in an upper interior portion of the control panel is operatively connected to the heating element end connector by electrical wiring extending from the control component sequentially through the control panel interior, inwardly through the second jacket sidewall opening, and through the foam stop block member cutout area. The hollow insulation space between the tank and jacket is filled with a hardened foam insulation material injected into the insulation space through the jacket at a point thereon disposed outwardly of the exterior edge periphery of the foam stop block member.

Electric water heater with improved insulation structure and control

The top storage tank end wall of a down-fired water heater has a first circumferentially spaced series of circular openings formed therethrough and centered about the tank axis, and a second circumferentially spaced series of circular openings centered about the tank axis and spaced radially outwardly of the first series of openings. Vertically disposed within the tank is a circumferentially spaced series of hollow U-tube immersion heating members each having a first open upper end secured to one of the first series of openings, and a second open upper end secured to one of the second series of openings. Shot-type fuel burners extend downwardly into the second open upper tube ends and are supplied with gaseous fuel via a manifold ring positioned atop the water heater. Hot combustion gases from the burners are drawn through the U-tubes by a draft inducer fan having an inlet connected to the first open upper ends of the tubes. In an alternate embodiment of the water heater, air-driven power fuel burners are connected to the first open upper tube ends and are supplied with driving air through a manifold structure connected to the outlet of a supply air blower. Combustion gases forced out the second tube ends are collected in an exhaust manifold structure for venting to atmosphere.

Multiple U-tube down fired water heater

A down-fired water heater has a top storage tank head portion with a central opening bordered by an upstanding annular flange. Welded within this flanged opening is a generally pan-shaped tube sheet structure having an open top side, and a bottom side wall in which a spaced pair of openings are formed. The open top ends of a U-tube immersion heating member, formed from a single length of metal tubing, are upwardly received and welded within these openings. During water heater operation, a top mounted shot-type fuel burner downwardly injects a flame, and resulting hot combustion gases, into one of the open upper ends of the U-tube. A top mounted draft inducer fan, with an inlet communicated with the interior of the tube sheet structure, draws the combustion gases through the U-tube and into the tube sheet interior via the other open tube end, and then discharges the combustion gases outwardly away from the water heater. The induced two-pass flow of combustion products through the tank interior very efficiently heats water stored therein and evenly distributes combustion heat along the height of the stored water. In an alternate embodiment thereof, the top head portion is upwardly domed, and its flanged opening and the tube sheet structure are eliminated. Openings are extended through a spaced pair of flattened areas on the top head portion, and the upper ends of the U-tube are inserted into and welded within such openings.

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Montgomery, AL, United States of America

David M Hanning