Heat exchanger

A heat exchanger for a hot water heater, comprising:

• a heat exchanging body disposed within an outer box;
• a supply pipe and a discharge pipe in fluid communication with a fluid passageway within the heat exchanging body and respectively extending through first and second insertion holes in the outer box;
• first and second elastic seal members respectively disposed around the supply pipe and the discharge pipe and being located between a first sidewall of the outer box and the heat exchanging body;
• and
• at least one resilient biasing member in a space between the outer box and the heat exchanger exerting a resilient biasing force on the elastic seal members in a first direction that is parallel to the direction that the insertion holes pass through the outer box, thereby maintaining the elastic seal members in a state of compressive deformation and contacting the outer box and the heat exchanging body in an air-tight manner to block potential leakage paths via the first and second insertion holes;
• wherein:
• the first and second elastic seal members are annular and made of an elastomer;
• each of the first and second elastic seal members includes a seal main body having a first side that contacts the first sidewall of the outer box and a second opposite side that contacts the heat exchanging body;
• the heat exchanging body has a plurality of plates stacked along the first direction, each plate of the plurality of plates being in contact with at least one other plate of the plurality of plates;
• the outer box further includes a second sidewall that opposes the first sidewall in the first direction;
• the at least one resilient biasing member is disposed between the second sidewall and the heat exchanging body and exerts the resilient biasing force that presses the heat exchanging body toward the first sidewall;
• the at least one resilient biasing member comprises:
• a plate shaped member, which makes contact with one of the second sidewall and the heat exchanging body, and a leaf spring that is affixed to the plate shaped member and makes contact, in an elastically deformed state, with the other of the second sidewall and the heat exchanging body;
• a direction parallel to the direction in which the at least one resilient biasing member is configured to be inserted, through the insertion opening, between the second sidewall and the heat exchanging body is defined as a second direction, which is perpendicular to the first direction;
• and
• the leaf spring is bent or curved such that an intermediate area in the second direction bulges toward the other of the second sidewall and the heat exchanging body.