US939054A - Electric water-heater. - Google Patents

Description

P. P. MEYERS. ELECTRIC WATER HEATER. APPLIdATIoN HLED mm2, 1909.

manned N0v.2,19o9.

` Unirnn sTATEs lPAfiEivif OFFICE.

PAUL 1. MEYERS, oF GRINNELL, IowA, AssIGNon or ONE-HALF 'ro oKEY K. COLE, oF GRINNELL, IOWA.

ELECTRIC WATER-HEATER.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 2, 1909.

Application led January 2, 1909. Serial No. 470,349.

To all whom 'i-t may concern:

Be it known that-I, PAUL P. MEYERS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Grinnell, in the county ofv Poweshiek and State of Iowa, have invented a certain new and useful Electric Water-Heater, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to that class of electric water heaters in which twoelectrodes are spaced apart withinl asuitable water chamber, and the water is heated by causing a current to iiowfrom one'electrode to the other through the water, the water itself forming the resistance which is essential in causing the water to be heated.

I have discovered that water indifferent localities has a very wide deg'ree ofv .variation in regard to its resistance to electric current and that, therefore, in some instances,

electrodes may be used having a compara-v tively small amount of exposed surfaces, and in other instances it is necessary to have electrodes with .a much greater amountof exposed surfaces.

' My object is to provide a heater of this kind in which the electrodes are so arranged that the area of the exposed surfaces thereof may be readily, quickly, andeasily varied to suit the requirements of the kind of water used.

A further object is to provide a heater of this kind of simple, durable, and inexpensive construction that is not likely to get out of order, or leak water.

My invention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of the device, whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafterl more fully' set forth, pointed, out in my claims, andA illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 shows a vertical, central, sectional view of the electric water heater embodying my invention. Fig. 2 shows a sectional view of same on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1., and-Fig. 3 shows a sectional view on the line 3-3 of Fig. 1.

Referrin to the accompanying drawings, I have use the reference numeral 10 tol 1ndicate the body portion of the heater which is preferably made4 of a piece of pipe or tubing. At the upper end thereof is a screwcap 11 having a discharge pipe 12 connectedl with it. Screwed to the lower portion of the body portion 10 is a T-connection 13 having a water inlet pipe 14 screwed into one of the branches thereof. Atthe bottom of the Tfconnection 13 is a screw-plug 15 having a central opening therein and connected to this plug 15 is a pipe section 16 having one end shaped to receive a pipe 17, which pipe 17 is designed to receive and protect the electric wires 18 and 19.

Arranged within the screw-plug 15 is an insulator block 20 having an annular shoulder 20a thereon to rest on a mating shoulder on the screw-plug 15. A gasket 201 is placed between these shoulders to prevent leakage of water. Mounted in the insulator block 20 rare two metal tubes 23 projected through the plate 21 and having the' nuts 22 screwed thereon. The electric wires 18 and '19 pass throughthese tubes 23 and extend upwardly through the block 20. Surrounding the upper ends of the tubes 23 are the gaskets 23a. Below the insulator .block 20 1s an insulator plate 21, and said plate and the tubes 23 are held in position by the nuts 22 on the tubes.

The electrodes are constructed and arranged within the heater as follows: Two electrode members 25 are provided, each consistin of a straight, round. rod, preferably mae ofi carbon. The lower ends thereof are extended through the plate 24 vand into the insulator block 20, and they are provided with openings at their lower ends into which the'wires 18 and 19 are inserted, as clearly shown in Fig. 1. These carbon rods are held in position in the block 20 by means of a" sealing material 26 arranged surrounding the lower ends of said carbon rods, and also arranged to insulate the wlres from the liquid. These carbon rods are arranged parallel with each other and extend members 34 that were connected to said carnumber of electrode members 34 may somewhat reduced in order to obtam a less, -volume of heated waterand Aa. reduced con- 34 having a central opening-to receive thel tube 29 and a small opening on one side to receive and fit tightly' on one of the carbon 5 rods 25, and a large opening at its other side to receive the other carbon rod 25 4and to stand in position out of contact with it, Vas. clearly shown in Fig. 2, this latter opening being indicated in said figure by the numeral 35. Above the carbon member 34 is a second spacing washer 33, and above it is a second electrode member 34 similar to the one before described in all respects except that it is reversed in position, that is to say, the large opening 35 therein is arranged adjacent to the opposite one of the carbon rods 25. A number of these disk shaped electrode members are employed and all are arran ed in the same manner as the two just escribed, the alternate ones being in contact with the opposite carbon rods 25. Above the upper one of the electrode plates is a. supporting and bracing washer 36,

made of insulating material and having.

openings through it to receive the rod 27 and the carbon rods 25. Its edges engage the interior of the pipe 10 and openings 37 are formed inf it to permit the -passage of 'waten In practical use and assuming that the wires 18 and 19 are connected with a source of electrical supply, then the' current would iow through one of said' wires to the carbon rods 25 connected with it and would then be distributed to all of the electrode bon rod 25, and when the body portion 10 is filled with water, the current will flow from all of said electrode members 34 to the adjacent surfaces of the electrode members v34 that are connected with the opposite carbon rod 25. Y

Assuming that the kind of'water being used has comparatively great resisting qualities, then a comparatively eat number of electrode members 34 must e used, or if it is found that the kind of water being used does not oier great resistance to the current, Athen a 'le number of electrode members are emplcgfed. The operator may very readily an -just what number of electrode members 34 are most desirable'to be used in connection with water having a certain amount of resisting qualities, by first ytesting the device under the conditions of practical use. If it isfound that a comparatively large volume of water heated to the boiling point will 'constantly ilow fromthe heater, then tlg "sumption of electric current,` or if it is found, uponexperiment, that only a comeasily ascertain, by experiment,

paratively small volume of water heated to the boiling point will continuously flow from the heater, then additional electrodes 34 may be addeduntil the desired uantity of continuously owing water beate to the proper degree will flow from the heater.

T e structure of the device is so arranged that an operator may readily and easily re- .move or attach the electrode members 34 by first unscrewing the plug 15, and then removing the heating member from the body portion 10, and then unscrewing the nut 31 to thereby obtain access to the electrode members 34.

I claim as my invention.

1. In a device of the class described, the combination of a body portion having an inlet and a discharge opening therein, two electrodes contained within said "body portion, and a number of electrode members detachably connected with each electrode, the electrode members on one electrode being in ter osed between those on the other electrode an spaced apart therefrom.

2. In a device of t-he class described, the combination of a body portion having inlet and discharge openings therein, two electrodes arranged within the body ortion, a rodarranged between the electro es and a lseries of electrode members detachably connected with each electrode and with said rod,

the electrode members on one electrode being arranged between those on the other, an

-spaced a art therefrom, and insulators on portion and spaced apart from each other,

two electric wires, means for detachably connecting the alternate ones of said electrode plates with one wire, and means :Eor detachably connecting the remaining plates with the other Wire, or the -pur oses stated.

4. In a device of the c ass described, the combination of a body portion having inlet and discharge openings, a lu inserted in the lower portion of said ioy, two electrode rods fixed in and insulated from the plug, and spacedl apart from each other, a conductor wire connected with'each elec? trode rod, a s u porting rod secured to the plug between t e electrode rods an insuator tube thereon, a number of electrode plates, each havin a central opening to receive the rod, am? an opening on one side to receive and fit against one of the electrode rods, and a larger opening on the vother side to surround the other electrode rod and to stand position out of contact with it, each of the alternate ones of said electrode plates and insulntmg washers tolelectrode plates being connected to one of gether.

the electrode rods, and the remaining elec- Des lvloines, Iowa, Sept. 8,1908.

trede plates to the other, insulating washers v PAUL P. MEYER-S. 5 on the supprtin rod between the electrode lVit-nesses:

plates to space tie plates apart, und a. nut J. P. LYMAN,

on said supporting rod to connect all of the GRACE V. Gow.

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