Rheem Manufacturing Company

The Water Heater Industry Joint Research and Development Consortium

Troy E Trant

Raheel A Chaudhry

Jozef Boros

Robert D Brown

Bruce A Hotton

Edward D Turner

Qian Zhang

Atilhan Manay

William T Harrigill

Yan Hong

Jason Lye

Piyush Porwal

Gordon W Stretch

Timothy D Scott

Taylor Kopacka Leigh

Walter T Castleberry

David I Vega

Prudhvi Amaravadhi

Edward Holman

Divakar Mantha

Fahira Sangare

Jon Thomas

Stephen Phelps

Timothy J Shellenberger

Ashwin Rao

Gary A Elder

Michael C Mitchell

John H Scanlon

Sina Jasteh

Reza Khatami

Jacob A Peart

Jason Hall

Shannon H McCall

Hafez Raeisi Fard

Rodney K Pugh

Tanjir Hasan Ratul

Shubham Srivastava

Michael C Ezell

Michael L Burney

A liquid dosing system is disclosed and can include an inlet conduit and an outlet conduit. The inlet and outlet conduits can each be configured to fluidly communicate a heat exchanger of a water heater. The liquid dosing system can include one or more connector conduits configured to fluidly connect the inlet conduit and the outlet conduit to define a fluid circuit by at least the inlet conduit, the heat exchanger, the outlet conduit, and the one or more connector conduits. The liquid dosing system can include a pump configured to pump water through the fluid circuit, a reservoir configured to store an additive, and a dosing device configured to dispense the additive into the fluid circuit.

Scaling treatment systems for water heaters

An automated descaling system can be integrated into a tankless water heater or can be a separate system that is connected to a tankless water heater. The automatic descaling system comprises a cleaning media chamber and a valve with a motor. The descaling system can be set on an automatic cleaning schedule.

Automatic descaling system

The disclosed technology includes a valve assembly having a valve, an actuating system, and a trigger. The trigger can be in mechanical communication with the actuating system and the actuating system can be in mechanical communication with the valve. The trigger can be positioned such that the trigger can interact with liquid resulting from a leak in a plumbing system, and upon interaction with liquid, the trigger can release the actuating system such that the actuating system can cause the valve to transition from an open position to a closed position. In the closed position, the valve can restrict the passage of liquid through the plumbing system such that the leak can be mitigated or stopped.

Mechanically actuated valve assemblies

A tankless water heater including a water inlet, a water outlet, a conductivity sensor, a temperature sensor, and a heating chamber connected to the water inlet and the water outlet wherein the heating chamber is configured to heat a flow of water received from the water inlet and output the flow of water to the water outlet. The water heating system can further include a controller communicably coupled to the conductivity sensor and the temperature sensor, where the controller calculates an adjusted conductivity of a flow of water through the water heater.

Water heater with hardness detection system

A liquid dosing system is disclosed and can include a cartridge comprising a reservoir configured to store an additive, an output vessel in fluid communication with the reservoir, and a cartridge outlet in fluid communication with the output vessel. The liquid dosing system can include a housing that includes a water passage configured to direct water though the liquid dosing system and a receiving portion configured to at least partially receive the cartridge when the cartridge is connected to the housing. The receiving portion can include a receiving port in fluid communication with the water passage, and the receiving port can be configured to receive at least some of the additive from the cartridge outlet when the cartridge is connected to the housing. The receiving portion can include a motor configured to engage in mechanical communication with the output vessel when the cartridge is connected to the housing.

Liquid concentrate dosing systems

A system for coating an interior surface of a heat exchanger includes a tank for storing the coating solution, a pump, a source line for supplying the coating solution to the heat exchanger, and a return line for returning the remainder of the coating solution to the tank. The system can include a pre-treatment line for supplying a pre-treatment solution to the heat exchanger and a water line for supplying water to the heat exchanger. An air compressor can be coupled to the heat exchanger to force the coating solution, the pre-treatment solution, or the water from the heat exchanger.

Applying coatings to the interior surfaces of heat exchangers

A tube for a thermal transfer device can include at least one wall having an inner surface and an outer surface, where the inner surface forms a cavity. The inner surface can be non-cylindrical. The cavity can be configured to receive a fluid that flows continuously along a length of the at least one wall.

Heat exchanger tubes and tube assembly configurations

A fluid heating device comprising a heat pump and an electric heating element can include a system and method that can receive current data from a current sensor and temperature data from a temperature sensor, determine whether the current is greater than or equal to a threshold current and whether the temperature is greater than or equal to a threshold temperature, and output a control signal to heat the fluid using the heat pump only or the electric heating element only based on the current data and the temperature data.

Heat pump water heater systems and methods thereto

The metal tank portion of an electric water heater is protected against corrosion utilizing a corrosion protection system that detects a voltage potential between the sheath portion of a tank water-immersed electric heating element and the tank. In one embodiment of the corrosion protection system the sensed sheath/tank potential is utilized to enable a user of the water heater to accurately gauge the necessity of replacing a sacrificial anode extending into the tank. In another corrosion protection system, the sensed sheath/tank potential is utilized to provide impressed current cathodic protection of the tank and also to prevent dry firing of the electric water heater.

Cathodic corrosion and dry fire protection apparatus and methods for electric water heaters

A water heater can include a housing and a heating system disposed within the housing, where the heating system is configured to heat a fluid. The water heater can also include a switch coupled to the heating system, where the switch operates between a first position during normal operations and a second position during an outage. The water heater can further include a primary power source coupled to the switch, where the primary power source is configured to provide primary power to the heating system through the switch during the normal operations. The water heater can also include an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) coupled to the switch, where the UPS is configured to provide reserve power to the heating system through the switch during the outage, and where the UPS is integrated with the housing.

Integrated uninterruptible power supplies for appliances

The disclosed technology includes carryover burner systems and methods for use with water heating system. The water heating system can include a burner unit having an outer sleeve, and an inner sleeve. The water heating system can also include an ignitor. The outer sleeve can include a carryover region having a first plurality of apertures and a combustion region which can be adjacent to the carryover region, the combustion region including a second plurality of apertures. The inner sleeve can comprise a dispersion region having a third plurality of apertures. The inner sleeve can be located substantially within the outer sleeve.

Carryover burners for fluid heating systems and methods thereof

The disclosed technology includes systems and methods for operating a fluid heating device comprising a heat pump and an electric heating element. The disclosed technology can include a system and method that can receive current data from a current sensor and temperature data from a temperature sensor, determine whether the current is greater than or equal to a threshold current and whether the temperature is greater than or equal to a threshold temperature, and output a control signal to heat the fluid using the heat pump only or the electric heating element only based on the current data and the temperature data.

Hybrid heat pump water heater systems and methods involving electric current, water temperature, and ambient temperature

An air sanitation device is disclosed. The air sanitation device can include a base section, a body section, and an air movement device configured to move air through at least a portion of the air sanitation device. The air sanitation device can move air from an inlet of the air sanitation device, and past an ultraviolet (UV) light source, and out an outlet of the air sanitation device. The air sanitation device can be configured to draw in air from within or below a breathing zone. The air sanitation device can be configured to draw in air from below the breathing zone and output sanitized air. The sanitized air can be outputted at an angle such that the sanitized air flows in a generally downward direction.

Air sanitation devices and systems

Growing community of inventors

Montgomery, AL, United States of America

Troy E Trant