CA2187824A1

CA2187824A1 - Drain pan for hot water heaters and water softeners

Info

Publication number: CA2187824A1
Application number: CA 2187824
Authority: CA
Inventors: Garth J. Call
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1996-10-11
Filing date: 1996-10-11
Publication date: 1998-04-11

Abstract

A drain pan is used for collecting and draining off water leaking from a water tank, for example a hot water tank or water softener that has ruptured. The pan has a circular base panel and an annular skirt. A port in the skirt connects directly to a hose that leads the leaking water to a floor drain. To allow the pan to be installed under existing tank installations, it isdivided in two so that each half can be slid separately under the tank with the tank tilted slightly to raise it from the floor. The two halves can then be snapped together to form a complete water impervious pan.

Description

DRAIN PAN FOR HOT WATER HEATERS AND WATER SO -lrN~S
The present invention relates to drain pans and more particularly to drain pans for water tanks, for example, hot water tanks.
Water tanks, for example hot water tanks and water softener tanks, are often located in finished areas of a building. In domestic uses, 5 these tanks are often located in finished basements. The tanks may corrode over time and ultimately burst, discharging the enclosed water. This may cause damage to carpets, finished walls and furnishings. To deal with this, it has been known to place a sheet metal drain pan under a tank when it is installed. The pan is drained by a hose to a floor drain. The value of these 10 metal pans is not particularly great since the metal pan may corrode and be incapable of performing its intended function when needed.
This problem can be solved by using a plastic material for the drain pan. Non-corroding plastic pans, like their metal predecessors, can only be installed with new tanks, since the tank must physically be lifted 15 into the pan. This is prevented by both the weight of an in service water tank and the plumbing connected to it.
The present invention is intended to ameliorate certain problems with the prior art.
According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a 20 drain pan for water tanks comprising a water impervious base panel of corrosion resistant material, a water impervious peripheral skirt of corrosion resistant material projecting upwardly from the base panel and a drain port in the skirt, wherein the pan comprises two components, each including respective portions of the base panel and the skirt and coupling means for 25 forming a water impervious coupling between the two components.
By making the pan in two parts, it is possible to slip one part under one or two feet of an installed tank by tipping the tank slightly, and then to slip the other part under the tank in the same way. The two parts are then coupled to provide the complete, water impervious pan under the tank. This installation is easily done, even as a retrofit to existing tanks.
The pan may be circular, with a cylindrical skirt. The two components may then join along a diametrical seam. The coupling means 5 may be a channel on one component edge and a bead along the other.
Where desired, a gasket may be placed in the base of the channel to ensure the water impervious nature of the pan.
In the accompanying drawings, which illustrate an exemplary embodiment of the present invention:
Figure 1 is an isometric view of a drain pan according to the present invention.
Figure 2 is a cross section along the line 2-2 of Figure 1.
Figures 3A, 3B and 3C schematically illustrate the installation of the drain pan under a water tank.
Referring to the accompanying drawings, there is illustrated a drain pan 10 with a circular base panel 12 and an annular, cylindrical skirt 14 extending peripherally above the base panel. The base panel is divided into two halves 16 and 18 along a diametrical seam. The seam is composed of a channel 20 along the edge of pan half 16 and a mating bead 22 that snaps into the re-entrant channel behind two lips 24 at the free edges of the channel. The lips thus hold the bead firmly in place. A rod 26 of compressible foam material is seated in the base of the channel as a gasket to be engaged by the bead to ensure a water impervious seal between the two components of the pan.
A threaded port 28 is formed in the skirt 14 and is sized for coupling to a 3/4 inch (2 cm) hose.
The installation of the pan under a water tank is illustrated in Figures 3A, 3B and 3C. The water tank 30 is tipped slightly to one side.

Even with a plumbed in, full tank, this is usually possible to the extent that it will lift a foot 32 of the tank off the floor on which it is resting sufficiently that the base panel part of one component of the pan can be slid under the foot to approximately the centre of the water tank. The tank can then be 5 tipped up to the other side to slide the other component of the pan under the feet 32 of the tank. The two components of the pan are then snapped together along the seam. A hose screwed into the port 28 leads to a floor drain to drain off any liquid accumulating in the pan as the result of a ruptured tank.
While one particular embodiment of the present invention has been described in the foregoing, it is to be understood that other embodiments are possible with the scope of the invention and are intended to included herein. The invention is to be construed as limited solely by the scope of the appended claims.

Claims

1. A drain pan for water tanks comprising a water impervious base panel of corrosion resistant material, a water impervious peripheral skirt of corrosion resistant material projecting upwardly from the base panel and a drain port in the skirt, wherein the pan comprises two components, each including respective portions of the base panel and the skirt and coupling means for forming a water impervious coupling between the two components.

2. A pan according to Claim 1 wherein the base pan is substantially circular.

3. A pan according to Claim 2 wherein the skirt is substantially cylindrical.

4. A drain pan according to Claim 3 wherein the components are separated along a diameter of the base panel.

5. A drain pan according to Claim 4 wherein the coupling means comprise a channel along an edge of one component and a mating bead along an edge of the other component.

6. A drain pan according to Claim 5 including a gasket seated in the channel.

7. A drain pan according to any one of Claims 1 through 6 wherein the drain pan comprises a plastics material.

8. A drain pan according to any one of Claims 1 through 6 wherein the drain port comprises a hose fitting for connection to a hose end.

9. A method of installing a drain pan under a water tank, said method comprising:
providing a drain pan with a base panel and a peripheral skirt projecting upwardly from the base panel;

providing the drain pan in two components, each including respective portions of the base panel and the skirt;
lifting one side of the tank;
sliding the base panel of one component under the one side of the tank;
lifting an opposite side of the tank;
sliding the base panel part of the other component under said opposite side of the tank;
bringing the two components together; and sealing the two components together to form an impervious drain pan.