US1464954A - Water heater - Google Patents

Description

1919 2 ShGBtS-Sheb l @Z .go

C. A. OLSON WATER HEATER Filed- June 25 Aug. R4, 1923.

Patented Ang. ld, i923,

narran aras t y remesa sanear oneroso CHARLES/a. OLSON, or GENEVA, iLLINoI GENEVA HEATER COMPANY, F GENEVA, ILLINOIS, A CORPURATION OF ILLINOES.

waren Hamm,

Application led June 25, 1919. Serial No. 306,685.

To all wko/m, t may concern.:

Be it known that LCHARLns. OLSON, a citizen of the United States, and residing at Geneva, Kane County, Illinois, have invented certain new and useful lmprovey ments in Water Heaters, of which the following is a description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, formin a part of this specification.

y invention relates to gas Vwater heaters, and has reference more particularly to improvements 'in that type of water heater employing water heating coils, one object of the invention being to improve the construction ofzheaters of this ltype so as to obtain maximum eiiiciency in heat absorption and transfer, approximating ninety per cent, as indicated by -actual test, while keeping the fuel cost down to a minimum. Another object is the provision of a heating coil constructed with a minimum fluid space and arranged to present a maximum amount ofheating surface to the gas jets ofthe burner within a zone of maximum temperature, thereby rendering the heater practically instantaneous in character, and wherein the velocity of theiwater passing through the coil is reatly increasedy to thereby prevent deposlt of scale or other sediment. With these objects in view .the invention con-templates the arrangement of a coil, as

thus characterized, about a vertically positioned burner whose jet outlets are spirally arranged with reference to the flattened heating surface of the coil, the major axes of the convolutions being disposed in parallelism, or substantially so, with the vertical ywall of the burner. It also contemplates an organization of a heating coil and burner structure wherein the axesof the burner is co-incident with the axis of the coil and both are substantially co-extensive in the vertical direction, the upper portion of the burner being imperforate and arranged with reference to the corresponding portion of the coil so as to baiile the yascendmg current of hot gases arising from the lower portion of the structure, where the gseries.

'and3-3, respectively;

of water through each coil unit and thereby equally distribute the work through the This arrangement also contemplates the utilization of standard units of coils and burners in any number desired depending on heater capacity desired, and as such permits an interchange of the units and readily allows for repair as any unit may be disconnected and the remainder operated as before and in equal proportion.

My invention further contemplates the provision of certain novel details of construction, combination and arrangement of parts of the heater, whereby other advantages are attained, as will be more fully described hereafter or are incident to the invention.

.These objects and advantages l attain by means of a construction illustrated in preferred form in the accompanying drawings, whereinp Figure l isY a vertical sectional view of a heater to which my invention is applied;

Figures 2 and 3 are Views in horizontal section of the coil and burner groups'I of Figure l and are taken along the lines 2 2 Figure 4 represents a diagrammatic view of the associated coils and headers, and to better illustrate their relation the headers normally annular, have been shown along straight lines with this purpose in View; and,

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail View in section through a jet outlet portion of a burner and its corresponding coil portion.

Referring to the drawings, the reference character A denotes a heater shell or casing having any suitable supportingl base B and being preferably provided with a water casing or regulating'cylinder C and a gas casing D, bothj of which are described more fully in a copending application for Letters Patent of the United States, Serial Number 299,645. Briefly stated, the gas valve (not shown here) in the casing D is opened and closed by pressure differentiation occurring in casing D upon the opening and closing of the faucet in the service line, and acting through the lever mechanismwhich is indicated generally by the reference character E. The gas chamber D is provided with separate radial gas conducting conduits 6 and these have` outlets 7 leading to the air mixing valved members 8 which depend from the base wall 9`of the heater shell.-

S, ASSIGNOR, BY MESNE ASSIGNMENTS, T0

' end with the water chamber C by means of av lll cold water supply pipe 13, while the outlet or hot water header 14 communicates at its outlet end with the outlet ipe 15 which leads through the heater shell to the service pipe (not shown).

These headers may take the form of castings havingan annularcontour as shown, and each embodies an elongated water passage having a closed end, the other end in the one instance being the inlet 16 and in the other the outlet 17 In the heater illustrated tour coils 18, 19, 20 and 21 are shown applied to the headers, though any desired number may be employed depending upon the capacity oit heater wanted, each being spirally arranged about a burner 11 and having its convolutions attened to provide a ribbon-like water Lpassage 22, the majorjaxis oit which is in parallelism with the wall 230i the burner (Figure 15). lt will be observed' that the broad and dat spiralled heating surface 24 of the coil is so located with reference to the confrontin the upper portion o jet outlets 25, which vare correspondingly spiralled, that the lames emanating from the latterimpinge centrally upon such surface, and as the convolutions are spaced in the vertical direction they are thereupon enveloped in the llames and heated gases.

In the preferred construction the lower part of each burner 11 only is perforated to form these outlets, the upper ortion 11a,

i) the coil belng yexten ed so as to baille the ascending heated gas and thereby increase the heat aby sorbing and transferring properties of the coil. In this connection it is considered ad-v vantageous to so shape the coil above its central position as to rst contract it and then relatively increase its diametrical prortlon, thereby forcing the ascending gases mto a very effective contact with the upper coil part. In this manner, the coils are enabled to absorb ractically all the heat (ninety per cent y test) from the flames, leaving a sufficient margin of heat to esca e and aiord' sutlicient draft to carry off` t e products of combustion. Thus it will be seenl that I provide in each heater unit a flame contact zone and a baille zone located between the cold and hot water headers 12 and 14, and wherein a high velocity of flow through the elongated coil passa es 22 is insured to prevent deposit of sca eor other Sediment. The coils, furthermore, are arranged to receive the maximumamount of heat in both zones. r

@ne important feature ot my invention resides in the arrangement 'of the coils, with respect to the inlet 16 and outlet 17 of the headers, in order to provide for an equalization of water flow through each unit, and to permit the use of standard coils and burners, thereby allowing for interchangeability of the units, or the disconnection of any unit for repair or replacement without interfering with the operation, on an equal proportionate basis, of the remainder of the units. 'lhis feature is clearly disclosed in Figures 2, 3 and 4, to which reference is now more particularly directed. Figure 4 is merely diagrammatic, the headers being extended in straight lines for a. ready understanding of this feature. -All of the coils are removably attached at their opposed ends to the headers at intervals along the header passages, the end coil 18 having its inlet end disposed in close proximity to the header inlet 16 while its outlet is located at the point in the header 14 most remote from the outlet 17 and adjacent the closed end 27. @n the other hand the other end coil 21 has its inlet end adjacent the closed end 26 of the header 12 and its outlet end in close proximity to the outlet 17. rl`he intermediate coils 19 and 20 are similarly arranged, that is to say, wherean inlet end of one member of a series is nearer t e header in let than the other, the latter has its outlet end relatively nearer the header outlet. ln other words, the resent embodiment of this teature contemplites opposed or reversed headers, one an inlet header and the other an outlet header, with coils terminally arranged in a series whereby their inlets are progressively spaced in a direction away from the header inlet and their corresponding outlets are progressively positioned at intervals in a direction toward the heater outlet. In this manner the water flow of each coil unit is equalized, and consequently the etiiciency of the heater is materially increased.

The reference numeral 28 designates a-di's- Ell tance member for the headers comprising a hollow rod whose lower end is detachably associated with the header 12, and whose interiorly threaded upper end supports the header 14 by means of a disc 29 which is slightly larger than the central orifice of said header. In order to maintain thel rod in a fixed relation with reference to the latter, and to removably position the hood 30,

I provide a bolt 31 which terminally en- Maaate B3 36 having radial lugs 37 projecting beyond conditions, productive of high. eliciency, i. the periphery of the disc to engage a cone., rapid circulation of hot gases with comvolution of the coil. This disc is detachably plete combustion; rapid circulation of a' seated upon the upper wall portion of each thin Water stream With maximum heat burner, as shown. Itvwill be therefore obtransfer; and an instantaneous supply ofl vious that all the units and the component hot water at low cost. parts thereof maybe very readily asseml claim bled and as readily uncoupled for purposes In a wat/er hea-ter, the combination of a of repair or replacement. Should it become tubular inlet header of annular shape, havnecessary to take out a coil, the corresponding its ends disposed in proximity to each 45 ing needle valve 38 may be closed to thereby other, one of said ends being closed, a supply shut off the supply of gas to the particular pipe connected to the open end, a tubular burner it serves, and Without affecting the outlet header of annular shape With itsends operation of the other units. A very notedisposed in proximity to each other, one of Worthy feature of the heater is its simple said ends being closed, an outlet pipe con- C@ and economical construction. The structure nected with the open end of the outlet provides for rapid circulation; it affords a header, a plurality of helical vertically llat maximum quantity of hot Water at a minitened heating coils, each being of reduced mum cost; and having a minimum water diameter intermediate its ends, said coils bespace the supply of hot Water is practically ing connected with the respective headers instantaneous, thus effecting a saving in gas 1n multiple and in inverse order with reand Water. spect to the closed ends of said headers so Another advantage of the construction rethat the paths of flow through the, various sides in the fact that it permits the ra-pid coils from said supply to said delivery pipe l circulation of the hot gases over the convoare of substantially equal length, and a tu- (31D lutions of the coil to obtain complete combular burner disposed Within each coil, each bustion, thus preventing the formation of burner having gas orifices below the rethe blanket of carbon-monoxide customarily stricted portion of the surrounding coil diencountered in gas Water heaters about the rectly opposed to the flattened face of the coils, and providing for an eflicient transfer surroundlng coil and being imperforate @E of heat to the Water in the convolutions, above said restricted portion of the coil to which eiliciency is materially increased by provide a baile zone above the flames issuing the elongation of the latter in the vertical from said orifices. direction. In other Words, the structure presents at least three outstanding concurrent CHARLES A. OLSON.

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