Rheem Manufacturing Company

Gary Flatness

Qian Zhang

Jason Hall

David L Gibbons

Jiang Yin

William White

A heat trap apparatus for a water heater is provided. The heat trap apparatus includes a tubular body, a liner disposed within the tubular body, and a heat trap baffle assembly having a tubular housing coaxially disposed within the liner. The liner includes a projection to engage with an inner surface of the tubular body at a first end using an interference fit. The tubular housing includes a first diametric portion to engage with the inner surface of the tubular body at a second end using an interference fit, a second diametric portion extending from the first diametric portion and to engage with an inner surface of the liner using an interference fit, and a third diametric portion extending from the second diametric portion and to movably support one or more heat trap inserts to inhibit convective fluid flow therethrough.

Heat trap apparatus for water heater

A baffle arrangement disposed within the exhaust flue of a fuel-burning water heater promotes heat transfer from exhausted combustion by-products to the water storage chamber. The baffle arrangement has an elongate planar base and plural exhaust-directing fins spaced along opposite sides of the base. Each fin is a planar body extending perpendicularly from the base at an acute upward angle from a longitudinal centerline to a respective side of the base. The fins deflect combustion by-products laterally outwardly within the flue to promote heat transfer. The fins are of selected configurations generally increasing in surface area upwardly along the planar base for selectively controlling pressure drop within the exhaust flue. Hanger tabs project outwardly from the upper end of the base to suspend the baffle arrangement within the flue. The planar base, hanger tabs and exhaust-directing fins are formed integrally from a unitary body of sheet metal.

Growing community of inventors

Montgomery, AL, United States of America

Gary Flatness