GB2342682A

GB2342682A - Water tank jacket

Info

Publication number: GB2342682A
Application number: GB9922769A
Authority: GB
Inventors: David Francis Heelan
Original assignee: Individual
Current assignee: Individual
Priority date: 1998-09-28
Filing date: 1999-09-28
Publication date: 2000-04-19
Anticipated expiration: 2019-09-28
Also published as: IE990798A1; GB9922769D0; GB2342682B

Abstract

A water tank jacket [1] comprises a side wall skirt [3] and a cover [2]. The side wall skirt [3] has eyelets [17] through which a rope [16] is trained, providing both a means for securing the skirt [3] in place around a tank and a means of adjusting the length of the skirt, by folding it so that the eyelets are on top of each other (see figure 3). The cover [2] has two sections [2a, 2b] which can overlap to fit tanks of different sizes. The downwardly-depending skirt [5] of the cover [2] overlies the rim of the tank and the top of the side wall skirt [3]. The cover [2] is held in place by a rope [9] trained through loops [8] attached to the downwardly-depending skirt [5]. In a further embodiment of the invention, the jacket has a cover and side skirts which are all one piece (see figures 9 and 10).

Description

"A water tank iacket" The invention relates to a jacket for a water tank.

It is known to provide a jacket for insulating a hot water tank or cylinder in order to reduce energy losses. However, open-topped tanks for water supply have not been insulated in this manner. This has caused the possibility of contamination of the water by particles falling from roof felt and fibreglass insulation material. Also, it has left the water supply above the level of the attic insulation open to freezing in the winter. Also, pipes and timber supports often degrade due to condensation. The latter problems have been exacerbated in recent years with increasing use of attic insulation and of greater insulation thicknesses.

One of the problems which are faced in provision of a jacket for such a water tank is the fact that it would be necessary to provide a wide range of jacket sizes. Another problem is allowing for the pipework associated with such tanks. Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a jacket for an open-topped water tank which :- provides required insulation, and coverage of the tank to prevent water contamination; is easy to fit in the confined space of an attic while allowing for associated pipework; and is universal in nature whereby it may be fitted to tanks of different sizes.

According to the invention, there is provided a jacket for a water tank of the type which is open at the top, the jacket comprising: a side wall skirt of elongate shape and comprising fastening means for retaining the skirt in place when wrapped around side walls of a tank; and a cover comprising a top portion and a downwardly-depending skirt portion.

In one embodiment, the cover portion comprises a plurality of sections comprising means for fitting together to fit different tank sizes.

In one embodiment, the sections are shaped to overlap at side edges between opposed ends of the cover.

In another embodiment, the cover comprises a fastening means comprising means for pressing the skirt against tank side walls.

In a further embodiment, the fastening means comprises a strap extending around the skirt adjacent a lower side edge of the skirt.

In one embodiment, the cover comprises two sections.

In another embodiment, the side wall skirt is of generally rectangular shape and the fastening means comprises a strap extending around a top rim through eyelets or a sleeve of the skirt.

In one embodiment, the fastening means comprises eyelets located in the skirt to allow it to be folded along its length and supported by the strap to set the total length.

In a further embodiment, the side wall skirt comprises tie-straps at its ends.

In one embodiment, the jacket cover and skirt comprise panels of insulation mounted within outer skins.

In one embodiment, the insulation is of polyester composition.

In an alternative embodiment, the skins are of net material.

According to another aspect, the invention provides a jacket kit comprising a water tank jacket defined above, and an expansion tank jacket comprising a single piece comprising a cover portion and a downwardly-depending skirt.

In one embodiment, the skirt comprises two opposed side walls and an end wall, and the side walls comprise flaps for folding over to provide an opposed end wall.

The invention will be more clearly understood from the following description of some embodiments thereof given by way of example only with reference to the accompanying drawings in which: Fig. 1 is an underneath perspective view of a water tank jacket of the invention; Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a side wall skirt of the jacket in place on a tank; Fig. 3 is a detailed view showing the manner in which the length of the side wall skirt is contracted to fit a particular tank size; Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the full jacket in place on a tank; Fig. 5 is a diagrammatic cross-sectional view of the jacket in place on a tank; Fig. 6 is a cross-sectional view of a panel of the jacket; Figs. 7 & 8 are diagrammatic plan views showing the jacket used on different size tanks; Fig. 9 is a perspective view of an expansion tank jacket forming part of a jacket kit of the invention; and Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the jacket of Fig. 9 in use on an expansion tank.

Referring to Fig. 1 there is shown a jacket 1 of the invention. The jacket 1 comprises a cover 2 and a side wall skirt 3. The cover 2 comprises a section 2 (a) and a section 2 (b).

Each section comprises a top portion 4 and a downwardly-depending skirt comprising a pair of opposed side portions 5 and an end portion 6. The sections 2 (a) and 2 (b) also comprise side edges 7 at which they either abut together. Eyelets 8 support a strap 9 which extends around the lower side edge of the cover.

The side wall skirt 3 is of elongate rectangular shape and a rope 16 runs the length of it along a top side edge. The rope 16 extends through eyelets 17 along the length of the skirt. A fastening means for the side wall skirt 3 also comprises a pair of tie-straps 18 at each end.

As shown in Fig. 2, the skirt 3 is wrapped around the side walls of a water tank of the type which is open at the top. Such a tank is indicated by the numeral 20 and an overhead supply pipe 21 is mounted at the tank 20 and there are various inlet and outlet pipes 22. As shown in detail in Fig. 3, variations in tank size are accommodated in a simple manner by folding the side wall skirt over on itself at a position between the ends and training the rope 16 through the eyelets 17 to hold this configuration. In this way, the length of the side wall skirt 3 can be set so that the ends abut and the tie-straps 17 are used to tighten the skirt 3 in place against the tank side wall. After this has been done, as shown in Fig. 4 the cover 2 is placed over the tank so that the cover skirt extends downwardly over the tank rim. The strap 9 is then tightened and tied at its ends to hold the lower side edge of the cover tightly against the side wall skirt 3 and ultimately the tank side walls. This is shown most clearly in Fig. 5.

Both the cover 2 and the side wall skirt 3 comprise a number of panels each comprising a pair of outer skins 25 retaining insulation 30 therebetween. This is shown most clearly in Fig. 6. The insulation material is EPS foam. However, it may alternatively be polyester fibre, fibreglass, or rockwoll. The outer skins 25 are PE I OTM plastics sheeting.

However, they may be another suitable sheeting material which folds easily and prevents ingress of particles to the tank water.

The jacket may be easily configured to suit any of the generally available tanks and it is therefore universal in nature. Figs. 7 and 8 show the jacket 1 fitting to tanks of very different sizes. Versatility in the side wall skirt is provided by shortening the length as described with reference to Fig. 3. Versatility in the cover is provided by simply overlapping the sections 2 (a) and 2 (b) to fit the length of the tank. The width of the tank is accommodated by simply pulling down excess cover material when tightening the strap 9.

It will thus be appreciated that the invention provides a jacket which is of simple construction and is inexpensive to manufacture. It is also very easy to install and may be universally fitted to a wide range of different tank sizes. When installed, the jacket insulates the tank to prevent freezing of the water. Also, very importantly, it prevents ingress of particles which would otherwise contaminate the water. Such particles may, for example, be fibres from glass fibre insulation in an attic. The jacket also protects plumbing and heating system pipework, and by preventing condensation it protects timber supports for the tank and materials which are subject to water corrosion.

The jacket may be supplied in a kit which also comprises an expansion tank jacket 40, shown in Figs. 9 and 10. The jacket 40 is of integral construction and comprises a top panel 41, a pair of side walls 42, and an end wall 43. The side walls 42 are of excess length and their open ends form flaps which fold over to cover the relevant end of an expansion tank, as shown in Fig. 10. These ends are held in position by tie-straps 44. It is a very simple arrangement and while there is less versatility in size than the water tank jacket, this is generally not required because expansion tanks are generally of a common size.

The invention is not limited to the embodiments described, but may be varied in construction and detail within the scope of the claims. For example, the skins of the panels may alternatively comprise a netting material. Also, the cover may comprise eyelets or sleeves which allow it to fold at the corners sufficiently to reduce in shape to fit smaller tanks. In such an arrangement, the cover may not comprise a plurality of sections.

Claims

Claims 1. A jacket for a water tank of the type which is open at the top, the jacket comprising : a side wall skirt of elongate shape and comprising fastening means for retaining the skirt in place when wrapped around side walls of a tank ; and a cover comprising a top portion and a downwardly-depending skirt portion.
2. A jacket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the cover portion comprises a plurality of sections comprising means for fitting together to fit different tank sizes.
3. A jacket as claimed in claim 1, wherein the sections are shaped to overlap at side edges between opposed ends of the cover.
4. A jacket as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the cover comprises a fastening means comprising means for pressing the skirt against tank side walls.
5. A jacket as claimed in claim 4, wherein the fastening means comprises a strap extending around the skirt adjacent a lower side edge of the cover.
6. A jacket as claimed in any of claims 2 to 5, wherein the cover comprises two sections.
7. A jacket as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side wall skirt is of generally rectangular shape and the fastening means comprises a strap extending around a top rim through eyelets or a sleeve of the side wall skirt.
8. A jacket as claimed in claim 7, wherein the fastening means comprises eyelets located in the skirt to allow it to be folded along its length to set the total length.
9. A jacket as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the side wall skirt comprises tie-straps at its ends.
10. A jacket as claimed in any preceding claim, wherein the jacket cover and the side wall skirt comprise panels of insulation mounted within outer skins.
11. A jacket as claimed in claim 10, wherein the insulation is of polyester composition.
12. A jacket as claimed in claim 10 or 11, wherein the skins are of net material.
13. A jacket substantially as described with reference to the drawings.
14. A jacket kit comprising a water tank jacket as claimed in any preceding claim, and an expansion tank jacket comprising a single piece comprising a cover portion and a downwardly-depending skirt.
15. A jacket kit as claimed in claim 14, wherein the skirt comprises two opposed side walls and end wall, and the side walls comprise flaps for folding over to provide and opposed end wall.