JP5992297B2 - Drain discharge device - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a drain discharge device that is provided in a heat source apparatus including a heat exchanger that recovers heat from combustion exhaust gas and discharges drain generated by the heat exchanger.

  Conventionally, for example, in a heat source apparatus equipped with a latent heat exchanger that recovers latent heat from burner flue gas, acidic drain generated in the latent heat exchanger is neutralized by a neutralizer and stored in a drain tank. ing. And the water level of the drain stored in the drain tank is detected by the water level electrode, and when the drain of the high water level is stored in the drain tank, the drain pump is operated to discharge the drain in the drain tank. (For example, refer to Patent Document 1).

  In the heat source apparatus described in Patent Document 1, when the drain water level drop in the drain tank is not detected within a predetermined time from the start of operation of the drain pump, the drain pump is temporarily stopped and then restarted. Intermittent driving is performed. Then, due to pressure fluctuations in the drain tank and the piping path caused by the intermittent drive, minor clogging is eliminated and the air flowing into the drain pump is discharged to restore the drain pump performance.

  Further, even if this intermittent driving is performed, if a decrease in the water level of the drain in the drain tank is not detected, it is determined that there is an abnormality in the device and a notification is made. As a result of this abnormality notification, a state in which drainage from the drain tank is impossible due to clogging of the drain discharge piping path or failure of the drain pump itself is left, and the drain tank overflows. To prevent that.

JP 2007-54780 A

  In the heat source apparatus described in Patent Document 1, if a drain of a level that needs to be discharged does not accumulate in the drain tank, an abnormality is not determined. For this reason, there is an inconvenience that an abnormality is not notified to an abnormality in which the drain leaks due to a drain recovery path generated in the heat exchanger, a crack in the drain tank, or the like, and the situation in which the drain leaks is left unattended.

  This invention is made | formed in view of this background, and it aims at providing the drain discharge device which can prevent that the leak of the drain from a drain collection path or a drain tank is left unattended.

  The present invention has been made in order to achieve the above object, and relates to a drain discharge device provided in a heat source apparatus including a heat exchanger that recovers heat from combustion exhaust gas of a burner.

And the drain discharge device of the present invention comprises:
A drain recovery path for recovering drain generated in the heat exchanger;
A drain tank connected to the drain recovery path and storing the drain recovered by the drain recovery path;
A water level detector for detecting the level of the drain stored in the drain tank;
A drain pump for discharging the drain in the drain tank;
When the detected water level of the water level detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined high water level, a drain discharge processing unit that operates the drain pump and discharges the drain in the drain tank; and
Drain for calculating the cumulative combustion time of the burner after the end of the drain discharge process as a drain generation amount reference value having a correlation with the total amount of drain generated in the heat exchanger after the end of the drain discharge process A generation amount estimation unit;
Cumulative combustion time of the burner calculated by the drain generation amount estimator is set as the cumulative combustion time of the burner that is assumed that the drain water level in the drain tank is equal to or higher than the high water level. Is provided with an abnormality notifying unit for notifying abnormality when the determined cumulative combustion time is exceeded .

In the present invention, if there is no leakage of drain from the drain recovery path and the drain tank, the drain generated in the heat exchanger as the burner burns is transferred to the drain tank via the drain recovery path. The drain discharge process is performed each time the water level of the drain in the drain tank reaches the high water level. On the other hand, when there is a drain leak from the drain recovery path or the drain tank, the drain level in the drain tank does not reach the high water level or is generated before the high water level is reached. Increases by the amount of drain leakage.

  Therefore, the abnormality notifying unit calculates the drain generation amount reference value calculated by the drain generation amount estimation unit (after the drain tank has been emptied by the drain discharge processing, the drain generated by the heat exchanger). The drain discharge process is executed a predetermined number of times or more until the reference value having a correlation with the total amount) becomes equal to or higher than the drain discharge determination value set based on the capacity of the drain tank up to the high water level. When there is not, an abnormality notification is performed. Then, by letting the user recognize the abnormality by this abnormality notification and prompting a response to eliminate the state where the drain is leaking from the drain recovery path or the drain tank, the leakage of the drain is left unattended. Can be prevented.

Further , according to the present invention , the total amount of drain generated in the heat exchanger increases as the cumulative combustion time of the burner increases. Therefore, the drain generation amount estimation unit can use the cumulative combustion time of the burner after the end of the drain discharge process as the drain generation amount reference value.

The block diagram of the heat source machine provided with the drain discharge apparatus of this invention. The flowchart of the process by the drain generation amount estimation part and abnormality alerting | reporting part shown in FIG.

  An embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS.

  Referring to FIG. 1, the heat source device of this embodiment is a hot water supply device, and the controller 8 controls the overall operation of the heat source device. The controller 8 is an electronic circuit unit configured by a CPU, a memory, and the like (not shown), and controls the operation of the heat source unit by executing a control program for the heat source unit held in the memory by the CPU, and drain discharge described later. It functions as a processing unit 81, a drain generation amount estimation unit 82, and an abnormality notification unit 83.

  A remote controller 33 for remotely operating the heat source device is connected to the controller 8 via a remote control cable 34. The remote controller 33 is provided with a display unit 35 and an operation switch group (not shown) such as a temperature setting switch for setting a hot water supply temperature.

  The main body 1 of the heat source machine is provided with a can 3 containing a burner 2 (consisting of a large burner unit 2a, a middle burner unit 2b, and a small burner unit 2c). The can body 3 forms a combustion chamber 3a that accommodates the burner 2 and an exhaust passage 3b that extends above the combustion chamber 3a and rises the combustion exhaust gas. The exhaust port 3c opens at the upper end of the exhaust passage 3b. It has.

  The combustion chamber 3 a is provided with a spark plug 4 for igniting the burner 2 and a frame rod 5 for detecting ignition of the burner 2. A combustion fan 7 for supplying combustion air for the burner 2 is provided in the combustion chamber 3 a at the lower portion of the can 3.

  The large burner unit 2a, the middle burner unit 2b, and the small burner unit 2c constituting the burner 2 have different maximum combustion amounts, and the burner 2 as a whole is adjusted by changing the combination of burner units to be burned. Be able to. Fuel gas is supplied to the burner 2 through a fuel gas supply pipe 9. The fuel gas supply pipe 9 is provided with an original gas solenoid valve 10 and a gas proportional valve 11 in order from the upstream side.

  The fuel gas supply pipe 9 is branched into three paths downstream of the gas proportional valve 11. The first path is connected to the large burner unit 2a via the large burner gas electromagnetic valve 12a, the second path is connected to the middle burner unit 2b via the medium burner gas electromagnetic valve 12b, and the third path Is connected to the small burner unit 2c via the small burner gas solenoid valve 12c.

  Inside the can 3, a sensible heat exchanger 13 is provided immediately above the burner 2, and a latent heat exchanger 14 (in accordance with the present invention) is located inside the exhaust passage 3 b that is located above the sensible heat exchanger 13. Corresponding to the heat exchanger). A drain pan 15 is provided at a position above the sensible heat exchanger 13 and below the latent heat exchanger 14 to collect acidic drain that is generated and dropped by the latent heat exchanger 14.

  A neutralizer 40 is connected to the drain tray 15 via a drain outlet pipe 16, and the drain neutralized by the neutralizing agent in the neutralizer 40 is stored in the drain tank 41. The drain tank 41 is connected to the drain discharge pipe 43 via the drain pump 42, and the drain stored in the drain tank 41 is forcibly discharged to the drain discharge pipe 43 by the operation of the drain pump 42. The drain pump 42 is, for example, a DC motor whose capacity (output) can be changed, and the operation of the drain pump 42 is controlled by a control signal output from the controller 8.

  Further, the neutralizer 40 is provided with discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55 for detecting discharge clogging due to a rise in the water level of the neutralizer 40, and the drain tank 41 has an earth electrode for detecting the water level of the drain tank 41. 51, a low water level electrode 52 and a high water level electrode 53 are provided. The ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53 constitute the water level detection unit of the present invention.

  The discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55, the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53 are connected to the controller 8, and the controller 8 changes the resistance value between the discharge clogging electrodes 54 and 55 by changing the resistance value between them. The rise in the water level of the summer 40 is detected. Further, the controller 8 detects the water level (low water level, high water level) of the drain tank 41 based on changes in resistance values between the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, and the high water level electrode 53.

  The drain discharge pipe 43 is provided with a check valve 44 for prohibiting a back flow from the drain discharge pipe 43 to the drain pump 42. The drain tank 41 is connected to an overflow discharge pipe 45 for discharging overflowed drain.

  In addition, the drain collection path of this invention is comprised by the drain pan 15, the drain outlet tube 16, and the neutralizer 40. FIG. Further, the drain tray 15, the drain outlet pipe 16, the neutralizer 40, the drain tank 41, the drain pump 42, the drain discharge pipe 43, the ground electrode 51, the low water level electrode 52, the high water level electrode 53, and the discharge clogging electrode 54 , 55, the drain discharge processing unit 81, the drain generation amount estimation unit 82, and the abnormality notification unit 83 of the controller 8 constitute the drain discharge device of the present invention.

  Further, the heat source device includes a water supply channel 19 connected to a water supply (not shown) and supplied with water. The sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 are connected in series to a part of the water supply channel 19. The sensible heat exchanger 13 absorbs sensible heat from the combustion exhaust gas in the can 3 and heats water flowing through the water supply channel 19. The latent heat exchanger 14 is connected to the upstream side of the sensible heat exchanger 13 in the water supply channel 19, collects latent heat from the combustion exhaust gas that passes through the sensible heat exchanger 13, and recovers the sensible heat exchanger 13. Prior to this, the water flowing through the water supply channel 19 is heated.

  The water supply channel 19 includes a water inlet pipe 20 that supplies water to the latent heat exchanger 14 and a hot water outlet pipe 21 from which hot water heated through the sensible heat exchanger 13 is discharged. The water intake pipe 20 is provided with a water quantity servo 22 for adjusting the opening degree of the water intake pipe 20 and a water quantity sensor 23 for detecting a water supply flow rate from the water intake pipe 20. In the vicinity of the outlet of the sensible heat exchanger 13 in the tapping pipe 21, a first tapping temperature sensor 24 for detecting a tapping temperature immediately after heating by the sensible heat exchanger 13 is provided.

  Further, between the water inlet pipe 20 and the hot water outlet pipe 21, a bypass pipe 25 that mixes a part of hot water supplied to the water inlet pipe 20 into the hot water outlet pipe 21, and bypass mixing that adjusts the opening degree of the bypass pipe 25. A valve 26 is provided. The first hot water pipe 21 provided downstream of the bypass pipe 25 includes a second hot water temperature sensor 27 that detects the temperature of the hot water from the hot water pipe 21 and an overpressure safety valve that depressurizes when the excessive pressure is received. A drain plug 28 is provided, and further, for example, a hot water tap (not shown) that is operated by the user (not shown) is provided downstream.

  In addition, a latent heat exchanger drain pipe 29 is connected to a water supply passage 19 between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 via a trap 30. A second drain plug 31 is provided at the downstream end of the latent heat exchanger drain pipe 29. By opening the second drain plug 31, the water inside the latent heat exchanger 14 can be easily drained.

  Further, in the water supply channel 19 between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the second drain plug 31, the water temperature (hot water temperature) between the sensible heat exchanger 13 and the latent heat exchanger 14 is detected. An inter-heat exchanger water temperature sensor 32 is provided.

  The controller 8 receives detection signals from the frame rod 5, the water amount sensor 23, the first hot water temperature sensor 24, the second hot water temperature sensor 27, and the inter-heat exchanger water temperature sensor 32. Further, according to the control signal output from the controller 8, the ignition plug 4, the combustion fan 7, the original gas solenoid valve 10, the gas proportional valve 11, the gas solenoid valve 12a for the large burner, the gas solenoid valve 12b for the medium burner, and the small burner The operations of the gas solenoid valve 12c, the water amount servo 22, and the bypass mixing valve 26 are controlled.

  The controller 8 opens a hot water tap such as a hot water currant connected to the downstream of the hot water pipe 21 while the power source is turned on by the user. When a water flow that exceeds the flow rate is detected, the hot water supply operation is executed.

  The controller 8 opens the original gas solenoid valve 10 and the small burner gas solenoid valve 12c with the combustion fan 7 rotated, and drives the spark plug 4 to ignite the small burner unit 2c. Thereafter, the controller 8 sets the hot water temperature to the hot water pipe 21 to the hot water temperature set by the remote controller 33 based on signals from the first hot water temperature sensor 24, the second hot water temperature sensor 27, and the water amount sensor 23. In addition, the combustion amount of the burner 2 is adjusted by controlling the operation of the gas proportional valve 11 and the gas electromagnetic valves 12a, 12b, and 12c.

  When the hot water tap such as hot water currant is closed by the user and the amount of water detected by the water amount sensor 23 becomes less than the hot water supply lower limit flow rate, the controller 8 controls the original gas solenoid valve 10 and the gas solenoid valves 12a and 12b. , 12c are closed, the burner 2 is extinguished, and the hot water supply operation is terminated.

  Next, processing by the drain discharge processing unit 81, the drain generation amount estimation unit 82, and the abnormality notification unit 83 will be described.

  The drain discharge processing unit 81 monitors the drain water level stored in the drain tank 41, and when the drain water level becomes equal to or higher than the detected water level (high water level) by the high water level electrode 53, the drain pump 42 is operated, A “drain discharge process” for discharging the drain in the drain tank 41 to the drain discharge pipe 43 is executed.

  The drain generation amount estimation unit 82 uses the accumulated heat radiated from the burner 2 as a reference value indicating the amount of drain generated in the latent heat exchanger 14 (generated in the heat exchanger after the end of the drain discharge process of the present invention). (Corresponding to a drain generation amount reference value having a correlation with the total amount of draining).

  Then, a calculated cumulative heat amount (corresponding to the drain discharge determination value of the present invention), which is an estimated value of the cumulative heat amount radiated from the burner 2 when the heat source machine is used for 10 days, calculated by the following equation (1). ) Is held in the memory.

Judgment cumulative heat amount = 600 kcal / min x 0.95 x 60 min x 10 days
= 342Mcal ≒ 350Mcal (1)
However, 600 kcal / min: an assumed value of the average amount of heat released per minute when the burner 2 burns, 0.95: heat efficiency of the heat source machine (95%), 60 minutes: average of the heat source machine per day Expected usage time.

  Here, the capacity of the drain tank 41 of this embodiment is 600 ml. Therefore, assuming that the amount of drain generated during combustion of the burner 2 is 10 ml / min, every time the burner 2 burns for 60 minutes, if there is no drain leakage from the drain recovery path and the drain tank 41, the drain tank The drain in 41 becomes full and the “drain discharge process” is executed.

  On the other hand, when the drain is leaking from the drain recovery path or the drain tank 41, the drain is not stored in the drain tank 41 even if the burner 2 is combusted, or the increase rate of the drain stored in the drain tank 41 is low. Therefore, the abnormality notifying unit 83 executes “drain discharge processing” a predetermined number of times (one time in the present embodiment) or more until the cumulative amount of heat radiated from the burner 2 reaches the determined cumulative amount of heat (350 Mcal) or more. When there is no error, an abnormality notification is performed.

  Next, processing by the drain generation amount estimation unit 82 and the abnormality notification unit 83 will be described according to the flowchart shown in FIG.

  In STEP 1, the drain generation amount estimation unit 82 determines whether the “drain discharge processing” is being executed by the drain discharge processing unit 81. When the “drain discharge process” is being executed, the process branches to STEP 10, and the drain generation amount estimation unit 82 clears the accumulated heat amount of the burner 2 when the “drain discharge process” is completed, and then proceeds to STEP 2.

  Thereby, the drain generation amount estimation part 82 calculates the cumulative heat amount of the burner 2 from the time when the drain tank 41 becomes empty. On the other hand, when the “drain discharge process” is not executed by the drain discharge processing unit 81 in STEP 1, the process proceeds to STEP 2.

  In STEP 2, the drain generation amount estimation unit 82 determines whether or not the burner 2 is in combustion. When the burner 2 is in combustion, the process branches to STEP 20, and when the burner 2 stops combustion, the process returns to STEP 1.

  In STEP 20, the drain generation amount estimation unit 82 calculates the heat release amount from the burner 2 according to the combustion state of the burner 2, and updates the accumulated heat amount of the burner 2. Subsequent STEP 21 and STEP 22 are processes by the abnormality notifying unit 83. In STEP 21, the abnormality notifying unit 83 determines whether or not the accumulated heat amount radiated by the burner 2 is equal to or greater than the determined accumulated heat amount calculated by the above formula (1). Then, when the accumulated heat quantity radiated by the burner 2 is equal to or greater than the determined accumulated heat quantity, the process proceeds to STEP 22, and when the accumulated heat quantity radiated by the burner 2 is less than the judged accumulated heat quantity, the process branches to STEP1.

  Here, if water leakage from the drain recovery path and the drain tank 41 does not occur, the water level of the drain in the drain tank 41 becomes higher than the high water level electrode 53 before the accumulated heat amount radiated from the burner 2 becomes equal to or greater than the determined accumulated heat amount. The drain discharge processing unit 81 executes “drain discharge processing”, and the accumulated heat quantity is cleared in STEP 10.

  Therefore, in STEP21, when the cumulative heat amount radiated from the burner 2 is equal to or greater than the determined cumulative heat amount, the “drain discharge process” is performed until the cumulative heat amount radiated from the burner 2 becomes equal to or greater than the determined cumulative heat amount. It has not been executed even once, and it is assumed that water leaks from the drain recovery path or the drain tank 41. Therefore, the abnormality notifying unit 83 displays an abnormality on the display unit 35 of the remote controller 33 at STEP 22 and performs an abnormality notification using a voice or a buzzer sound.

  And by this abnormality notification, the user is recognized that drain leakage has occurred and urged to respond, thereby preventing the state in which the drain is leaking from the drain recovery path or drain tank 41 from being left unattended. be able to.

  In the present embodiment, the hot water supply device is shown as a heat source device. However, as long as the heat source device collects drain, the drain discharge device provided in the heat source device for hot water heating, the heat source device for bathing, etc. However, the present invention can be applied.

  Further, in the present embodiment, the accumulated heat amount radiated from the burner 2 is used as a drain generation amount reference value having a correlation with the total amount of drain generated in the latent heat exchanger 14 after the end of the drain discharge process. However, the cumulative combustion time of the burner 2 may be used. In this case, the cumulative combustion time of the burner 2 that is assumed that the drain water level in the drain tank 41 is equal to or higher than the high water level electrode 53 is set as the judgment cumulative combustion time, and the cumulative combustion time of the burner 2 is this judgment cumulative. An abnormality notification may be performed when the combustion time is exceeded.

  In addition to the accumulated heat amount radiated from the burner 2 and the accumulated combustion time of the burner 2, for example, an accumulated hot water amount supplied from a heat source machine may be used as the drain generation amount reference value.

  Further, in the present embodiment, when the “drain discharge process” is not executed once until the accumulated heat amount radiated from the burner 2 becomes equal to or greater than the determined accumulated heat amount, an abnormality notification by the abnormality notification unit 83 is performed. However, depending on how the determination cumulative heat quantity is set, when the “drain discharge process” is not executed more than the predetermined number of times set to two or more times, the abnormality notification unit 83 performs abnormality notification. May be.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Heat source machine main body, 2 ... Burner, 8 ... Controller, 13 ... Sensible heat exchanger, 14 ... Latent heat exchanger, 15 ... Drain tray, 16 ... Drain outlet pipe, 40 ... Neutralizer, 41 ... Drain tank 42 ... Drain pump, 42a ... Drain outlet, 43 ... Drain discharge pipe, 52 ... Low water level electrode, 53 ... High water level electrode, 81 ... Drain discharge processing unit, 82 ... Drain generation amount estimation unit, 83 ... Abnormality notification unit.

Claims (1)

A drain discharge device provided in a heat source machine equipped with a heat exchanger for recovering heat from combustion exhaust gas of a burner
A drain recovery path for recovering drain generated in the heat exchanger;
A drain tank connected to the drain recovery path and storing the drain recovered by the drain recovery path;
A water level detector for detecting the level of the drain stored in the drain tank;
A drain pump for discharging the drain in the drain tank;
When the detected water level of the water level detection unit is equal to or higher than a predetermined high water level, a drain discharge processing unit that operates the drain pump and discharges the drain in the drain tank; and
Drain for calculating the cumulative combustion time of the burner after the end of the drain discharge process as a drain generation amount reference value having a correlation with the total amount of drain generated in the heat exchanger after the end of the drain discharge process A generation amount estimation unit;
Cumulative combustion time of the burner calculated by the drain generation amount estimator is set as the cumulative combustion time of the burner that is assumed that the drain water level in the drain tank is equal to or higher than the high water level. However, the drain discharge device further includes an abnormality notification unit that performs an abnormality notification when the determination cumulative combustion time is exceeded .

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