Claims
- 1. An improved water heater apparatus, comprising:
- a water heating tank having generally cylindrical sidewalls with upper and lower ends, each of which is closed by an upper and lower transverse wall section, respectively, to define a closed interior for the tank, the upper transverse wall section being located at an angle with respect to the lower transverse wall section, whereby the upper transverse wall section is slanted with respect to the lower transverse wall section, the tank also having a water inlet and a water outlet;
- a plurality of vertically arranged fire tubes located within the tank closed interior and extending between the upper and lower transverse wall sections, respectively, each fire tube having an open interior for conducting products of combustion;
- a combustion chamber communicating with the vertically arranged fire tubes for providing products of combustion to the open interiors of the fire tubes;
- a burner communicating with the combustion chamber for combusting a selected fossil fuel.
- 2. The improved water heater apparatus of claim 1, wherein the combustion chamber is mounted on the upper end of the water heating tank for introducing products of combustion downwardly within the open interiors of the vertically arranged fire tubes.
- 3. The improved water heater apparatus of claim 2, further comprising:
- a flue collector chamber located at the lower end of the water heating tank for collecting and exhausting the products of combustion from the vertically arranged fire tubes; and
- draft inducing means for drawing the products of combustion downwardly from the combustion chamber, through the fire tubes and out the flue collector for exhaustion from the apparatus.
- 4. The water heater apparatus of claim 3, wherein the draft inducing means is an induction blower mounted on the exterior of the apparatus and communicating with the flue collector.
- 5. The water heater apparatus of claim 4, further comprising a low capacity blower located at the burner inlet for producing a static condition within the combustion chamber, fire tubes and flue collector chamber when the induction blower is off.
- 6. The water heater apparatus of claim 5, wherein a damper is located within a flow path of combustion gases created within the apparatus for maintaining a positive downward draft within the open interiors of the fire tubes when the burner is in an off condition.
- 7. The water heater apparatus of claim 1, further comprising:
- a free standing turbulator located within at least selected ones of the open interiors of the vertically arranged fire tubes, the free standing turbulator having a lower end which extends from the open interior of the vertically arranged fire tube to contact a lower wall of the flue collector chamber to thereby support the turbulator within the fire tube.
- 8. An improved water heater apparatus, comprising:
- a water heating tank having generally cylindrical sidewalls which define an interior and initially open upper and lower ends, the tank also having a water inlet and a water outlet;
- a combustion chamber mounted on the upper end of the water heating tank;
- a burner in the combustion chamber for combusting a selected fossil fuel, the burner having an air inlet;
- a fire tube unit received within the tank interior, the fire tube unit comprising a plurality of vertically arranged fire tubes, each fire tube having an open interior and being interconnected by means of an upper and lower transverse wall section, the open interiors of the fire tubes being adapted to receive the products of combustion from the combustion chamber when the combustion chamber is connected to the water heating tank, the upper and lower transverse wall sections defining a closed interior for the water heating tank when the fire tube unit is installed within the tank interior;
- a flue collector chamber located at the lower end of the water heating tank for collecting and exhausting the products of combustion from the vertically arranged fire tubes;
- an induction blower communicating with the flue collector chamber for drawing the products of combustion downwardly from the combustion chamber, through the fire tubes and out the flue collector chamber for exhaustion from the apparatus;
- wherein the plurality of vertically arranged fire tubes form a series of concentric circles, from an outermost circle to an innermost circle, as viewed from the top, and wherein the water inlet is selectively positioned on the cylindrical sidewall of the tank so that cold water entering the tank is directed in a flow path which avoids directly contacting at least the outermost concentric circle of fire tubes.
CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS
This application is a continuation-in-part of an earlier filed, co-pending application, Ser. No. 08/637,224, filed Apr. 24, 1996, by Mark A. Ferguson, entitled "High Efficiency Vertical Tube Water Heater Apparatus", and assigned to the assignee of the present invention.
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Continuation in Parts (1)
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Number |
Date |
Country |
Parent |
637224 |
Apr 1996 |
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